HP switches to Microsoft as search default

Microsoft Corp.’s Internet search engine will become the default search program on all personal computers sold in the U.S. and Canada by Hewlett-Packard Co., the world’s biggest maker of the machines.

The Windows Live Search tool bar will be installed on PCs starting in January, Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft said Monday. The software also will direct users to Hewlett-Packard’s sites, including its photo service Snapfish.

Microsoft’s search engine, the third most popular, will replace Yahoo Inc.’s as the default on Hewlett-Packard machines. The agreement is designed to help Microsoft get its sponsored links in front of more users and take market share from Yahoo and Google Inc., the top two U.S. search engines.

Microsoft scrapped a $47.5-billion bid for Yahoo last month.

“The fact is, very few people actually change their defaults,” said Sue Feldman, an analyst at IDC, a market researcher in Framingham, Mass. “This is all about eyeballs right now.”