As Microsoft's dealings with Yahoo have not yet netted them an agreement or gained them anything in the quest to become the world's best search service, they have turned to other ways of increasing the number of eyes using their service. They have recently worked up a deal with HP, getting themselves a spot one might call lucrative. Under the terms of the deal, new HP machines will come with the Live Search toolbar installed by default, with the default homepage set to Live.com. A simple thing to change if you are so inclined, but a difference that could easile capture them a lot of numbers as many people will simply use what is in front of them.

Obviously Microsoft is paying HP for the privilege, though how much they are not saying. Microsoft is still looking at other options as well, especially considering that while they have been messing around, Google has been doing fine and continuing to serve up more searches than them, little by little. Yahoo is suffering the most in all of this, which Microsoft is sure to smirk at.