Reinforcing its intent to expand beyond the Internet search that made it a household name, Google Inc is announcing plans late on Monday to launch a software that pulls news stories, photographs, weather updates, stock quotes and other features onto a user’s computer without opening a web browser.
The new application, Sidebar, highlights Google’s efforts to become a ubiquitous gateway for online information. It also puts Google more squarely into competition with Microsoft Corp, which is trying to integrate similar features into the next version of its flagship Windows operating system, and with Yahoo Inc, the Internet’s most popular portal. — LAT-WP