A searching improvement is that if you type in a name, the side bar will give you choices such as fact, issues, biography etc. Likewise, if you type in the word "typewriter," the search engine will list types of typewriters, and the history. It also lists 20 search results so there is a greater chance of finding something on the first page of your search.
Google, on the other hand, is a classic, the mother of the motherboard, an extremely reliable search engine that keeps the world afloat. If Bing crashed, then no big deal. But if Google crashed, then there's going to be a big problem. Unlike Google, the stocks of Microsoft Live Search, Aol Search, or even Ask.com are all declining in power. Google's stock briefly raised.
As of August 2009, Google had 10, 812, 734 searches.
All of Microsoft's search engines (MSN, windows live, Bing) have a mere 1,156,415 searches.
4 comments:
I think that Microsoft has developed a good idea, but not as well as possible. I firmly believe that flashiness is bad and functionality is good, and that decoration often complicates practical procedures. Bing is no exception.
With Bing and Google opened up side by side, the Bing website catches my eye first. But that's not a good thing. As I look over the page, I see a large picture, a colorful background, fancy shading, a scroll bar (since there is so much to display), and nice orange accents. The Google homepage does not need introduction.
I search "define lisp" on both. They give a definition of "lisp" at the top of the page. The Google search page then lists some websites discussing the lisp programming language. Bing, however, gives lots of sites about defining goals. If you don't believe me, just search "define lisp".
I search "starcraft" on the "shopping" sections of both Bing and Google. Google gives me "Starcraft Battle Chest" (26 sellers), "Starcraft", "Starcraft 64", and "Fantasy Flight Games 4102505 Starcraft". Bing, however, gives "Starcraft Battle Chest" from eight different sellers. These sellers, however, are listed in eight different entries. Clearly, Microsoft again didn't try their product before releasing it; if I want to buy "Starcraft Battle Chest", I want all my options in one entry.
Now I turn to the "shopping" section of both sites and search "Mathcounts". Google's first result is "Mathcounts helps middle schoolers". Bing gives "Lone Hawk soars high as National Merit semifinalist". Enough said.
I go to the image search on both sites and search "fractal". All the images indeed have something to do with fractals, but I notice that websites and captions are missing on the Bing page. Curious, I mouse over an image, and I wait for a fancy graphic to load before I am given the website. Displaying websites and captions would take no extra space and relieve the ridiculous wait for information.
Microsoft, remember that the end user is searching for information, and your job is to give them the right information as quickly as possible and preferably in a one-step process. You need to think from the user's perspective, indeed from all possible users' perspectives, before you decide upon a particular design. And get some normal people to use your product before you release it; it's hard to evaluate your product from the user's eyes if you developed it.
But, to be fair, I think that Microsoft did a good job with this search engine. But still, and this will probably be true for a long time, B.I.N.G. = But It's Not Google.
(I can't take credit for the acronym.)
Okay, I'm going to try a test too with Google and Yahoo search. You proved to me that Bing isn't very impressive, but now let's decide between Yahoo Search and Google.
1st Search Term: how drafting mechanical pencils work.
Results: From Google, the whole page was basically 10 advertisements, nothing on how they actually work. Yahoo was slightly better, the first site's link was about how drafting pencils work. All the other sites were advertisements as well.
2nd Search Term: halo 3 odst
This is to test the engine's power on information that are a new, but not that new. Halo 3 ODST is a new , much-hyped game out for X-Box 360. The results from google weren't bad: some sites on buying the games, but most sites were for reviews and some FAQ pages. For yahoo, it was a lot of information about the game with some reviews too.
3rd Search term: lunch
This is a very general term that most weak search engines can not handle very well. However, Google did pretty well, it gave the etymology of lunch, as well as places near me that I could go out for lunch and even things I can do to make lunch. For Yahoo, there were recipes for lunch, healthy lunches and a definition of lunch.
Well, from this brief search task, I'm sure that both engines are legit, and won't pop you any bad searches.
So, someone, where's your blog?
I don't have a blog.
And, one correction for my analysis: I searched "Mathcounts" under news, not shopping, of course.
But I do. ;)
rocket-flyaway.blogspot.com
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