Forum Moderators: mack
Internet searching was at the forefront of the technologies that Microsoft displayed on Tuesday at an event intended to showcase the company’s research prowess.Despite a lack of visible progress in catching up with Google, the leader in Internet search engines, Microsoft says it still believes that it will eventually turn the tables by improving the quality of its search results and by changing the way computer users search.
It is all part of an arms race for search supremacy that has engaged top researchers at both companies.
Microsoft Wants a Better Way To Search [nytimes.com]
Susan Dumais, a veteran Microsoft search expert, has built a tool to help determine relevance called Personalized Search.
Why do they keep setting the bar so high for themselves? Microsoft says they'll gain market share by radically changing the way users search and improving the results. Then they tout soon-to-be-released features that other engines already have.
From what I've seen with clients & other monitoring it seems like the MSN index is the smallest by far. You can't personalize what isn't there ;)
They'll unseat Google, just like the Zune unseated the iPod. Any day now.
It is all part of an arms race for search supremacy
It is? Well, you carry on racing while Google carries on filing profits - we'll see you at the finish. Or maybe not.
“If in 10 years we are still using a rectangular box and a list of results, I should be fired.”
Oh I just love Microsoft employees :)
MS DOES create some really nice stuff, SQL Server, Visual Studio, Direct X, etc. They will eventually figure out this internet thing too I'm sure.. (but they have a looong way to go!)
"You have to know when to hold back. If the takeoff curve in something is very gradual, then the early guys who pay extra money and take extra risk aren't protected." [Mr. Software, Fred Moody, The New York Times, August 25 1991]
Is the takeoff curve in search very gradual?
Is Google today protected?
According to Google's Zeitgeist, in June 2004 people used the following operating systems to access www.google.com
Windows XP 51%
Windows 2000 18%
Windows 98 16%
Mac 3%
Windows ME 3%
Windows NT 2%
Linux 1%
Windows 95 1%
Other 5%
Today, Microsoft controls the client.
When will Microsoft control search? Will Microsoft provide a better reason to use www.live.com instead of www.google.com?
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If in 10 years we are still using a rectangular box and a list of results...
After reading that quote I thought perhaps Microsoft had snuck a new search method into their software so I went to the article, highlighted "Ms. Cheng, a Microsoft researcher" in the text, right-clicked and there in the contextual menu, an option to search for "Ms. Cheng, a Microsoft researcher"-- in Google.
Or, buy Ask - they have improved, only obviously lack spider/indexing resources which MS can provide, they waste them on msnbot anyway.
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In fact search results are almost the same like with Google what points at the fact, that each of the popular keywords relate only to a fairly limited amount of relevant and valuable sites.
Pitty, that none of them is able to present the very best sites ... CONSTANTLY.
What is interesting is that serious ground would be made if MSN were to listen more to webmasters at this forum who spend more time on the search than they do and have asked for some features and additions which are sure to imporve the quality of SERP's including deeper indexing and spidering.
