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Microsoft Is Paying Brazilian Users In Skype Credit To Switch to Bing

Posted by timothy on from the what's-your-value-proposition dept.

New submitter perplexing.reader (2241844) writes "Microsoft is paying Brazilian users US$2 in Skype vouchers to set Bing as their default search engine and MSN as their default home page. Translated from the site: 'Make MSN your homepage and Bing your default search engine and earn up to 60 minutes of calls to mobiles and landlines in Skype.' ... The Rules: 'After receiving the voucher, this should be used until July 31, 2014. Once on Skype, the credits do not expire. The minutes are based on a rate of $ 0.023 per minute, but the number of minutes may vary depending on the destination of the call and the number of calls you make. The current value of the voucher is $2.00. [One claimed], the voucher will appear in your Skype account." (For those outside Brazil, the page brings up a message that translates to "Sorry, this promotion is not available for your country.")

12 of 90 comments (clear)

  1. So... by jez9999 · · Score: 4, Informative

    ... you set your default to Bing, use your Skype vouchers, then set your default back again?

    --
    == Jez ==
    Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
    1. Re:So... by gl4ss · · Score: 4, Informative

      I got a better idea, set it as default on IE and just keep trucking with the other browser...

      only way they would know would be for them to do something(too specific surveillance) to sue them up....

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    2. Re:So... by ledow · · Score: 4, Informative

      Are you kidding?

      Every time I've ever used Bing to find something, unless it's quite literally things like the frontpage of some project that I search the name of, I can never find it. I can even narrow it down, deliberately AIMING for the page that I know exists and the keywords on that page, and exact phrases that appear there.

      On Google, bang, first hits. On Bing, you can scroll pages and anything you hit that's relevant appears to be mostly by accident.

      Honestly, the most popular search on Bing must be "google.com" or "Firefox" (when people first set up their IE-only computers with Bing as default).

    3. Re:So... by marcosdumay · · Score: 2

      In a Linux computer the button continues there, but there is a warning bellow it telling that the campaign only applies to Windows computers. When I click the button, it tries to download .exe file, Igot tempted to run it on Wine and see what it does, but setting a VM and etc is too much work :)

      There is probably something in the .exe to tell them if you switch back. But I doubt they reclaim the credit, as that would break consumer laws.

      --
      Rethinking email
    4. Re:So... by lucm · · Score: 2

      Google is hell-bent on making a magic textbox that "does everything" but that forces people to use additional keywords like "near" or "loc", which basically transforms the "single textbox" in a poorly implemented command-line. This is bad UX, plain and simple.

      You're arguing that the command line is a bad UI? On slashdot?

      No, I'm saying that the Google search box is a bad UI. That's not the same thing.

      To get that single textbox you force people to filter their query with keywords that have nothing to do with the topic they are interested into: "loc", "site", "near", etc. That's the equivalent of putting a single buzzer on a multi-tenant building and forcing visitors to buzz multiple times following an arbitrary pattern to reach a specific tenant because the architect believe a single buzzer is prettier.

      --
      lucm, indeed.
  2. If you can't persuade, bribe. by TigerPlish · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is how elections are won, too.

    --
    The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
  3. Oh sweet sweet revenge! by Volanin · · Score: 4, Funny

    After years of "this [game/service/promotion] is not available for your country" trying to listen to Pandora, to watch Hulu and to download some Xbox Live games, now it's my turn to be delighted seeing this crushing bitterness bite your souls, dear Americans! Who needs Full HD videos and customised Internet Radio when I can call my grandma for FREE? I love you Bing!

    --
    If I clone myself, can I call it a thread?
    If a girl winks to us, can I call it a race condition?
  4. Not just Brazil by wjcofkc · · Score: 5, Interesting

    For quite awhile now, Microsoft has had programs that pay people to use Bing. This even true in the United States. It's a rather sad and pathetic move. Kind of like saying, "Our search in engine is so substandard compared to the competition we have to pay people to use it." Past all that, can anyone tell me if this practice is in any way anti-competitive or legally questionable? Or is it like swiping a CVS card.

    --
    Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
    1. Re:Not just Brazil by ArcadeMan · · Score: 2

      For quite awhile now, OSS has given their programs away for free to people to use them. This even true in the United States. It's a rather sad and pathetic move. Kind of like saying, "Our programs are substandard compared to the competition we have to give it away for people to use it.

      I do understand Microsoft, however. Once a company is seen as the #1 in something, it's very hard to tell people to try other options.

      I am, however, delighted by the irony.

      --
      Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
    2. Re:Not just Brazil by dmomo · · Score: 2

      I remember when Google was starting out in 98 or so. They were paying people to use their search engine too. I made a small amount of money using them instead of Yahoo, Alta Vista, or Lycos. Substandard has little to do with it. It's hard to make people switch out of what they're used to.

  5. Did you ever notice... by NoNonAlphaCharsHere · · Score: 3, Funny

    That Bing doesn't have a "I'm Feeling Lucky" button? It's because your using Bing!</Sam Kinison>

  6. No way! by dafradu · · Score: 3

    No way i'm installing "Skype voucher.exe" on my PC. Can anyone tell me what the file REALLY do? Original download link: http://g.msn.com/Skype/123