Net titans Microsoft, Yahoo and EarthLink are all considering broadening their lucrative search businesses by providing access to online searches through a "taskbar" displayed to the side or at the bottom of a PC screen, according to people familiar with the plans.
Taskbar search tools are similar to popular toolbar applications that have long been available as browser add-ons, but there is an important difference: they reside in the system tray in Microsoft's Windows operating system, allowing queries independently of the browser or any other applications running on the desktop.
Staking out a place on the desktop could become increasingly important for Microsoft's rivals as the software giant begins to flex its search muscles. In addition, advocates of the technology say it offers a simple and direct way for people to call up information such as stock quotes, dictionary definitions and other data without going through the added step of opening a full browser window.
"It's a product line that's captured everyone's attention, because it can put the most important functionality at people's fingertips," said Scott Mecredy, senior product manager for core software at EarthLink. "It gives you the ability to aggregate the features and functionality people want, such as searching various Web sites and content sources."
Developments in search taskbars are important, because they signal a new direction for Internet search: it isn't exclusively the domain of Internet browsers, anymore.
Internet search is breaking out of the browser, as ordinary desktop applications like Microsoft's Word take on Web-like functions, with the advance of data standards -- such as the Extensible Markup Language -- that promise to blur the line between online and offline activities.
Already, as many as three-fourths of the Internet population access the Web through nonbrowser applications, according to research firm Nielsen/NetRatings. Why launch a Web browser when you don't have to?
