9 things you needs to know about Bing

[dwarakesh]

Microsoft last week unveiled its revamped search engine Bing. The Bing unveiling can surely be termed as one of the biggest Microsoft launches of the recent times considering the huge stakes it has in the company's success.

The software giant who rules on 90% computers worldwide occupies a lowly third position in the global search marketshare. With Internet gaining importance in the technology landscape, it has become critical for Microsoft to come out with a formidable player which can challenge Google's growing dominance in the space.

[dwarakesh]

It's "Not" a Search Engine!

Microsoft's Bing is definitely eyeing to snatch search marketshare from Google. However, unlike Google, Bing is not a search engine. The software giant dubs Bing as a "decision" engine, rather than a search engine. According to Microsoft, Bing is not just another search engine, but a decision engine that will help people in making decisions. As its official release said, "Microsoft Corp today unveiled Bing, a new Decision Engine and consumer brand, providing customers with a first step in moving beyond search to help make faster, more informed decisions."

The statement added, "The result of this new approach is an important beginning for a new and more powerful kind of search service, which Microsoft is calling a Decision Engine, designed to empower people to gain insight and knowledge from the Web, moving more quickly to important decisions."

Bing gives results classified in categories that are generated in accordance with the initial query.

[dwarakesh]

No sex for Indians

Interestingly, Bing doesn't return any result for one of the most searched terms from India: sex. However, if you tell the search engine that you're from the USA, or any one of the European countries (users can easily change country without even logging in), and bingo, several links are returned. If you say you are from China or an Arabian country, or Hong Kong or Singapore, again, no luck.

According to Google Insights for Search, "sex" has been a high-volume search string from India, ranking above 60 on a scale of 0 to 100 since 2004. The volume has been growing and in 2008 it was among the most-searched terms on Google, a search engine that demonstrates no inhibitions in returning links related to sex, much like its competitor Yahoo.

From a strictly legal point of view, however, Bing is doing the right thing, says Pawan Duggal, a Supreme Court advocate who specialises in cyber law. "They (Bing) seem to be doing this to comply with the provisions of the Information Technology Act of 2000," Duggal said.

According to the act, anyone publishing or transmitting or causing to be published or transmitted content of a pornographic nature can be punished with imprisonment up to five years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh, he said.

[dwarakesh]

More than Google

Bing offers several features that are not automatically available on Google such as instant excerpts that allow users to see the contents of a page without actually clicking on it and a sidebar detailing related searches.

Across Bing, users are likely to find the left hand column useful and intuitive tool. On the home page, users can quickly get to Images, Shopping, Travel, etc.

Many reviews also rate the contextual tabs feature highly.

[dwarakesh]

Bing Video

Bing Video seems to have become an instant hit, courtesy its thumbnail video feature. Try searching for a video on Bing Video, once the results appear just hover your mouse over the one you are keen on. Yes, the video starts playing instantly.

However, Internet safety experts are reportedly up in arms, as according to them Bing's video search potentially provides a way for children to watch porn without having to navigate to a porn site.

[dwarakesh]

Save and Share

Another not-so-talked about Bing feature is Save and Share. The feature not only saves your search history, but also allows a user to refine it. Users can delete searches, go back to them, and most importantly save and share them.

Users can permanently save searches, share them on Windows Live or Facebook, or email them.

[dwarakesh]

Copies 5 features

Microsoft has admitted publicly that it did a poor job of making people aware of the features in its old search engine. With the rollout of Bing, it's becoming crystal clear just how unfamiliar people were with Live Search.

Features that had long existed in Live Search are suddenly getting noticed and being branded as "new." These include, smart motion preview, photos on the home page, Bing 411, Bing Mobile and Local Business Centre.

[dwarakesh]

Bing's Big Four

The search engine comes with a set of related services, including Bing Travel, Cashback and Maps for Enterprise. Bing focuses on four key vertical areas: making a purchase decision (Shopping), planning a trip (Travel), researching a health condition (Health) or finding a local business (Local).

Presently, the shopping and travel features are available in the US only. However, a company official said that their worldwide strategy is "aggressive", and there are search centers in Europe and Asia working on better international experiences.

Similar to the auction site eBay, Bing has a Best Match feature that endeavours to make finding relevant information easier. According to Microsoft, Bing's Best Match results include customer service numbers for retail sites, the ability to track a package right from the search page, and deep links to common pages within the site.

[dwarakesh]

New day, new theme

Everyday, Bing features a different background image. For most people, however, the first public view was a hot air balloon-themed look that appeared on June 1.

Microsoft plans to spend (to borrow a Carol Bartz phrase) boatloads of money on advertising. According to estimates in the advertising trade mags, the company will be spending between $80 million to $100 million on Bing's ad campaign.

Source: indiatimes