IP Democracy: Google Pack as a Trojan Horse

Nicholas Carr calls Google Pack “Google’s Trojan Horse.” I think he’s got it right:

There’s nothing particularly interesting or surprising about what’s in the Pack - it’s something of a dog’s breakfast, actually - but that, I’m pretty sure, is by design. Google wants the initial version of the Pack to be inoffensive because the overriding goal is to get as many Windows users as possible to download it. (If Google stuck Open Office in it, for instance, a lot of users would be nervous, both about the size of the download and about the possibility of screwing up their existing applications.) The Pack is a preemptive strike against Microsoft, which Google knows will use its upcoming updates to Windows, Internet Explorer, and Office to lead users as far away from Google as possible. The Pack will enable Google to get its two desktop search tools - Google Desktop and Google Toolbar - onto more PCs and, in the process, to install a little trojan horse named Google Updater. Updater, Google says, “helps you discover new programs and keep your current software up to date.” In other words, it gives the Googleplex a direct channel into your PC, bypassing Microsoft’s operating system and updater.

Why’s that important? Because, among other things, Google desperately wants to avoid ceding to Microsoft control over a PC’s default software settings, particularly those controlling the desktop-search and web-browser applications (Pack also includes the Firefox browser, with embedded Google search). It’s worth remembering that one of Google’s top advisers is Hal Varian, the Berkeley economist, who has studied what he calls “the power of the default”: the tendency of ordinary people to stick with what they’re given, rather than spend time actively seeking alternatives. Defaults have a big influence over how people operate their computers and thus over which browser and search engine they use - and defaults are often set when you install or update a program.

John Battelle’s conversation with Google’s Marissa Mayer is consistent with Nick’s perspective, suggesting Open Office will be added at some future date, perhaps when the Trojan Horse has penetrated more deeply into the universe of PCs and the “default” comfort zones of their users.

I noticed no version of Open Office in the Pack, and [Marissa] reminded me this is just the first version of the Pack, and since it updates itself automatically, why, there might be Open Office in an update shortly. They are in active discussions, I was told.

Posted by Mitch Shapiro on January 7, 2006 3:16 PM to IP Democracy