Updates to the Yahoo Toolbar for Internet Explorer and Firefox provides tabbed browsing to users of IE 5 and 6, and several improvements based on user feedback for the Firefox version.
Delicious received some of the benefit of the Yahoo Toolbar team’s work, as recently noted on the Yahoo Search Blog. Developers created a Delicious button for US users of the toolbar, to allow for quick access to one’s account on the popular bookmarking site.
Toolbar Product Managers Alwin Chan and Jon Granrose briefly described the updates for both IE and Firefox in the post:
On the IE front we’ve added support for tabbed browsing (yay!). The latest release (v 6.3) now includes the ability to use tabbed browsing from within Internet Explorer 5 and 6 so you can tab to your heart’s content in advance of the Internet Explorer 7 release.
On the Firefox side, we just released version 1.1.1 for all our supported counties. This improves a few things you’ve told us about with bookmarks, mail alerts, and Anti Spy, among other things.
The IE version can be downloaded with or without Yahoo’s AntiSpy package. Yahoo users with Firefox can obtain local versions for France, Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, and UK/Ireland.
Toolbars offer their distributors a powerful extension of their online brands. Google, MSN, Ask.com, and AOL also offer toolbars. Amazon not only offers a toolbar linked to its A9 search engine, they offer a 1.57 percent discount on Amazon.com purchases to frequent search users of the toolbar.
All have a single function in common: extending the provider’s network of services to the browser. Essentially, a toolbar contains a search box and links to other services. Usually they offer some added functionality; in Yahoo’s example, the toolbar contains a popup blocker.
They all keep their brand names in front of the user throughout their Internet travels via the browser. Increasing brand name recognition helps services retain their users, which can profit the service in turn as users on their networks can be presented with various forms of online advertising throughout different areas of a site.
Heavier usage equals the potential for more impressions and ad clicks, and that enhances the value of the service to its advertising clients.
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David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
