Amazon Sleeping with Microsoft

Here’s one I’m not sure I entirely get, though I’m sure it had to do with some sort of financial compensation:Amazon is dumping Google in powering search results for A9 in favor of Live.com (operated by Microsoft).I would assume that this has something to do with Microsoft offering some sort of financial deal to Amazon that it really liked, but I have to say that I don’t really get why Amazon would do this. I don’t think anyone would argue, at least at this point that live.com offers up better search results than Google, although perhaps I’m just not doing the same sorts of searches Live.com offers up great results for. Now, this wouldn’t bug me that much, if, say, Amazon simply switched to Live, and made Google a second class citizen, but they’ve gone a step further and made Google no longer even an option from A9. This type of change, to me, just reeks of some kind of corporate power play. To me, these sorts of activities are just dumb.Amazon, if you’ve learned anything in your retail business it should be that choice is what brings customers to your store, suggestions or no. Removing options just turns people off if they actually notice. Maybe that’s what you’re counting on? Maybe people are too oblivious to notice? Even in a day and age where “google” is almost synonymous with search, and when even the vast majority of Microsoft employees choose Google over MSN/Live?