Post by unleashed on Oct 6, 2009 6:03:25 GMT -5
Microsoft re-brands its Kumo search engine to Bing
Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled the re-branded search engine Kumo -- Bing -- at the D7: All Things Digital Conference in San Diego.
Microsoft said it will offer the search results of Bing in Live Search to select users from June 1 and from June 3. Bing will now turn into Microsoft's default search - thereby replacing Live Search.
Bing is referred as a decision engine which helps users make better decisions. Unlike Google's search results, which are full of web links, Bing boasts of crawling over local information providing social services like Yelp and CitySearch.
Bing scores over Google search in terms of visual presentation of search results too. Microsoft's Bing uses the technology from Powerset, a search technology company that was acquired last year by the software giant. Powerset's semantic search technology helps in getting more related searches and this notably improves the generic search results.
Like Google's Suggestions, Bing also offers search keywords suggestions as the word is being typed. Bing gives a nice overview of a particular product by collating both user and product reviews by getting information from data mash-ups. Clicking on a product review would result in comprehensive data of features cited as pros and cons by the users and reviewing sites as well.
Bing will prove to be a boon for shopaholics, since it takes shopping to the next level by showing results with prices comparisons.
For a specific query, like details about a product or a food item, users also get to see more localized results by clicking on 'Local' and 'More Listings'. More accurate and complete local results would require additional local data being fed and sourced.
Amongst the search results, the mouse pointer is hovered over a particular result, then text excerpt from the respective page pops up - that's the Quick Preview feature. This saves up extra clicks, time and a few bytes of data connection. One issue Google always faces is listing the most relevant search based on keywords and not timeline. Bing scores in that area, showing the most recent and relevant search result on the top.
Bing's other features include:
-Best Match: All the relevant results are showed up with the most relevant link on the top and called out
-Instant Answers: One-click access to the information listed in the search results.
-Deep Links: Talks more about the resources of the particular site
-Bing Maps: These maps for Enterprise are actually Virtual Earth, Microsoft's mapping platform
-Bing Travel Rate Key: comparison of the Hotel's the location, price and amenities will be represented in color coded manner
For detailed overview and deeper understanding of features of Bing, head to Microsoft's Interactive guide.
The Search Engine war has sparked up again with the recent entry of Wolfram Alpha, Google's Search getting smarter, and Microsoft's Bing. However, it should be noted that Wolfram Alpha is still in its alpha stage and we may expect more features and accurate functions by the time it reaches beta stage. Yahoo, on the other hand, is working on mashing up social network based search information into its search engine.
We might consider Google as the top preferred search engine currently. Many 'Google Search' killers like Cuil and Kosmix failed to beat the search giant in the past. So far, what we see is that Bing would be an interactive search alternative for casual Internet users while the tech fanatics, evangelists, geeks and all the IT loving people will still depend upon Google for search - provided it keeps improving gradually.
On a lighter note, Bing stands for 'But It's Not Google!'
Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled the re-branded search engine Kumo -- Bing -- at the D7: All Things Digital Conference in San Diego.
Microsoft said it will offer the search results of Bing in Live Search to select users from June 1 and from June 3. Bing will now turn into Microsoft's default search - thereby replacing Live Search.
Bing is referred as a decision engine which helps users make better decisions. Unlike Google's search results, which are full of web links, Bing boasts of crawling over local information providing social services like Yelp and CitySearch.
Bing scores over Google search in terms of visual presentation of search results too. Microsoft's Bing uses the technology from Powerset, a search technology company that was acquired last year by the software giant. Powerset's semantic search technology helps in getting more related searches and this notably improves the generic search results.
Like Google's Suggestions, Bing also offers search keywords suggestions as the word is being typed. Bing gives a nice overview of a particular product by collating both user and product reviews by getting information from data mash-ups. Clicking on a product review would result in comprehensive data of features cited as pros and cons by the users and reviewing sites as well.
Bing will prove to be a boon for shopaholics, since it takes shopping to the next level by showing results with prices comparisons.
For a specific query, like details about a product or a food item, users also get to see more localized results by clicking on 'Local' and 'More Listings'. More accurate and complete local results would require additional local data being fed and sourced.
Amongst the search results, the mouse pointer is hovered over a particular result, then text excerpt from the respective page pops up - that's the Quick Preview feature. This saves up extra clicks, time and a few bytes of data connection. One issue Google always faces is listing the most relevant search based on keywords and not timeline. Bing scores in that area, showing the most recent and relevant search result on the top.
Bing's other features include:
-Best Match: All the relevant results are showed up with the most relevant link on the top and called out
-Instant Answers: One-click access to the information listed in the search results.
-Deep Links: Talks more about the resources of the particular site
-Bing Maps: These maps for Enterprise are actually Virtual Earth, Microsoft's mapping platform
-Bing Travel Rate Key: comparison of the Hotel's the location, price and amenities will be represented in color coded manner
For detailed overview and deeper understanding of features of Bing, head to Microsoft's Interactive guide.
The Search Engine war has sparked up again with the recent entry of Wolfram Alpha, Google's Search getting smarter, and Microsoft's Bing. However, it should be noted that Wolfram Alpha is still in its alpha stage and we may expect more features and accurate functions by the time it reaches beta stage. Yahoo, on the other hand, is working on mashing up social network based search information into its search engine.
We might consider Google as the top preferred search engine currently. Many 'Google Search' killers like Cuil and Kosmix failed to beat the search giant in the past. So far, what we see is that Bing would be an interactive search alternative for casual Internet users while the tech fanatics, evangelists, geeks and all the IT loving people will still depend upon Google for search - provided it keeps improving gradually.
On a lighter note, Bing stands for 'But It's Not Google!'