Xoke.org

So I had to update my work machine’s copy of Open Office.  Yes I do have Microsoft Office on there, and it is an XP box, but I try to avoid that as much as I can.  You don’t get to choose your OS though really.  I can’t be the Windows Admin guy completely from Linux (yet).

The first screen I got when trying to update was the standard ‘let us put silly toolbars on your machine’.  Except instead of getting Google like I thought I would, I got this:

Microsoft are advertising with Open Office?

So Microsoft are asking you to use their Bing toolbar, whilst you are installing Open Office instead of paying them for Microsoft Office.  Specifically they are paying people who are not using one of their programs to use a different one.

I guess they think they will make more on the advertising, but I find it interesting they are willing to basically give money to a competitor in the hopes of getting the advertising money back.  I wonder if it is a sign of where they wish to go.  If they believe that the future is purely becoming a ‘Google’, i.e. being a search engine first and the rest later.  I’ll let people argue over it in the comments if they wish

Oh, I of course unchecked the option, before anyone asks!