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Just An Online Minute... Google, Adobe Unite Against Microsoft

As if garnering almost half of all U.S. searches isn't enough, Google apparently is still brewing plans to spread its search toolbar far and wide.

The latest development is that Google struck a distribution deal with Adobe Systems. The arrangement calls for Adobe to bundle Google's toolbar with Adobe's Macromedia Shockwave Player software--installed on an estimated 55 percent of Internet-enabled desktop computers.

The move follows a similar Google-Dell distribution agreement, announced late last month. The search giant also bundles software with Mozilla's Firefox browser.

Google's deal with Abode was cheered by Merrill Lynch research analyst Justin Post, who wrote in a research report this morning that the agreement will better position Google to compete with Microsoft. Not only does the deal give Google broader distribution, but it also potentially helps Google develop its own software products. "Adobe is a formidable partner which could aid in building Google's software content suite and potential distribution of web-enabled software applications," he wrote.

What's more, the deal also appears to reflect the longstanding grudge some software companies bear against Microsoft. Adobe publicly fought with Microsoft earlier this year about the software company's now-scuttled plan to include a feature in Office 2007 that would have allowed users to automatically save their work as a PDF file.

The festering bitterness that companies like Adobe feel towards Microsoft now might work to Google's advantage. "Long term resentment of Microsoft's competitive position on the desktop," he writes, "should aid Google's negotiating position with many potential desktop partners."

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