Going Home For The Holidays? Google Wants To Tag Along

As people return home this holiday season, there will be all sorts of hugs and "have you had enough to eat"s.  Then they'll be pressed into service, lifting heavy stuff or perhaps climbing ladders.  And Google would very much appreciate it if visitors install the company's software, too.

A new post on the Official Google Blog about "unofficial tech support" isn't blatantly self-promotional at first.  Jeffrey Chang of the Google Chrome Team wrote, "[T]o ensure your family is getting the most speed and security out of their web experience, you can help your family upgrade to the latest version of Google Chrome, Firefox 3.5, Opera 10, Safari 4, or Internet Explorer 8 - just to name a few modern browsers."

It's a good bet that readers of the Official Google Blog are more inclined than the average person to use Chrome, though.

Then we get into an almost comical advertisement.  Chang continued, "You can also check out Google Pack, a collection of free Google and third-party software that's ready to use in just a few clicks.  From anti-virus software to keep a computer more secure and voice applications like Skype to help you keep in touch once you leave, to Google applications like Google Earth (where you can track Santa over Christmas), Google Pack's applications help your family get the most out of their computer."

Ah, well.  Google's doing plenty of good, making it hard to blame the search giant too much for pushing its mostly useful offerings.

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Microsoft Using Scare Tactics For Google Browser Extension?

This week Google released the Chrome Frame, which is a plug-in for Microsoft's Internet Explorer that enables the browser to run HTML5, and (probably more importantly to Google) Google Wave.

Google and Microsoft are of course direct competitors in a variety of markets, most notably search, and more recently, web browsers. Google's Chrome hasn't been around that long yet (over a year), but it has already made a fair impression on the market. Microsoft still largely dominates this market though, and the company doesn't appear to be too thrilled with the concept of Google penetrating it right from within, via a plug-in.

Microsoft told Ars Technica that the Google Chrome Frame makes Internet Explorer less safe for users. "With Internet Explorer 8, we made significant advancements and updates to make the browser safer for our customers," a Microsoft spokesperson told Ars. "Given the security issues with plugins in general and Google Chrome in particular, Google Chrome Frame running as a plugin has doubled the attach area for malware and malicious scripts. This is not a risk we would recommend our friends and families take."

Ars notes that Microsoft has a point in that plug-ins can create security issues because they typically remain unpatched longer than the browsers themselves, but the company is probably off the mark with regards to Google's Chrome Frame in particular.

"As for IE + Google Chrome Frame potentially allowing for double the damage because the browser mutant would be open to a wider range of attacks, we're going to have to call foul," says

Ars Technica's Emil Protalinski. "Somehow we doubt there is a significant amount of malware specifically targeting Chrome, and for whatever exists, we're pretty sure most would fail when encountering IE + Google Chrome Frame. These Web attacks would be written to be able to circumvent Chrome's security measures and would simply not expect Internet Explorer's security layers."

Given that Microsoft has the much larger market share, malware distributors have more of a reason to go after IE rather than Chrome. Furthermore, Microsoft mentioned security issues with "Chrome in particular" and after patching some initial holes after Chrome was first launch, the browser has maintained levels of security where other browsers (including IE) have failed.

Is Microsoft really concerned about the security of its users in this case, or is it just trying to dissuade people from using a competitor's plug-in? If the latter is the case, perhaps they should get in gear and support the latest technologies. Browsers are one market where Microsoft still dominates over Google. They don't want to lose that share.

Apple Tells Microsoft To Stop Running Laptop Hunter Ads

Recently during his Worldwide Partner Conference keynote Kevin Turner, Microsoft's COO, informed partners of an interesting development. Apparently Apple has taken notice of Microsoft’s Laptop Hunter ads... and really don't like them.

Apple doesn't like them to the tune of having their lawyers contact Microsoft, telling them stop running the ads.

Below is the section from Kevin Turner's keynote talking about how Apple isn't a fan of the new ads:

"And so we've been running these PC value ads. Just giving people saying, hey, what are you looking to spend? "Oh, I'm looking to spend less than $1,000." Well we'll give you $1,000. Go in and look and see what you can buy. And they come out and they just show them. Those are completely unscripted commercials.

And you know why I know they're working? Because two weeks ago we got a call from the Apple legal department saying, hey -- this is a true story -- saying, "Hey, you need to stop running those ads, we lowered our prices." They took like $100 off or something. It was the greatest single phone call in the history that I've ever taken in business. (Applause.)

I did cartwheels down the hallway. At first I said, "Is this a joke? Who are you?" Not understanding what an opportunity. And so we're just going to keep running them and running them and running them."

So does Microsoft finally have this advertising thing figured out? Looks like they might be on the right track... finally!

Along with the Laptop Hunter ads, Microsoft is having some viral success with their new Internet Explorer 8 commercials featuring Dean Cain.

How do you like Microsoft's Laptop Hunter ads? Talk to ArisYulianta and Friends... what you think.