Microsoft's Lost $5.5 Billion On Bing (So Far)

[TheEndlessSleep]

Just the fact that the word 'google' is now verb meaning 'to search for something on the internet' should have shown Microsfot that Bing was a bad idea.

Need to find something? Just google it on Bing...

 

[Geamo]

That makes sense. They tried to take down Google at its primary function, and never became popular enough to threaten it. Hell, even the word "Google" has become synonymous with "Search".

That being said, I did think it was smart to advertise it as a "Decision Engine" rather than a "Search Engine".

 

[BabyRaptor]

"Quickly...Something isn't working...DO SOMETHING!"

"THROW MONEY AT IT! That should do the trick."

It's good to see the economy is failing horribly so many are left screwed...But bing is...something I guess.

A drop in the bucket for those that can afford to spend that kind of money on Bing. Job creators at work.... I guess.

I see what you did there. And I approve.

I prefer Google. Mainly because it actually works. I've given Bing a couple chances, but Google always has better results.

 

[Denamic]

I'm not really anti-Microsoft but I think it's promising to see that they can't simply use their position as the leading OS in the world to force their way into a market and take it over.

Also the concept of switching from entering key words to 'natural language' or 'full sentences' into a search browser is horrible. Only the completely computer illiterate would be comfortable with that idea, but as most probably aren't the best typists either they'll probably find themselves happier sticking with key words.

How is it bad exactly. I hated on google getting a bunch of random ass porn while searching for some science website that my teacher liked to use because he was a giant ass prick.

My point, I'm young and I'd rather not have to do random key word searches, which don't always work and barely get to what your going for, its like throwing your hand into a lake, legend says theres gold in the lake, but you will actually catch are pirahhnas, mad that you interrupted their lunch.

I hope you realize that you come across as being completely computer illiterate with your post, which makes the exchange somewhat amusing.

Anyway, even if you are technologically inept, you can already use natural language and produce results.
Google will simply pick out keywords out of your sentence and use those.
It'll even compensate if you can't spell words.

 

[Legendsmith]

I wonder why microsoft feels the need to create their own version of everything
google - bing
php - asp.net
flash - silverlight
And i'm sure theres more i'm forgetting/unaware of.

Don't forget one of the biggest ones;
OpenGl - Direct3D
Now THERE was a place that they used their position as leading OS in the world to force their way into a market and take it over.

That'll teach them for those bloody adverts on every damned video I try to watch that's hosted on blip. Microsoft should stick to Operating Systems and consoles and try not to bugger them up.

Agreed.

 

[the27thvoice]

Rather fun to see Microsoft trying to squirm into a market like this, losing money at this rate...it just seems like poetic justice. On the flip side though, I do hope Google gets some legitimate competition on the simple side. Right now it seems like Bing is trying to be AskJeeves, which is awesome for people who don't know computers, but Google seems to have little competition to make them give less personalized search results, less sponsored stuff and less ads. They are bogging themselves down, and they are still the clean alternative.

 

[the27thvoice]

How is it bad exactly. I hated on google getting a bunch of random ass porn while searching for some science website that my teacher liked to use because he was a giant ass prick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8ofWFx525s
I'd assume you've searched for a good bit of porn on Google before that.

 

[somonels]

I wonder why microsoft feels the need to create their own version of everything
google - bing
php - asp.net
flash - silverlight
And i'm sure theres more i'm forgetting/unaware of.

C++ - C#
Java - J#
iPod - Zune
iPad - Nokia phone
Mac - Windows

 

[Korolev]

Bing ain't bad, but Google is already my homepage and Bing's interface is SLIGHTLY more cluttered than Google's. So I'm not changing. I like Windows well enough, but I don't want Microsoft to have dominance in everything. If Microsoft really put some effort into Bing, and make it stunningly better than Google, then sure, I'd probably move to Bing. But I'm not going to switch to Bing just because "it's almost as good as Google!". Being almost as good is not good enough. If Microsoft want me to use their search engine, they had better give me a damn good reason.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

I personally don't like Bing, I still use google for everything, but as a fan of the Fonejacker guy, I think the ads featuring the art critic with the speech impediment were worth the $5 billion.



didn't convince me Bing was better, but did amuse me

Note: if it makes no sense outside the UK, our TV schedules are packed with people like Brian, on antiques shows and the like, desperately trying to get noticed by being 'quirky'.

 

[lostlevel]

Rather fun to see Microsoft trying to squirm into a market like this, losing money at this rate...it just seems like poetic justice. On the flip side though, I do hope Google gets some legitimate competition on the simple side. Right now it seems like Bing is trying to be AskJeeves, which is awesome for people who don't know computers, but Google seems to have little competition to make them give less personalized search results, less sponsored stuff and less ads. They are bogging themselves down, and they are still the clean alternative.

Well said. I will say that to be honest both search engines have their flaws but then all of them do, mostly the advertising before accuracy approach but I prefer Bing maps or rather the fact they have at least in the UK Ordnance Survey Maps which are quite simply the best and go into much more detail than Google maps.

I did have a go testing out the two to see who was best and the results were pretty similar but I use googlemail a lot so a search is never many clicks away where as I don?t use Microsoft online much at all these days. They?ve gone a bit myspace...

 

[Jezzascmezza]

I think people (including myself) are just so used to Google that they don't feel any need or desire to change search engines.

 

[Custard_Angel]

I never saw a reason for Bing, and still don't see one now.

As far as I can tell it offers no benefits.

Besides... Google is a verb in itself these days.

If you say "Google it" people understand what action they should take. If you say "Bing it", they'll reply with "what?" and "that's stupid".

 

[pearcinator]

Microsoft is dumb for trying to compete with every other company in the world.

Nintendo
Sony
Apple
Google

Four of the biggest companies in the world and Microsoft wants to monopolise the industry by getting rid of them all...no matter how much money MS has got they can't buy out businesses who make just as much themselves.

 

[figday]

This is actually very surprising for me!
Bing was my favourite character in Friends.

wait.... Oh...

 

[Xanthious]

Microsoft should stick to making mediocre Operating Systems and the Xbox. Everything else they've tried just seems to fall flat. Bing is an epic failure. They couldn't give the Zune away. Their cell phones are pretty horrible too. I guess when you have more money than god you can just throw it around like a baboon throwing it's own shit and see what sticks to the wall.

 

[Bobbity]

It still amazes me that Microsoft is the king of the software industry, a giant with an enormous wealth of resources at its disposal, and yet it simply cannot compete with the vision of smaller, younger companies.

Everything that Microsoft does these days has been done first, and better. That's not to say that it couldn't pull it off; not at all. Microsoft has the talent, or at least the money to get the talent, to make some really incredible stuff, and yet they keep fucking up, and not doing anything right. XP is still, unfortunately, the best OS they've put out so far, Vista being awful and Windows 7 nothing special. They cannot even manage to keep releasing new *improved* OS's time after time, let alone innovate or drive the industry forward. It would be incredible to see a competent Microsoft once more, but I really don't see that happening, for the time being, at least. :S

/edit
Well, I do like the Xbox, so I suppose that it's not all bad.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well I can't say I'm surprised it's not working out since bing is:
- slower
- worse results
- messy interface
- littered with extremely annoying ads

They may be good competition for Yahoo but they learned nothing from google.

 

[Vault101]

thats the thing, no one wants to use bing because google is the norm, google is ingrained in our minds and our pop culture......you cant compete with that

hoestly microsoft..try somthing different, being a copy cat isnt working