Microsoft Challenges Google

prostoalex writes "Microsoft's MSN division previewed a tool for desktop document search extending into the Web search, Reuters reports from Redmond, WA. The message to Google was clearly articulated in Steve Ballmer's speech: 'There's a lot of Google fascination out there and we share it, and we're going to compete. We're going to compete very, very hard.' Google News points to 63 more articles on the topics, MSN Newsbot provides tons of links as well. ComScore estimates Google's market share at 42.2%, Yahoo's at 38.8% and MSN's at 31.8% (numbers do not add up to 100%, since Internet users rely on multiple engines)."

Comments

Oops, there's a typo.

[Sj0]

There's a typo right there. You misspelled "We're going to send jackbooted thugs to the google CO and we're going to hit their knees. We're going to break their knees very hard".

Re:Oops, there's a typo.

[kerrbear]

I get scared. I'm afraid the Microsoft will copy the Google ideas, "force" people to use it via their new OS, run Google out of business, then add in all the crap that Google left out (Ads, spyware, etc). But we won't be able to do anything about it because noone will be left to compete.

Google better watch out they don't extend themselves too far like Netscape did. Otherwise the nightmare scenario will come true again.

Re:Oops, there's a typo.

[jared_hanson]

This is very true. Google recently bought Picasa which makes a Windows-based photo organizer. The Windows desktop application space is one where Google could sink a lot of money they can't recover simply because it would be too hard to compete with Microsoft on Microsoft's OS.

Personally, I think Google and Apple should form a partnership to cross promote and integrate their products. iTunes and iPhoto are wonderful organizing and searching tools for personal media. Similarly, the upcoming Spotlight looks to be good for general computer-wide searches. Those things and Google make life much more simple. A partnership would link those technologies with Google and Google could promote them to their users.

It also seems like the two companies philosophies are one in the same. Each strives for minimalist and simple to use interfaces. In addition, it would be much harder for Apple to directly target Google as they don't have the same resources MS does.

Image

[Billobob]

Just like Microsoft has became associated with "ease of use" (regardless of whether it's true), Google iw now associated with "accurate searches" in the mainstream media. It will be nearly impossible for Microsoft to over take them unless they have a truly revolutionary product - MSN only has such a high market share because it is IE's default homepage.

Re:Image

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean just like the way Netscape is associated with the World Wide Web?

Re:Image

[SlashDread]

"because it is IE's default"

Dont underestimate the power that is "IE default"

"/Dread"

Re:Image

[chris_mahan]

yeah. like it wasn't one before.

You think that just because bouncy ballmer announces competition the google team will get all frazzled? They've been competing with the likes of MS for 5 years now (and putting the boots on to deliver the proverbial kick in the pants).

I just think that ballmer is saying this to appease skittish shareholders.

Re:Image

[gdr]

No, Microsoft searches only have to be "good enough" so the average user sees no need to change the default search engine. Then Google is dead.

You might say that "it's easy to change your default search engine" but it's not always easy for the average user to do this. And Microsoft are hardly likely to make this any easier.

This is why anti-trust laws exist. Microsoft can destroy another company not by producing a better product, but by producing a slightly worse product and using their existing monopoly/monopolies to push their product down the customers throat.

I see three posibilities for the next five years.

• Microsoft decide that the search engine market is not profitable enough and pull out.
• The DOJ intervene and stop Microsoft from entering the search engine market.
• Google becomes the next Netscape.

Re:Image

[Jugalator]

Dont underestimate the power that is "IE default"

I think he meant that MSN Search is already the IE default but still has a lower share than Google, hence MS need to do something truly revolutionary to overtake Google's lead with its good reputation with accurate searches.

Re:Image

[Krow10]

Dont underestimate the power that is "IE default"

Microsoft shouldn't overestimate it either, because recent security issues could take a huge chunk out of that IE dominance, not to mention the assumption by the unwashed that MS is successful because it's the best. Almost none of my family in the "free tech support" circle had asked me about alternatives to IE one year ago. Now almost every one has, with some asking me about alternatives to Windows as well. Microsoft can't put out a "good enough" product and expect it to become the standard just because it's the default search to for IE/MSN anymore. It will have to be perceived as better than Google. And that will be no simple task.

Cheers,
Craig

Re:Yahoo matches Google?

[gotr00t]

Don't forget that Yahoo offers more than search, while google is really still just a search engine, with the possible exception of Gmail, which has not been made avaliable to the general public.

Then again, "market share" is a very vague term, and I take it to mean the overall market share of these webportals.

Re:Yahoo matches Google?

[Anonymous Coward]

Keep in mind that the poll numbers were for multiple search engines. You must remember that Yahoo is one of the most popular web destinations. They already have a massive userbase. If a user is doing a search, and they're already on Yahoo, they will probably use Yahoo search. However, if they were not on Yahoo, the question is, will they use Yahoo or Google? This means that if they answer the poll, they will say "Yahoo and Google", even if they use Google more often than Yahoo (or vice versa.)

So while the poll says that the numbers are "close", the actual hard numbers (i.e., number of searches / number of users) may be much greater for Google than you might see right off the bat.

Microsoft needs to remember one thing.

[AltGrendel]

MSN Newsbot provides tons of links

Quantity != quality. Especally on the Internet.

Yahoo's popularity

[BillsPetMonkey]

is because Yahoo is the Internet to many people - in Japan!

Gosh. I feel exhilerated every time I get to add "in Japan" to my posts. But seriously, Japanese is the second most prolific language on the Internet and Yahoo is the most popular search engine for Japanese surfers.

MSN percentages

[Coryoth]

So how much of that MSN percentage is coming from all the Internet Explorer users who automatically end up searching MSN whenever they mistype a web address etc.? Surely that's pushing the numbers up a little.

ITFacts.biz just gave results, with nothing on methodology (did they just count hits or what?)

Jedidiah.

Re:Others than Google?

[A1miras]

I'm SICK and TIRED of people asking for information things that would take just 1/2 a second of googling to find. This is the last time:

Yahoo
msn

Early Preview

[SuperKendall]

Even more detailed preview of new MS search technology.

This is an advantage exactly how?

[GuyMannDude]

I don't know how many times I've given out my gmail address to geeks the gotten the response "Oh, cool. Gmail!" But, to the average person, it just means nothing.

Let me get this straight: you are claiming that the fact that Google has no name-recognition with the average person is some sort of advantage in ensuring the majority market share?

Google embraces the things that geeks love to have in a company. This is something that Microsoft just doesn't get and will not in the near future, IMHO. The only ground that MS has to compete on is that of the "average" soccer mom computer user that doesn't know about Google.

There are more "average soccer moms" then "geeks". If Google concentrated on embracing things that geeks love and Microsoft has superior name recognition among soccer moms, Google will lose.

GMD

Market Share - Hogwash

[stevenmusumeche]

I control many sites with hundreds of thousands of visitors a day. Here are the stats for search engine referers:

google.com (54.8%)
yahoo.com (10.3%)
msn.com (4.2%)
aol.com (2.3%)
ask.com (1.8%)

disclaimer: MSN and Yahoo are inflated because of Overture PPC traffic.

Yet another Bundling..er Bungling

[ackthpt]

How long before the first huge hole is found in this? Problems will be:

Find documents on the web with worms/trojans/virii and open them for you. How thoughtful!

Keep track of your favorite searches, so when it is exploited someone can sell this for marketing

Like the Windows search it will use up about 90% of your CPU while running, because Microsoft still doesn't get the multitasking thing.

Won't have multiple exclusions, so you always waste time searching through directories where you shouldn't be looking.

Will be too ambitious, searching multimedia, etc.

Will focus on Microsoft Friends first, 'inadvertently' avoid Microsoft Enemies ('Honest, we wouldn't have it avoid OSS/Linux/Sun/etc. sites, we'll look into it right away!'

Will be built into all office products, thus bloating them further, introducing more instability and requiring numbnut PHB's to shell big zorkmids to, yet again, upgrade.

Re:Yahoo matches Google?

[prostoalex]

Yahoo has far more reaching international appeal. While Google runs international Web front-ends in chosen language, portals like Yahoo! Singapore are separate business operations with their own marketing, sales and so on. Pretty big brand name in Asia, from what I've heard.

Am I the only one who thinks google sucks?

[Anonymous Coward]

I use google quite actively. Google toolbar in Firefox, etc etc. But you have to admit, the google system, while it might be "the best" engine out there, does pretty much suck.

There are entirely too many stores being used in the search engine for results. You want to look up information for a DVD player model # and you'll get hundreds, if not thousands of links to stores before anything else.

And God knows how many sites are just spam houses instead of actual sites with content. I can't even name how many times I've searched for something, clicked the link to see something like "The Bottled Water Taco Bell is great with Viagra Dell Computers. It adds 100 to your Microsoft Xbox Vivid Video while your Sony Cable Descrambler downloads FREE SOFTWARE! cock shit pussy cunt fuck lesbian girl girl shit black interracial anal"

Google needs some competition, because they've been stagnating for way too long.

Which is exactly why Google stock is a "Bad Idea"

[wamatt]

Hate them all you want, but dont underestimate Microsoft, when they want to get there way.

I think anyone who pays >$100 per share for a peice of Google is nuts. http://www.investors.com/breakingnews.asp?journali d=22356775&brk=1. They are #1 and only have direction to go.

History will repeat itself, remember when Web Crawler was king, then Yahoo tookover and looked to be "unstoppable".

What's MS going to need to compete with Google?

[Enigma_Man]

Developers, developers, developers, developers...
DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS! DEVELOPERS!!!11ONEONE

-Shteeve

DOC format advantage?

[Doc Ruby]

Since Microsoft keeps changing their (Word) DOC format, and hasn't documented it completely, does that give them an advantage over Google, and others, in searching that type of data?

Who cares about market share?

[rokzy]

I don't think it's unreasonable to state as fact that Google is better than MSN and will be for at least the near future.

even if MSN could get their speed and accuracy comparable to Google, they will NEVER produce such a clean and simple interface as Google because it just isn't what they do.

and even if they did, I'd still use Google because it's integrated into Firefox. even if hell froze over and they integrated it into Firefox, I'd still stick with Google because I trust them more than MS.

basically, MS is unwilling and/or unable to provide what I want. I will continue to use Google, just like I will continue to use linux. and to be honest I don't give a sh*t what the "average user" uses. whether Google has 1% or 100% market share, I will be one of the ones using it.

maybe if lots of "ignorant" people start using MSN, tw*t webmasters will focus on cheating their algorithm instead of Google's and it will get even better?

correction

[SuperBanana]

CFO of google

Oops, had that wrong. Drummond is "vice president for corporate development, secretary, and general counsel" for Google.