Ubuntu to switch default search engine to Yahoo

Last week there was a rumor that Apple is in talks with Microsoft to replace Google with Bing as the iPhone's default search engine, and now Canonical unveils the next release of Ubuntu will use Yahoo! as the default search provider. The reason for the switch is a revenue sharing agreement between Yahoo and Ubuntu.

For the longest time, the default search provider in Ubuntu Linux has been Google, but this is going to change in the next release, Lucid Lynx, scheduled to release April 29. The change comes after Canonical has signed a revenue sharing deal with Yahoo!, so you can imagine who the new default search provider will be.

The change was announced on the ubuntu-desktop mailing list by Rick Spencer. The gist of it all is that the default search provider in the little Firefox search box will be changed from Google to Yahoo!. In addition, Firefox' default home page (the search page thing) will respect the user's choice of default search provider.