Google uses Sidebar to sideline rivals | The Register

Google uses Sidebar to sideline rivals | The Register: "In an aggressive move that will pit Google against both Microsoft and Yahoo, the search giant has released an upgrade to its desktop search programme.
Dubbed Sidebar, the free programme will sit on a user's desktop pulling news stories, photographs, weather reports, stock quotes and other features onto a user's computer without the need to open a web browser. Google Desktop is also bundled into Sidebar, allowing users to search for files on their desktop directly from the toolbar.

Some elements of the new programme are similar to Yahoo's popular My Yahoo, a customisable web page that features content such as weather updates, stock quotes and news, relevant to the user.

Unlike My Yahoo though, Sidebar does not require the user to select content relevant to them, rather it observes what kind of content the user is interested in and serves it up. If this type of Big Brother element does not appeal to users, they can simply turn off many of the customisable functions."