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MSN Rolling Out New Search Engine In July
X writes "Looks like Microsoft is going to release its new search technology soon. The online search world is about to get very interesting...." July launch; looks like they will continue to use Overture for a while, but the competition for dollars and users will definitely heat up.
Favorite Search Engine?
Google
Yahoo
Lycos
MICROSOFT
Missing Option?
It's good to see a fine, innovative company like Microsoft enter this field and give consumers another choice. Who wouldn't like another free search engine?
I like msn a lot, I can't wait till this service launches.
This kind of brings up some interesting questions --
What happens when/if someone develops a search engine that really is better (gasp! horror!) than Google? Will people still continue to use Google because it's entrenched in their brains? Will people say Google and mean another search engine?
Depends on how they implement it. If they integrate it into IE, which is of course "inseparable from Windows", then yes.
If they make it the default home page, maybe, but that's a little grey.
If they make it a web-based search engine similar to google, and have no special references to it in Windows, no.
No, no, this time it's another Microsoft "innovation," check it out (from the article):
;)
Instead of including paid listings within search results, which critics say results in misleading search results, MSN said it will display paid listings separately at the top and to the right of search results generated by its search engine.
Amazing, if only Google had thought of this fir... umm... wait...
My (very) simple take on Google - the main search page is small and light and loads incredibly quickly (even while I'm saturating wor...err, my connection with por...uhh, linux binaries). The page has never really changed that much and is very familiar, but the technology behind the page is constantly being tweaked. Of course, (fair) competition is almost always a good thing.
Google will always reign supreme, definitely.
I don't think anything is definite - Google has a clear head start, but I don't think even Google are invincible. This will be a very interesting space to watch, indeed...
The Mothership
Could happen. Just like people say Kleenex when they mean a tissue and Aspirin when they mean ASA? Both are brand names but they're not used that way anymore. I can see the same happening to Google.
Support the First Amendment. Read at -1
Will Microsoft try to take control in any existing domain related to computing ? They already have a monopoly on operating systems, messengers, and now they want to take control on search engines ? I know it's not new but, can't they really bear the idea that there is some company doing something better than them ?
I don't know if they will succeed in replacing google as the leader search engine... but I wonder if it is not dangerous for a company to attempt extending its control on everything.
No way! If a good competitor comes up, they're going to push their brandname as much as possible, and out-swamp google.
Google became number one through a combination of good technology (very good search algorithm, large number of computer clusters) and brilliant marketing (simple, ad-free, no-clutter, to-the-point interface; getting their search algorithm and computer statistics into magazines like Reader's Digest, etc).
Everybody's trying to embrace-and-extend this now, which means the push is towards a simple, utilatarian search giving relevant results. If somebody can do all this and give us something better, we'll switch over. Naturally, it'll be in the new company's best interests to use even smarter marketing to make us forget all about Google and not think about going back. As long as the verb "google" is associated with searching the web, this new company won't be able to beat Them.
I mean we've heard it before and I'm starting to believe it -- Google is dying. When you're the top search engine out there, people start wanting to make a living spamming, scamming, and (google)bombing the algorithm just so they show up first.
Continuing to improve is a must. That doesn't necessarily mean expanding to blogging and giving away free e-mails and stuff. Just give me the appropriate results to my searches, separate the ads from (informative) content, and keep things as simple as possible. It's tough when everyone's gunning for you, but you can't sit still -- the search engine war should be won by the engine that gives the best results.
Google -- I'm pulling for you. I really am. Don't Netscape your way into oblivion, please. Yahoo will likely compete on merit. MS will play "default with OS" against you. I really hope you'll make it out ahead.
I don't know, it's been ages since I've seen somebody search using IE's toolbar search. Most people I know use Google.
What I've heard through the grapevine about this new search is that it will be more interactive.
When you type in a search for "apple" the search engine doesn't know if you mean Apple Computers or Apples the fruit. MSN search will ask you.
This example is kind of obvious (just type Apple Computers into google), but there are less obvious searches where the interaction could really make a difference.
Don't count MS out. If they do enable better searches they could win this battle.
Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle!
Actual results:
#1. Amazon's Linux software store.
#2. Linux Online (linux.org)
#3. A linux utilities site.
#4. Redhat.com
#5. Linux.com
.
I understand your point, but I still stand by mine, for two reasons.
First of all, words have nuances. "Prostitute" and "whore" mean the same thing, in a mechanical sense - the definition is the same. But one is derrogatory, and the other isn't.
I believe that there are nuances in the word "consumer", that it comes out of a certain corporate mindset.
And second of all, the entire article is about how MSN plans to sell ads on the search engine. People buy ads to sell people stuff. So I think they really are thinking of their users as consumers.
The article talks about where the ads are going to appear on page, how many ads will show up before the first real hit is displayed, and how some ads will be on the top while others will be on the side. It talks about how at least two of the three top ads will be sold directly by MSN, but the third might, or might not be sold by the companies that are selling ads for MSN now. It talks about whether or not those companies will be able to continue to do that, and how their roles will change.
This is a different sort of discussion than the one that surrounded google when it was launched. With google, it was all about PageRank, and about how to make searches more useful. When google talks about their service, the discussion tends to be user-centric. The article we have here is advertiser-centric.
I think it's a real difference in perspective, and I think it's one of the bedrock reasons why Google is better, and will continue to be better, than any MSN search engine.
And I think the MSN corporate wonk's use of the word "consumer" is indicative of that. It's a small thing, and it doesn't prove anything, but it's a sign.
What are you talking about? Only a few years ago and people were talking about how Altavista was unbeatable.
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Boycot Microsoft search engine. Set your web server to refuse to talk to their spider.