Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Announces Windows 8.1 With Bing To Sell Cheaper Devices
An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft today confirmed the rumors of a new edition of its latest operating system by unveiling Windows 8.1 with Bing. The company says the main purpose of the new SKU is to allow its hardware partners to sell lower-cost Windows devices; the first ones with the new edition will be announced next month at Computex in Tapei. Windows 8.1 with Bing is exactly like Windows 8.1 with the recently released Windows 8.1 Update, with one major difference: Bing is set as the default search engine in Internet Explorer. Users can still change that option in IE's search engine settings, but OEMs do not have that luxury."
install the browser of choice and this only means you got a copy of 8.1 that was a bit cheaper without any real difference? Gotcha, besides not like the majority of computer users are still using IE so in truth this would only matter to the small perce=nt of users who both don't download a different browser or know/care to change the default search engine.
Google just cannot compare to Bing. I'm a rabid, frothing Binger for one reason: There is nothing that Bing cannot find! Bing found a cure for my uncle's cancer. Bing found the answer to all well-known unsolved math problems. Wherever you go, people prefer Bing over Google.
Don't believe me? Bing it on, you insignificant insect! Luddites such as you are unwelcome in the 21st century!
These comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of my employer or colleagues...
Waiter! Can I get this without the bing?
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
I want a "Windows Gaming Edition".
Why is Windows so expensive? I'm trying to build a low-cost gaming PC (Celeron G1840, GT 640, etc) and the cost of the Windows license is greater than the CPU and the motherboard combined!
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
I tried the "Bing it On" website when it was being heavily advertised on TV. Guess what: the Bing results failed to load (server problems). Utter failure.
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
Can you upgrade it (for free) to Win 7 and Seamonkey?
You'd have to pay me a lot to use Win 8.x
Hint: In 2 years I have yet to see a Surface "in the wild" nor has ANYONE asked about a Surface.
Isn't this essentially MS admitting that Bing is a search Engine you should have to be compensated for using?
Sounds like their fishing for another round of EU antitrust proceedings.
Two of my imaginary friends reproduced once
I know that there will be a lot of negative comments here about Bing, but when Microsoft started paying people to use Bing, I switched. The web results seem to be just as good as Google. I can't tell the difference. The image results seem to be slightly behind, but for the ~$8/month I make, I don't mind at all. :)
I religiously visit bing for about 5 minutes daily, to get my points and see which celebrity is diddling which one or who had a fight with whom. Other than that, it might not as well exist. I am still unable to find something that can replace google. Tried duckduckgo but tomorrow, I am going back to google. Results are abysmal at best.
__________
The more I know people, the more I love animals
Let me guess, this edition is not available in the EU where Microsoft got in trouble for bundling IE with Windows XP.
Someone please forward the memo to microsoft. They can stop referencing BING as if it's a thing.
It's a DEAD thing.
[click here to have Bing translate this thing lol]
... in the butt.
"I believe in Karma. That means I can do bad things to people all day long and I assume they deserve it." : Dogbert
Bing wasn't their default search engine already?
(I guess even they like google better!!)
I tried running YY-CHR in Mono, and YY-CHR crashed with a traceback because it couldn't load a file from a path with a hardcoded backslash as a path separator. To replace Windows, it needs to run even poorly coded Windows applications at least as well as Windows does.
Just as Internet Explorer is "program for downloading Firefox", Bing is "web site for searching for Firefox". Use Bing in IE once to find Firefox. Then you can install Firefox without the Bing.
Or s/Firefox/Chrome/g in the above if that's your cup of tea. Personally, I'll have the egg, sausage, and bacon with a Diet Mtn Dew.
Classic Shell gets you 90% of the way to Windows 7, and nothing in the summary says the user can't install a third-party web browser.
Do iTunes for Windows and Titanfall for Windows work perfectly on Linux yet?
Microsoft To Sell Cheaper Devices. Sounds like HTC Samsung tactics.
So interestingly, would they allow OEMs to bundle another browser with this?
4wdloop
are directed to Chuck Norris.
The USA is only 4X older than me...perspective
"Bing, the discount search engine!"
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
Maxthon, Incognito and UC browser are all in the store.
This is indeed a smart move to seed Bing. In fact, Bing is getting better and better all the time and is a comparable search engine to Google, still catching up but with a solid tech behind. Guess what? The more people use Bing, the more data its algorithms have to operate with in order to make itself better. So seeding the search engine is very important, considering that MS has all set of competing services comparing to Google.
Now what this change actually does? It defines what search engine is used for people who access Internet by typing web site addresses in the Google search bar. Also for those who don't bother switching away from the IE. And for those who will see that Bing is suddenly getting better.
Google should be worried. And I'm sure they are.
They are paying you for it by allowing the OEM to knock a few dollars off the selling price of a computer.