14 DAY TRIAL // Google and News Corp's popular social network site MySpace have signed an agreement that will enable MySpace users to benefit from Google search software technology. According to the Mountain View company, MySpace users will be able to search their e-mails faster than ever before, thanks to Google's technology.
Apparently Google's actions are part of the company's plan to turn the Web browser into a full-scale platform for software development. The platform is meant to offer a significant number of users, if not all, the features of computer-based desktop programs. Practically setting the stage for a real Google OS, which will make the Mountain View company compete with products like Windows, OS and Linux. "Our goal here is to broadly make the Web work better", Google vice president of product management Sundar Pichai said.
The social networking site, MySpace has agreed to embed Google Gears into their page. Google Gears product provides a technology that is meant to improve the way a Web browser renders web pages by logically caching data onto a system. At the moment, MySpace is the largest independent developer to use the Google Gears.
With Gears, MySpace users will have their e-mail data stored on their computer, thus improving the process of searching messages by name, subject, content, date or other attributes. According to Amy Walgenbach, MySpace spokeswoman, the social networking site counted 110 million users this year. These users are responsible for the large number of 170 million daily messages that go through the MySpace servers.
MySpace users will also have a feature that Google's Gmail users don't get to benefit from. Google Gears is currently used in Google's Reader and Docs products. MySpace members who want to use the feature must download Gears, which takes a few minutes on a typical high-speed computer connection, the spokeswoman said. Users who have previously installed Gears can start using the feature immediately.
As part of the partnership between Google and MySpace, Google has a three-year $900 million deal to supply advertisements to MySpace.