The New York Times reports that Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) will introduce its own browser -- named Chrome -- but will it cost Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) any revenues? Since Microsoft gives away its browser, the answer is no. However, Google's move may force Microsoft to divert resources to upgrade its browser to avoid losing market share.

And Microsoft' still dominates the browser market. The Times reports that Microsoft "still holds 73 percent of the browser market. [Open-source browser] Firefox's [share] has climbed to 19 percent, while Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) Safari has 6 percent." And Google's Chrome introduction marks "a shift for Google, which has strongly backed Firefox."

So why is Google doing this? It could be so that as Google develops applications -- such as search, word processing, spreadsheets, presentation and e-mail programs -- designed to run on browsers for PCs and handheld devices it wants to avoid being so dependent on Microsoft. InfoTech reports that a "new feature in the latest beta of Microsoft IE 8 makes it easier for users to block information about their browsing habits, a move which could hamper Google's interests in display advertising." And while Firefox keeps pressure on Microsoft to upgrade its browser, Google has far more resources to threaten Microsoft's share. So Chrome could divert more Microsoft cash and staff.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) will offer its own internet browser to compete with Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Internet Explorer and the Mozilla Firefox product.

The software may be plagued by the law of unintended consequences, doing more damage to Firefox than to Microsoft. According to The Wall Street Journal, Google says the "software is designed to make it faster to browse the Web and easier to run applications without downloading software to a computer."

Most PCs come loaded with Internet Explorer as part of Microsoft Windows. That leaves Google with the challenge of getting consumers to download its new browser. Firefox is also software which must be downloaded. Google may end up competing more with Firefox, a product it has supported in the past, than with IE.

Most consumers don't care what browser they use as long as they have access to the internet. Microsoft's largest advantage is that it is part of the PC software package that people use without any thought as to how it might be changed.

Google will end up hurting an ally without doing any damage to its primary rival.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

According to this article, advertisers who use the Internet to get their message across may not like Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Internet Explorer 8 beta. That's because the software giant is incorporating technology into the browser that will make it harder for data collection that could be used to target ads. In addition, the browser will be able to block some ads entirely, as well as block content from another website from appearing on the current site a user is viewing. The rationale for the latter is that the outside website could be capturing data on the user's habits.

All this adds up, in my mind, to a legitimate fear for advertisers. Look, I'm like anyone else. I don't want a lot of data collection going on. But, there are basically only two ways for companies like Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) to make money off web content: engage a subscription model, or utilize ad platforms to monetize eyeballs. The Internet has proven to be very resistant to subscription models. Sure, some do work to great success. For the most part, however, surfers don't want to have to throw a credit-card number into a form to be able to see content. It just doesn't work. They want unfettered access to sites. If this is to be the case going forward, then highly-targeted ads are going to play an increasing role in the solution to monetization challenges. Web sites aren't like cable channels, which have the dual revenue streams of subscriber fees and ad sales.

And, keep in mind that the companies mentioned above aren't the only ones who rely on targeted ads. How about Disney (NYSE: DIS)? News Corp. (NYSE: NWS)? Viacom (NYSE: VIA)? They all have major Internet strategies that utilize ad revenues. And let's not forget the incredible irony here. Mr. Softy has its own Internet strategy that needs ads to survive. I guess it's a tough position to be in: the designers want to enhance the attractiveness of Internet Explorer to users by helping them avoid the very thing that powers, in part, shareholder value for the maker of Internet Explorer. A conundrum, to be sure. I personally hope a solution can be found that will allow advertisers to continue selling their wares. I don't find advertising to be evil. I think it's a great industry that serves an important function in the economy. Microsoft had better consider that.

Disclosure: I own Disney; positions can change at any time.

This Internet is starting to tighten up a bit and I don't like it. Mostly, I'm a little irritated that moves are being made that seek to pigeonhole our options as content producers and seekers. Call me the consummate conspiracy theoretician if you want to, but I say right at the head of this movement is eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY). The following scenario components may provide special interest to the fanciers of Microsoft Corp.(NASDAQ: MSFT). You may also be interested in these tidbits if you hold a chunk of Google Inc.(NASDAQ: GOOG).

About two months ago the online auction proposition was dumped by Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) They gave no real explanation as to why they were doing it. They just closed up shop. Now, they have entered into a joint venture regarding a Yahoo! search tool for eBay. Now that answers some questions, doesn't it.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) will ship a version for its Safari browser that works on the PC, a piece of real estate that has been owned by Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Internet Explorer and is on the Windows operating system.

One analyst told (subscription required) The Wall Street Journal that the news was not a big deal: "Overall it was a disappointment," said Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray. But, to a large extent, that depends on what Apple's goals are.

The browser serves a number of functions aside from being the PC portal to the Internet. Several new Microsoft versions incorporate the company's search technology, and important part of its competition with Google (NASDAQ : GOOG). If Apple uses eventually uses Google for that function, it could further advance their lead in search.

Windows Internet Explorer also contains other Microsoft products like Window Messenger. Computers with the Safari browser would not have easy access to that.

Apple's initiative may be small, for now, but with Mac sales growing adding a Windows version of its browser further helps Apple to expand into an areas that has been owned by Microsoft and the PC manufacturers.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Microsoft's venerable web browser, Internet Explorer, has been derided in the web universe for so long that it makes sense for the competition to have snuck in and stolen away some of the software kingpin's marketshare.

While Microsoft's IE web browser still has the largest marketshare of any web browser in the world, it has lost quite a few points in recent years to Mozilla's Firefox web browser, which many believe has much better security features, as well as an entire universe of developers that make "extensions" to the actual browser -- letting the customer customize their web experience as only they can.

And how about Opera, the stalwart Finnish company that many think is the best web browser on the planet? Opera used to charge for its web browser but then joined the competition (IE and Firefox) in giving it away for free.

Would Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) have been better served by acquiring Opera a few years ago? By doing so, it would have effectively taken a competitor out of the market, and also offered its millions of Windows users a much better web experience than what they already endure using IE. Sure, anti-competitive folks might have had a problem with Microsoft buying a web browser maker with a tiny marketshare percentage, but if serving customers the best possible product was the goal, perhaps Microsoft should have bought Opera.

[Disclosure: I own MSFT shares as of 12-21-06]

Finally (finally), the long-awaited upgrade to Internet Explorer version 7 has been officially released by Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT). IE7 -- as it's called -- has been available for quite some time in beta and release candidate status, but it is now official from the world's largest software maker. Although this sounds like a high and mighty event, I actually think it's a complete non-event.

The only reason Internet Explorer is even on the radar -- at over 84% marketshare at this time, astoundingly -- is because it ships with every copy of Microsoft Windows. Most of the world's public -- still to this day -- don't know that better, faster and more secure web browsers exist.

I personally have not used Microsoft's IE browser in over two years, but of course keep it around for websites that require IE usage. Mozilla's Firefox is superior in just about every possible way when it comes to the customization I need and the features that allow me to complete my work quickly and efficiently. Let me repeat that -- quickly and efficiently. A web browser is only as good as it makes life easy for its users, and by that measure, IE is (and has been) kaput.

Now, don't get me wrong, IE7 is a great upgrade with many new enhancements. But with the web browser turning into a main conduit to the outside world for many of us and it being almost the single-biggest piece of software used on most PCs, IE just doesn't add up. Opera is even miles ahead and has been. Will yo upgrade and use IE7 now that it's "officially released?" I say keep it handy, but there are far better choices.

[Disclosure: I own MSFT shares as of 10-19-06]

It's not the endlessly customizable interface that the open-source-hungry are begging for, but Microsoft's next beta release of its next-gen browser, Internet Explorer 7, will fix problems with some popular features when it comes out some time in August. Jeremy Reimer from arstechnica notes that the design of previous releases seems "bizarre" and confirms that users won't be able to change the layout -- with "the menu bar being sandwiched between the address bar and the tab bar" -- in Beta 3 according to a recent Microsoft chat.

In a bit of rather technical mumbo-jumbo about caching behavior (why you care: it greatly increases bandwidth requirements in the Beta 2 version), developer Eric Lawrence explains some of the fixes that will be available on the IEBlog.

Last week, the developers announced the official name of the new browser would be "IE7+" or "Internet Explorer 7+" rather than tying it to the Vista moniker (as Tony says, " 'The version of IE7 in Vista' doesn't roll off the tongue as easily...")

Microsoft's next-next-next gen browser, Internet Explorer 7, has a search box in the upper right corner of the browser window. It goes to Google, right? Heh. I was just testing you. No, it goes straight to MSN's search engine - where, of course, Microsoft gets all the ad revenue.

According to a New York Times article, Google is complaining about this tactic to both the U.S. Justice Department and the European Commission, insisting that it smacks of Microsoft's infamous anti-competitive practices in the '90s. Currently, MSN has an 11% share of the search market, whereas Google rocks a 49% share. (Yahoo! is at 22%, in case you're keeping track.)

None of the previous IE browsers had included default search tools, although Firefox, Opera and Safari have included them (featuring: Google, but offering a drop-down menu) for a while now. Microsoft argues that, after all, a user can change the default search engine (and I'm sure I'm not the only one who realizes the typical consumer, won't).

I'm not a fan of anti-competitive practices but... who's the monopoly here? Did someone say something about 49% of the market? That's awfully close to a majority. If the consumers don't like it, there's always Firefox, where Google still reigns supreme.

[Image Haipunk]

Microsoft hopes to stop the bleeding.  The Washington Post  reported today that Microsoft is ready to test its new version of Internet Explorer - IE7. 

The Post reported that Microsoft has been slowly losing IE users each year.  Last year IE controlled 88.6% of Internet Web surfers.  That number dropped to 84.7% last month.  The big gainer was Firefox.  Its use jumped more than three percent from 6.7% to 10%.

You know Microsoft doesn't want to risk any part of its near monopoly.  Most people who leave Microsoft's cocoon do so because of safety concerns.  IE can be a big target for virus writers and more and more people are concerned about safety while Web surfing.

Microsoft believes the new version of its Web browser will answer users safety concerns.  IE7 will include color-coded warnings when users try to access a suspicious Web site.  Other new features will allow users to open several frequently used Web sites at once.  Also, you should be able to print Web pages without cutting off the right side of the page - I can't wait for that one.  Improved search features also will be included. 

The final version will be out at the end of the year.  If you are a brave sole and want to try it out early, you can download it at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.mspx.  Personally, I'm not an early adopter when it comes to new Microsoft releases.  I prefer to let others find the bugs.

I'm sure we all hope Microsoft really does improve safety with this new version.