In a recent step to increase web search traffic, Microsoft has approached an old competitor, Sun Microsystems for help.

Based on a deal to be announced on Monday, Sun will actively promote a Microsoft toolbar as users download Sun’s Java software. The toolbar will have a field for Live Search queries and access to MSN content.

In the past, Sun and Microsoft have been staunch rivals. The 2 companies have fought during long antitrust battles, such as a $2 billion in patent and antitrust settlement that Sun won against Microsoft in 2004.

The financial details of the deal haven’t been disclosed as of yet. Sun has posted a $1.7 billion loss in the third quarter of 2008.

Sun has signed a similar deal with Google in the past but that deal is ending.

Microsoft has also recently signed a deal with Hewlett Packard to make the search engine by Microsoft the default on all computers shipped to the US and Canada starting in January. The browser toolbar will also be included on those computers.

According to Norton, 35% of all online search is done from the either the address bar, built-in search fields and toolbars.

Chrome is coming! Google’s open source browser project, is coming out in Windows beta. It will be available here soon. This comic by Scott McCloud, creator of the classic Understanding Comics, does a nice job of explaining the technical details. Here is a brief summary:

Extreme tab makeover: Instead of traditional tabs below the address bar (like Firefox), Chrome puts the tab buttons on the upper side of the window.

Multi-process design: This is said to use “a bit more memory up front” but it splits up the processing jobs of individual tabs. It’s similar to the design used in operating systems, with multiple processes happening at the same time. One advantage is that an error that would normally cause your whole browser to crash will now only crash that particular tab. Also, when web pages or plug-ins use a lot of memory, you can spot them in Chrome’s task manager.

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The browser wars have been heating up lately with the recent releases of Firefox 3 and Opera 9.5. As a long-time Phoenix Firebird Firefox user and recent convert to Opera Mini (which is excellent, btw) on my Treo, I thought I’d run these two through their paces to see what they are made of. The hits and misses after the jump.

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While Walt Mossberg is getting buzz for calling Firefox 3 the “best browser for web — for now,” I thought I’d point out my first time paying for something to do with a browser. I purchased the Dictionary Tooltip extension for Firefox 2 for $3.99. And while I’m anxious to give Firefox 3 a try, I’m waiting for the big kick off later this month.

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I’ve chimed in on my opinion of Firefox 3 and the browser’s direction before, but the latest “news” on Firefox 3 has me rolling my eyes. Mozilla is trying to set a new Guinness world record for “most software downloads in 24 hours.” Is it just me or is this a lame attempt to look like a plucky underdog?

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A New York Times article reminded me of my love/hate relationship with Firefox. The article points out that Firefox 3 will be released next month with a bunch of new features. While the new feature list seems impressive on the surface, the truth is that I love Firefox for its extensions more than its features.

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For those uninitiated, RSS is generally thought to stand for “Really Simple Syndication,” a name that’s almost as useless as the acronym in explaining what it is. In short, it’s an online technology that allows you to read headlines/articles from news websites, blogs, and other sources all in one place (see example pictured below).

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With the news of Firefox 3 Beta 1 being released, I just couldn’t help myself. I wanted to see what was in store for the Orange Carnivore from Mountain View. A short 6.4MB download and I was installing; everything went without a hitch. Here’s the good and the bad of it all.

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