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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."

19 of 582 comments (clear)

  1. And? by Gandalf_Greyhame · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Surprised, why?

    --
    I am not stubborn. I am right!
    1. Re:And? by Eevee · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The surprise isn't that Microsoft is doing it, but rather that cio.com is the one calling them on it--a site aimed at upper management. This isn't fanboy-complaining, but business-complaining, something that will hit acceptance of Bing in the corporate environment.

    2. Re:And? by NickFortune · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Surprised, why?

      Surprised it took them this long, perhaps.

      Microsoft always do this with search engines. They seem to start from the assumption that any query represents a user problem, for which there exists a Microsoft based solution. Looked at that way, a search engine becomes an exercise in derailing the users interest, and redirecting into more profitable channels.

      It never seems to occur to them that people might be genuinely interested in results that reflect what they actually want.

      And then they wonder why all their search engines fail.

      --
      Don't let THEM immanentize the Eschaton!
    3. Re:And? by siloko · · Score: 5, Interesting

      And even funnier - search for "Why is Microsoft Windows so expensive?" and the fifth result is a slashdot article entitled: "Why is OSS Commercial Software So Expensive?"!

    4. Re:And? by afidel · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Advertising and skewing search results are two VERY different things. Altering search results to your corporate whims makes your search engine useless IMHO, and the opinions of a lot of other people. That's what made Google so popular initially, their blind algorithm gave the 'best' results regardless of source or view.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    5. Re:And? by pak9rabid · · Score: 5, Funny

      The surprise isn't that Microsoft is doing it, but rather that cio.com is the one calling them on it--a site aimed at upper management. This isn't fanboy-complaining, but business-complaining, something that will hit acceptance of Bing in the corporate environment.

      Bingo

    6. Re:And? by ElSupreme · · Score: 5, Funny

      But it isn't a search engine, it is the world's first decision enigne.

      Obviously it decided that OSX is too expensive.

      --
      My addiction: Arguing with idiots. AKA Slashdot!
    7. Re:And? by cabjf · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It never seems to occur to them that people might be genuinely interested in results that reflect what they actually want.

      Sounds like the work of a bad programmer. Who else would take a question from a user and assume they know what the user really wants?

    8. Re:And? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      And even funnier - search for "Why is Microsoft Windows so expensive?" and the fifth result is a slashdot article entitled: "Why is OSS Commercial Software So Expensive?"!

      Try this : why are macs so awesome?

      Top 2:

      ALL RESULTS
      1-9 of 1,370,000 resultsÂ

              1) Why Macs Suck - Funny videos

                2) Why are Macs so crap at gaming?

    9. Re:And? by awrz · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What's even more amusing is the first result:

      Why are Mac's So Expensive? - Yahoo! Answers

      I could care less about whether or not macs are more expensive, or about commercial OSS prices.

      I just want accurate results from a search engine.

      --
      "--wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy." --Benjamin Franklin
    10. 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.

    11. 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"!

    12. 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

  2. That's why.... by david_thornley · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's why I have often taken my car to repair shops that are nothing but repair shops, not gas stations or tire stores or whatever doing car repair on the side. They have to live on the basis of their car repairs, and they are likely to pay attention to that, and if they do bad repairs they will go out of business.

    Similarly, Google lives by its search engine, and people at Google know it. There is nothing more important to Google than returning good search results, and if somebody else starts returning better ones Google is in deep trouble.

    It won't take much for me to conclude that a search engine operated by somebody like Microsoft or Apple is biased. A biased search engine isn't going to get me the results I want (unless, I guess, I agree with the bias, but in that case I run the risk of learning nothing and simply being confirmed in my ignorance). If Microsoft wants me to use Bing, they're going to have to be extra careful to avoid the appearance of bias.

    --
    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  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.

    --

    -- 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. Re:Boring Story by rilister · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe he's requesting a dupe?

    --
    'This writing business. Pencils and what-not. Over-rated if you ask me. Silly stuff. Nothing in it' - Eeyore
  6. 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
  7. Re:So what, it's MS's service... by xtracto · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It is worth trying it for yourself:

    http://www.cuil.com/search?q=Why+is+Windows+so+expensive%3F

    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Why+is+Windows+so+expensive%3F

    http://www.bing.com/search?q=Why+is+Windows+so+expensive%3F

    http://us.ask.com/web?q=Why+is+Windows+so+expensive%3F

    http://www.cuil.com/search?q=Why+is+Windows+so+expensive%3F

    http://www.altavista.com/web/results?itag=ody&q=Why+is+Windows+so+expensive%3F&kgs=1&kls=0

    I guess there is no conspiracy at all, just different weights in the ordering algorithm... but hey, it is a cool experiment... unless maybe they are also colluding with CocaCola

    http://www.altavista.com/web/results?itag=ody&q=why+does+pepsi+sucks%3F&kgs=1&kls=0
    http://www.bing.com/search?q=why+does+pepsi+sucks%3F&go=&form=QBLH&qs=n

    http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=why+does+pepsi+sucks%3F&aq=f&oq=&aqi=&fp=CSrKZrhT3_U

    --
    Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'I can't configure Debian'