Forum Moderators: mack
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) says it is beefing up its efforts to develop new search-engine technology, including testing a prototype program with improved features.
from By Mark Boslet, Dow Jones Newswires
[edited by: jeremy_goodrich at 6:36 pm (utc) on June 19, 2003]
[edit reason] TOS [webmasterworld.com] #10 thanks! [/edit]
msft will end up putting search on the desktop as well as their internet properties and direct users there. I keep hearing these weird murmors about how there have been offers for google recently from yhoo, ebay, and supposedly msft, but they turned them all down in their snobbishness. Ye who owns the desktop ultimately still owns the user.
There are around 70 people on the msft team right now and they are indeed beefing it up (i.e. hiring).
If they have a true spidered database showing true results (As google do) then this will be a good thing for the web in general. But we all know msft to well. If the past is anything to go by they will get to greedy to fast and in effect de-value their own ofering.
Google as a business have done the right thing. Offering totaly impartial listings without human intervention, then slownly over time add money making tools and ventures such as adwords. If these things are done slowly no one notices, or at least minds. If msft simply pull out all the stops and go for market dominance and large payouts then users will think twice before using them as a search location.
In general people trust Google, and msn search will have to earn this trust before then can start to push their might.
I don't like to think of this as another Microsoft Vs Netscape. In terms of software Microsoft where the market leader before the browser wars even started. In this case it is Google who has the market share and is in the dominant position. If it was to be a battle between Google and Ms I think Google could well win it. It just depends what tricks Microsoft has up it's sleves and how fare they are prepared to play.
Mack.
So did Netscape --actually, NS was even more dominant when speaking of browser market share at the time.
Both NS and G depend on MS for their "delivery infrastructure" --the desktop. MS is definitely higher up in the food chain ...and, according to my logs, not all that bad at delivering traffic with what they already have.
I stand corrected... was before my time ;-)
I think the biggest factor that will play in this one is the power Microsoft already have in it's ability to point users to their services. Already we see MSN search as the IE default, will this be stepped up a gear by having the search box apear on the desktop? With Microsoft anything is possible.
Mack.
Both NS and G depend on MS for their "delivery infrastructure" --the desktop. MS is definitely higher up in the food chain ...and, according to my logs, not all that bad at delivering traffic with what they already have.
I think the biggest factor that will play in this one is the power Microsoft already have in it's ability to point users to their services. Already we see MSN search as the IE default, will this be stepped up a gear by having the search box apear on the desktop? With Microsoft anything is possible.
Actually, Apple did this years ago! It was called Sherlock. I didn't really care for it, and they more or less dropped the idea. Fast, comprehensive search on local drives, and leave the web searching for the web browser. (You can put Sherlock on the dock in OSX, but I removed it.)
Of course, Microsoft doesn't really care about enhancing the user experience. It will be really funny if they latch onto this idea and sell it up as an "innovation."
<whistling>
Microsoft-free in 2003!
Interesting that Microsoft's new search ambitions are flooding the news wires these days, will the hype match the reality, I wonder?
Wow, things are moving fast.
3. Why did you crawl my site; what is the purpose of your crawler?
MSNBOT indexes documents on the Internet so that they can be studied and used for purposes such as Web search engines.
You know, talk like this makes me nervous. I'm half-tempted to BLOCK this little spider and anything else eminating from Redmond. But then again, who am I to judge?
More info at: [search.msn.com...]
and leave the web searching for the web browser.
IE will no longer be a standalone product-
Web browsing will be integrated into their new OS.
With search, people end up using a particular search engines because it works. Ultimately, that is why Google is so popular - the searches are fast and generally very relevant. While the other SE's are indeed getting better, people currently using Google are only likely to migrate away from them should Google give them a reason for it - such as either poor search results, popup ads, slow searches.
Secondly, how popular the search of Microsoft will be really depends on how they use it. If they follow the model they do know, don't look for a huge spike in traffic anytime soon. The MSN search, as structured now, is so slow and un-user friendly, that it's not going to be attracting Google searchers anytime soon. I hate MSN search - especially if you're looking for general information.
Basically, at least in my own view, the search market is there for Google to lose. If they keep doing what they are doing - always keeping the user in mind - Google will be around a long time. And since Microsoft doesn't have a great record about enhancing user experiences, I personally won't be taking out a bet on the demise of Google anytime soon.
Jim
Microsoft is also developing search technology for the next version of its Windows operating system, code-named Longhorn, that could further its ambitions to take on Google.The search technology, borrowed from the company's SQL Server database, is expected to make it easier to find documents locally, on individual PCs, and across the Internet by linking to MSN's search services.
Geez. Sometimes these so-called journalists write articles without knowing the profound implications of what they are writing about.
MSNBOT/0.1 just landed in my weblogs!
Wow, things are moving fast.
I don't get it. For a 0.1 version, this thing is moving very very fast. It crawled all of my sites within a day, even to points where no other spiders have gone before!
But where does this leave Inktomi? They have an agreement to 2005, but MSNBOT clearly seems a replacement for it and it will probably be ready within a year.
And what will happen to LookSmart? They have been using Inktomi too as a backfiller, but they're also replacing it by WiseNut/Grub next year.
