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Bing Search Tainted By Pro-Microsoft Results

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the first-be-evil dept.

bdcny7927 writes "Just as Bing is gaining popularity, some disturbingly pro-Microsoft and anti-Apple search results are rearing their ugly heads. Case in point: a search on Bing for the phrase, 'Why is Windows so expensive?' returned this as the top link: 'Why are Macs so expensive.' That's right. You're not hallucinating."

13 of 582 comments (clear)

  1. So what, it's MS's service... by gandhi_2 · · Score: 4, Informative

    ...are you really surprised?

    --
    THL phish sticks
  2. Not on my bing by multisync · · Score: 3, Informative

    Search string: "Why is Windows so expensive?"

    Results:

    *
    Microsoft to offer Family Pack for Windows 7 Home Premium | TalkBack ...

    If so don't PC users ask WHY is Windows so expensive? Cheapest upgrade for Win 7 is 50 and that's temporarily for early adopters (119 later) Snow Leopard is only 29 for all Leopard ...
    o talkback.zdnet.com/5208-12354-0.html?forumID=1&threadID=66314&messageID=1250260
    o Cached page
    *
    MacNN | Acer: Home Premium is the real Vista

    "Hmmm, I'll have to think about that... Why is Windows so expensive?" "That's the Microsoft tax." "Doesn't e v e r y b o d y use Windows?" "Not anymore."
    o www.macnn.com/articles/06/10/27/acer.on.windows.vista
    o Cached page
    *
    Do you need more than Windows 7 Home Premium? | TalkBack on ZDNet

    If so don't PC users ask WHY is Windows so expensive? Cheapest upgrade for Win 7 is 50 and that's temporarily for early adopters (119 later) Snow Leopard is only 29 for all Leopard ...
    o talkback.zdnet.com/5208-12354-0.html?forumID=1&threadID=66219&messageID=1249894
    o Cached page
    *
    Rittman Mead Consulting Blog Archive Virtually there

    I suppose the next thing is to build a Windows VM for the stuff that needs Microsoft Windows (OBI SE-ONE, for example) - but why is Windows so expensive to license?
    o www.rittmanmead.com/2007/11/21/virtually-there
    o Cached page
    *
    PC World Community: Hollywood's Victory Over The Pirate Bay ...

    Why is Windows so expensive to buy in a box, when Dell can buy it in bulk for a couple dollars? How much money does Bill Gates need? What is fair trade?
    o forums.pcworld.com/message/209250
    o Cached page
    *
    PC World Community: Windows XP User: I'm No Thief ...

    At least I think it is. Why is windows so expensive in the first place? They're totally ripping us off!!
    o forums.pcworld.com/thread/60075?start=30&tstart=0
    o Cached page
    *
    ffextensionguru.wordpress.com - Traffic Details from Alexa

    why is windows so expensive; new tab homepage; guru blog; the book of mozilla; mozilla weekly; ie 8 windows update; primo pdf; tabs open relative; flash player updates
    o www.alexa.com/siteinfo/ffextensionguru.wordpress.com

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    I don't care why you're posting AC
    1. Re:Not on my bing by WinterSolstice · · Score: 3, Informative

      When I searched I got several things like "why are macbooks so expensive", "why are mac's [sic] so expensive" etc.

      The article is correct. Bing is just the fox news of search engines. Surprise surprise.

      --
      An operating system should be like a light switch... simple, effective, easy to use, and designed for everyone.
    2. Re:Not on my bing by commodore64_love · · Score: 5, Informative

      You've been marked "informative" but I think the phrase "can't read" is more appropriate. If you Read The Frakking Article, it states that Bing is now returning non-biased results, due to their old biased system being exposed publicly.

      Apparently Microsoft programmers did some quick cover-up, like a bunch of 1940s-era Germans digging-up bodies and burning them to hide the evidence. Microsoft was exposed by the media, and now MS is trying to pretend it never happened.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
  3. Re:Boring Story by Col.+Klink+(retired) · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yes, the mac link appears under the google results. However, the other top google results are all about the Windows OS. The bing results has NO results about Windows OS on the first page.

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    -- Don't Tase me, bro!

  4. Re:Boring Story by Andr+T. · · Score: 5, Informative

    Hey Slashdot, how about covering the fact that KDE 4.3 [kde.org] was just released today?

    Ops.

    --

    Any life is made up of a single moment, the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is.

  5. yeah, but.... by da_matta · · Score: 4, Informative

    Except that putting that same query to Google will give this result in the first page:

    http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/why-are-macs-so-expensive--609128

  6. They're just giving preference to yahoo answers by eison · · Score: 3, Informative

    It's not specifically pro-MS or anti-Apple. It's just that whatever their ranking algorithm is rates yahoo answers as a better source than other sites. Search engines have to weight sites somehow; if all sources of pages were equally good authorities, we'd all still be using altavista.

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    is competition good, or is duplication of effort bad?
  7. Re:Mod entire article down by Tridus · · Score: 4, Informative

    Actually, yes. On the main page, click the minus sign next to the title. You can then pick why you don't like it.

    Theoretically if enough people do it, we could kick it back off the front page. That seems unlikely in this case though.

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    -- "So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated." - Bill Gates
  8. Re:And? by SBrach · · Score: 5, Informative

    The same search, "Why is Windows so expensive" in google has the "Why are Macs so expensive" page as 8th.

  9. Re:And? by gbjbaanb · · Score: 3, Informative

    well, it does *now*, everyone's started linking to it in their "why is Bing so biased", and "Bing is rubbish", and "Why Bing isn't biased after all, honest, no really" blog articles.

  10. Re:And? by gentlemen_loser · · Score: 5, Informative

    This article is garbage ... put the same query on the google search and almost the same results come up. Including Why are Macs so Expensive...

    You are either delusional or full of crap. They are nothing alike.

    This is the result from Bing:

    News about Why is Windows so expensive
    Why are Mac's So Expensive? - Yahoo! Answers
    why so expensive?. - Games for Windows Live
    Why are vinyl windows so expensive? who provides them cheapest ...
    Why are vinyl windows so expensive? who provides them cheapest? Find answers to this and many other questions on Trulia Voices, a community for you to find and share local ...
    Why are windows hosting providers so expensive? - Community Server
    Community Server is the platform that powers rich blogging, discussions, and sharing web communities.
    Why are Macbooks so expensive? - Yahoo! Answers
    WikiAnswers - Why are Apple Macs so expensive
    Apple and Mac question: Why are Apple Macs so expensive? Macs are no more expensive ... can save money by buying more advanced parts for a windows computer. Also, they are expensive ...
    Windows Embedded Blog : Why is OSS Commercial Software So Expensive?
    Why are Macs so expensive? - TechSpot Troubleshooting
    Why are Macs so expensive?
    Why are Macs so expensive? techradar.com â" There are some good reasons not to choose a Mac when you ... If I feel like Sony are charging too much for a Laptop with Windows I can get a ...
    Why fish is so expensive! - Windows Live


    This is the result from Google:

    Why Windows Vista and Office 2007 are so Expensive  The Firefox ...
    Is Windows getting more expensive? - CNET News
    Windows 7 to be âoemore expensiveâ than Vista, XP
    Writing on the Wall: Why Windows is so expensive
    Why are vinyl windows so expensive? who provides them cheapest ...
    Omfg Vista Is so Expensive - Windows Vista and Windows 7
    Why are HDTV wall mounts so expensive?
    Why is the IBM thinkpad x301 laptop so expensive with mediocre ...
    Why are Macs so expensive? | News | TechRadar UK
    Gizmodo - The World's Most Expensive Copy of Windows XP - XP


    I am not sure how you got modded +5 insightful, but the only article in common is the "Why are Macs so expensive?" from TechRadar. Microsoft's results are obviously significantly skewed. I would encourage you to "get the facts"!

  11. Re:And? by SBrach · · Score: 5, Informative

    No, Bing links to a Yahoo answers page in which the actually text of the article contains the search terms several times("Windows" once, "Mac" once, "expensive" once, and Microsoft" twice). The article google returns, while having the same title, is a techradar.com article that doesn't mention windows. The Google results article and the Bing results article. YMMV