It seems that Google are taking more steps to try and get their software anywhere they can.
Google have signed a deal with Dell to have Google software, including the Google Toolbar pre-installed on new Dell machines before they leave the factory. The deal also sets up a customised Dell/Google homepage (have a look here), which looks like a Dell-themed version of the current Personalised Google homepage service, with easy access links to Dell pages at the top.
It seems a bit like Google are trying to get a further foothold into the search market by using one of the most popular PC manufacturers to get their search engine and products used.
This move comes just after Google complained about Microsoft planning to set MSN Search as the default search engine in its upcoming Internet Explorer 7 browser, despite the fact that Google is already the default search engine on Mozilla Firefox and has a programme to bundle Google Toolbar with Firefox.
So Google want you to have choice… just so long as you choose Google.
[...] They haven’t completely rewritten Picasa for Linux, but have tweaked it to make it work with Wine. Wine is a piece of software that allows you to run simple and older Windows applications quite well under Linux (it works with Paint Shop Pro 4, for example). Does this mean that Google are becoming more and more distant from Microsoft by supporting platforms other than Windows? Recently, we have seen quite a rift appear between Google and Microsoft; over the IE/MSN Search issue and also I doubt Microsoft are happy about the Google/Dell bundling now going on. [...]