MSN Planning to Take on Google?

asyn42 writes "CNet is reporting what should be no surprise, Microsoft appears to be readying itself to take on Google for a position as the top search engine. The long range impact on the relationship between MSN and Yahoo/Inktomi is likely at risk."

Comments

No worries

[Kagato]

As long as they use Windows to power the thing google doesn't have to worry about MSN being king of the hill for search engines.

Re:No worries

[molarmass192]

Yeah, 'cause there's no such things as Windows-zealots right?

Windows has it's selling points, Linux has it's selling points, here's where I draw the lines:

Server: Linux is fantastic as a server OS, it beats any MS server OS 100% of the time. This due to the customizability of the kernel, hardware specific optimizations, and the fact the it runs headless.

Home Use Desktop: Microsoft OSes are fantastic as home desktop OSes, they beat Linux in 95% of home use situations. The only exceptions in favor of Linux is non-game, surf and email purposes and people who code as a hobby.

Corporate Desktop: Linux wins due to security and the homogeneous software environment in corporations. This is not a 100% of the time thing but perhaps in the 75% range due specifically to legacy software availability.

So what's my stance? Linux is great, Windows is great, but at different things. If you want a highly configurable OS that you can tweak and tune to extract all your hardware has to offer, use Linux and don't expect it to be easy. If you want to play Splinter Cell and don't know the difference between a sea shell and a c shell, then don't even look at Linux 'cause you ARE going to get stumped.

The other big problem is one of perception. The vast majority of Windows users (not all) are under the impression that they are technically savy because they know where to click their mouses. Throw them into a DOS shell and they choke. Put them in from of a Linux console and you're likely to hear "What is this???". Conversely, the vast majority of Linux users (not all) are quite techically savy and as such they tend to be elitist (and some are just jerks). This makes for an oil-and-water mix that will ALWAYS exist.

To close back on the post, Windows OSes don't necessarily suck, but low skill Windows-only admins (90%+), give the software the appearance of sucking. It's all in the know-how, and moving a mouse around some neon colored buttons ain't know-how. I also think the majority of Windows-zealots (and there are a buncha them) are specifically from this clueless group of folks.

Good Luck!

[w.p.richardson]

Google is a brand at this point. It's a verb. It's as ingrained at this point as "Band Aid" for adhesive strip.

That being said, if anyone can compete, it's Microsoft. They have deep pockets, but they don't always win (see UltimateTV, e.g.).

Re:Good Luck!

[pubjames]

Google is a brand at this point. It's a verb. It's as ingrained at this point as "Band Aid" for adhesive strip.

I'm afraid that the fact that Google is associated with searching at the moment is not a very strong reason for it to remain. I remember when I would talk to people about the World Wide Web and they would say something like, "oh, you mean Netscape? I've got that on my computer!"

I hate to say it but microsoft are in an extremely strong position to crush Google. Just come up with something that is nearly as good and then integrate it completely into Internet Explorer and the OS. It will be another example of them leveraging their monopoly power, but since they've found they can get away with it, what's to stop them?

How about..

[Gortbusters.org]

Trying to take on google's API..

Called MSNBot, the software scours Web sites and collects hyperlinks and documents. The software is part of MSN's effort to challenge Google by revitalizing MSN Search with its own algorithmic search technology.

You'll never beat the mind-share that Google has. No-one is gonna use MSNbot as a verb, like "I just googled for planetside tips" or create sites like googlism. Msnbotism? Hah!

Re:How about..

[Dachannien]

Exactly - it's like Xerox, Kleenex, or Lysol, only worse:

You're talking with a friend about some obscure topic, and to find out the answer, your friend says, "I'll google it." He fires up IE and heads to the MSNbot web page, at which point you say, "Dude, I thought you said you were going to google it."

Your friend thinks for a second, goes up to the address bar, and fixes the problem.

Wonderful

[Cais]

Let me guess... it tells YOU what your looking for?

What did you expect?

[macemoneta]

Once Microsoft bought the government, buying Google was the next logical step.

Re:Good Luck! (more MSN searching history)

[Surakrout]

Here's some more history about Microsoft's (MSN's) searching capability.

Re:Microsoft vs. Google

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, they do have an ace up their sleave; Internet Explorer. Google can't force you to their site when you type in an invalid URL, but IE sure can.

I once had a friend....

[Dark Paladin]

Who had a Microsoft rep in the office proposing the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars.

So my friend said "All right - let's have a test. I'm going to have Google look for this search string that deals with Microsoft technical information - and I'll have the Microsoft technical page do the same thing. And we'll see who has the most accurate and fastest results."

"But - but that's not a fair contest!" the Microsoft rep told him.

"No," my friend said, "It's not, because Google just returned the results for its entire current storage of the Internet, and the Micorosft Technet search engine is...still looking."

Should Google be worried? Naturally - always be paranoid about competition. The best thing it can do is keep going to businesses and say "What do you need to look up?" and figure out how to make their system work for them. "You want to search emails super fast? You have tons of documents you need to search through?"

To be honest, Microsoft has not succeeded very well outside the operating systems - look at handhelds, cable access - MSNBC is doing all right, but I attribute that to the NBC rather than the MS part of it.

Google has a lot of brand name, it has proven, cheap, realiable technology that is getting better. As long as they keep that edge, keep pushing the envelope, keep talking to businesses/consumers and find out what they want and deliver on it, MS will be left with YAMSP (Yet Another Money Sucking Project).

Of course, I could be wrong. But based on my Safari and Mozilla browser searching Google and my non-Geek wife actually using the words "I'll just Google that later", I'm not too worried.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:All I can say is

[Hypocritical Guy]

what? if i use IE i am not uber? i'd rather use IE than a majority of the browsers out there.

you suck, you will never be uber.

Mindless MS Bashing

[Bob9113]

Pardon my flagrant opnionation here, but I envision the following:

MS Coder: Boss, we've got a problem.
MS Boss: What is it?
MS Coder: It turns out you can't trust the "keywords" meta-tag.
MS Boss: What?!?
MS Coder: Seriously. Some unscrupulous people abuse it.
MS Boss: Crap. Now what?
MS Coder: Well, it seems we're going to have to come up with a smarter algorithm than "index by keyword metatag".
MS Boss: But Google didn't have to write any fancy software.
MS Coder: Actually, we're now operating on the theory that Google does in fact have some fairly advanced software.
MS Boss: Advanced?!? You mean like technically advanced?
MS Coder: Yeah, it looks that way.
MS Boss: But we don't write our own technically advanced software - we wrap mediocre implementations of Unix technology in Macintosh user friendliness.
MS Coder: I know - it's a bit of a problem.
MS Boss: Pity we can't "partner" with them.
MS Coder: Yeah, like Stac, Java, and that smartphone company.

Re:In related news...

[pebs]

Take the letters from MICROSOFT, rearrange them, you get "SCO FROM IT"

Coincidence? I think not...

Microsoft's proposed take-over plan...

[LordDartan]

1. Acquire a large EMP device.
2. Park large EMP device outside of Google headquarters.
3. Detonate large EMP device.
4. Profit!

or something along those lines...I can't think of any other way they'll get ahead of google...

(also notice, that the usual missing step 3 is included in this exercise for your viewing pleasure)

A quick google

[MisterFancypants]

A quick google on this topic (search term: microsoft google slashdot) would have shown that this story is a repeat.

Found it

[daBum]

(I know, replying to your own posts is lame. Sorry, deal.)

The registry key that has this (on 2k) is: \HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search . There are 2 keys here - Customize Search & Search Assistant. Both of them point to http://ie.search.msn.com/...

Now, I can't find the address you're supposed to change the references "to" (as in, at google), but that's where to change it "from".

Re:Found it

[jazman_777]

Put this in a file called "google.reg" and double-click it. I got it from google's site. Clear out the spaces in "InternetExp lorer"

REGEDIT4


[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\InternetExpl orer\Main]
"Use Search Asst"="no"
"Search Page"="http://www.google.com"
"Search Bar"="http://www.google.com/ie"

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\InternetExpl orer\SearchURL]
""="http://www.google.com/keyword/%s"
"provider"="gogl"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\InternetExp lorer\Search]
"SearchAssistant"="http://www.google.com/ie"

Re:Microsoft vs. Google

[jdh-22]

Microsoft won't be able to compete, but what they can do is possibly buy them out.

Obligitory Simpson's quote:

Bill Gates: Your Internet ad was brought to my attention, but I can't figure out what, if anything, Compuglobalhypermeganet does, so rather than risk competing with you, I've decided simply to buy you out.
Homer: I reluctantly accept your proposal!
Bill Gates: Well everyone always does. Buy 'em out, boys!
[Gates' lackeys trash the room.]
Homer: Hey, what the hell's going on!
Bill Gates: Oh, I didn't get rich by writing a lot of checks! [insane laughter]

Re:Google is my god

[killmenow]

You don't need google's code, they've already released a detailed document explaining how their system works.

bottom line

[LuxFX]

The first thing that attracted me to Google, even before witnessing the quality of the search algorithm, was the sheer bareness of their main page. I heartily applaud any website that keeps their main page under 15Kb. Even more important, I applaud any website that values the goals of the users so much that their main page is essentially a single function with no fluff. I also applaud any website that maintains a zero ad banner and popup rule.

MS will never be able to compete with this. I would be very surprised if their main page will weigh in under 75Kb. It will be 90% fluff. And there will be ads all over it!

Google wins.

.

Why MSN will fail:

[Johnny Mnemonic]

"linux" search on MSN; top site goes to Amazon, next two go to Microsoft.
"linux" search on Google; no microsoft links on the front page.

Bottomline: MSFT is not a credible source of information. I don't think that I'm the only one that thinks so.

Re:Why MSN will fail:

[danrees]

I love that MSN Search for "linux":

3. Alternatives to Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP
Learn about the Microsoft alternatives and how to move to them from open source products.
www.microsoft.com/serviceproviders/migration

If that's not biased, I don't know what is... ;)

Re:Google is my god

[pyrote]

OVER MY DEAD BROWSER

you must use netscape

my sources say

[Tancred]

Google has been expecting this for a long time and are prepared for it. MS is the only company that has been considered a serious threat, at least for the last year. They've got the name recognition, browser control and financial resources to do it. But do they have the right technical people? Are they committed to buying their way in no matter the cost? How about overcoming some very ingrained company traits and playing fair?

Then there's the Google motto of "don't be evil" to contend with. Part of Google's success, I believe, is due to not being evil, and more than that, to being good. That covers things like clearly marking ads, keeping their home page simple (I wouldn't use it as my browser home page if it wasn't) and not accepting payments for rank improvement.

There are a lot of very smart people at Google and my sources say the management is very shrewd and realistic. I'll bet they weather this storm. The drubbing of Netscape was, I think, an easier thing to do. Google already gives away their service for free, and they've got immense mindshare. Netscape had good name recognition at the time, but back then there was a flood of new users that didn't know anything about the net. That was also at a time when there wasn't so much anti-Microsoft sentiment out there (yes, even the general public has had a taste of it due to the court cases).

Wow, I just about convinced myself to submit my resume!