Google, Dell, and Crapware

The announcement that Dell and Google are teaming up to install Googleware on Dell computers has already raised the CRAPWARE alarm. I disagree.

My assumption is this pre-installed software will consist of Google's line of apps: Google Earth, Picasa, etc. Granted, these apps do add bloat, but they also seem to "just work". Plug in your camera and Picasa will add your photos to your PC. Need to find a file? Google Desktop will get it. For the casual user, Google's brand of apps make the computing experience considerably easier.

Now consider that Apple is now playing on level ground with other PC makers since they switched to Intel processors. Apple is in position to take a bigger bite out of a market of which Dell holds the biggest piece and has the most to lose. Dell no longer has the advantage of Intel hardware, nor can they assume Windows Vista will trump Mac OS X, unless Apple stops refining their software. Dell needs another edge to maintain their status and I believe they think Google is the key.