Bing (Bing.com)

...to explore and discovered that Bing was the shiny new updated version of Windows Live Search and that “Quick Add” was a feature that linked my emails with Bing to enable me to insert Bing search results directly into my emails. This was a fantastic feature that I first used when my partner sent me an email from work asking me to find some information about hotels in London. I discovered that by using the Quick Add feature Bing would enable me to ...
...was instantly impressed by what Bing had to offer and despite the fact that I had faithfully used Google as my web browsing starting point for several years I decided to try out Bing for a few days to see what it was like. Once again I was impressed and since then have changed my computer’s settings so that Bing is now my default web browser and I have also installed the Bing Toolbar. It is, however, a matter of choice and personal preference (and ... more

~~~ Introduction ~~~

I have had the same Microsoft Windows Live Hotmail account for years and without it I would be lost. It is linked with my Xbox 360 id, my MSN account and pretty much everywhere I appear online my presence is somehow linked with Microsoft … I even use my Windows Live id to sign into a number of websites including Ciao !!!

It was through my hotmail.co.uk email address that I first became aware of “Bing” early this summer when I noticed a new feature pop up within my Windows Live account … the feature was simply called "Quick Add" and was powered by something called Bing. I went off to explore and discovered that Bing was the shiny new updated version of Windows Live Search and that “Quick Add” was a feature that linked my emails with Bing to enable me to insert Bing search results directly into my emails. This was a fantastic feature that I first used when my partner sent me an email from work asking me to find some information about hotels in London. I discovered that by using the Quick Add feature Bing would enable me to find the information and then it would automatically give me an option to attach the information to my email account so that it could be sent as part of my message without the need to copy and paste or attach any saved documents.

I was instantly impressed by what Bing had to offer and despite the fact that I had faithfully used Google as my web browsing starting point for several years I decided to try out Bing for a few days to see what it was like. Once again I was impressed and since then have changed my computer’s settings so that Bing is now my default web browser and I have also installed the Bing Toolbar. It is, however, a matter of choice and personal preference (and there is certainly nothing wrong with Google) but I hope that after reading this review you will at least feel inspired to go and check out Bing for yourselves as you may just find that you are impressed by what you discover !!!

~~~ Search Engines Explained ~~~

A Search Engine is a complex computer program that searches the entire World Wide Web for any keywords that have been typed into the search box … when the documents have been found it returns it’s findings as a set of search results. There are three stages to every new web search which involve three specific programs called spiders, indexers and algorithms.

1) Each brand new search sends out an artificial intelligence based program called a spider to collect as many matching documents from the www as possible.
2) The indexer program then reads all these documents to create an index of each and every one of these results.
3) Finally, the algorithm program re-organises the index to ensure that the most meaningful and relevant results appear at the top of your search results list (in theory anyway !!!)

Of course all this searching, finding, reading, indexing and organising takes place in a matter of seconds … so you can imagine just how complex these computer programs actually are. Search Engines are also the way that the majority of internet users find their way around the World Wide Web … but despite being the one essential tool that is needed for “surfing the net” they are completely free to use. Search Engines do, however, makes billions of pounds each month simply by selling advertising space within the search results themselves … just try to remember how many times have you used a search engine and found those unwanted ads popping up with their tempting offers of saving money, winning a prize or getting something for free !!!
Perhaps the most well known of all Search Engines is Google and in my opinion searching the internet and using Google have become so closely linked that phrases such as “Why don’t you Google it ?” have become part of everyday life. People even describe themselves as being involved in “Googling” even when they are not using the Google search engine … it’s simply a term that has almost replaced the phrase “searching”. There are, however, several alternative Search Engines out there in cyberspace and despite the fact that they are not all as well known as Google they pretty much all do the same job. Microsoft realises this of course which is why they replaced their existing Search Engine (Windows Live) with something which they believe is both original and unique … Bing !!!…

~~~ Microsoft’s Search Engines Before Bing ~~~

• September 1998: Microsoft launches it’s first ever search engine called MSN Search.
• September 2006: Microsoft replaces MSN Search with the new Windows Live Search.
• March 2007: Windows Live Search is rebranded simply as Live Search.
• June 2009: Live Search is officially replaced by Bing.

~~~ The Bing.com homepage ~~~

The most striking feature to the Bing Search Engine is the actual homepage at Bing.com which changes each day to reveal a different photograph. At the time of writing this review (Tuesday 24th November 2009) the Bing homepage features a stunning image of a seabird.

However, this image hasn’t been placed there simply to make Bing look attractive as each day the image relates to a theme which can be explored. This is because the image itself is “interactive” and if you move your mouse around the screen you discover several hidden areas that lead to the discovery of a number of “hidden” facts and questions. Let me explain …

• If I move the mouse over the bird a caption appears telling me that “This beady eyed bird isn’t nearly as menacing as it looks. In fact it is quite cute”. I then click the link and a page of images relating to the Sula nebouxii (or blue-footed booby) appears. I now know the name of the bird !
• If I then move the mouse over the background I discover another hidden window telling me that “Charles Darwin spent five years travelling the world and set foot on this island. What a lucky man.”. I then click the link to reveal a series of Bing Maps relating to the Galápagos Islands. I now know where the photograph has been taken.!
• Finally, I then move the mouse over another part of the screen to discover that it was actually 150 years ago to the day that Charles Darwin’s “On The Origin Of Species” was first published and once more if I click the link I am taken to a page of text relating to the life and work of Charles Darwin.

Of course whilst exploring the image and the interface you are also learning how to use Bing itself … and Microsoft are cleverly providing users of Bing with experiences in cross referencing websites that contain facts, research, maps, images etc all based around a subject. It’s also a great opportunity to discover something each day. Whilst I personally knew a quite a lot of information about Charles Darwin already I can honestly say that after several minutes of exploring today’s Bing.com homepage I learned several interesting facts as well as being treated to a feast of wonderful images from the natural world.

However, I haven’t even used the search engine yet and if you are like me and have spent many years using Google then prepare yourself for a search experience that goes that extra mile !!!

~~~ The Bing Search Experience ~~~

Microsoft have designed Bing so that it is faster than any of the other major search engines that are available and you only have to try Bing for yourself to realize that the speed at which the results come back is worthy of the phrase “lightspeed”.

In addition to this, Microsoft also designed the layout of the search results with the aim of them being far more user friendly and once again, it is my opinion that they have achieved this perfectly. This is because in addition to the standard list of search results you are also presented with additional menus and options that separate your search into specific sections and categories. These sections can then be clicked to further refine your search and make it much more specific and focused. In doing this Bing is essentially removing thousands of search results that would not actually be helpful or relevant to you and focusing your search in a much more thorough way than Google does.

~~~ Google V Bing ~~~

IN ORDER TO DEMONSTRATE WHAT I FEEL IS THE MAJOR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BING AND GOOGLE I WILL ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN USING AN ACTUAL EXAMPLE OF A WEB SEARCH THAT I HAVE JUST CARRIED OUT FOR THE PURPOSE OF WRITING THIS REVIEW. I WILL USE “STAR WARS” AS THE SEARCH PHRASE I TYPE INTO EACH SEARCH ENGINE AS IT IS SUBJECT THAT I AM EXTREMELY FAMILIAR WITH AND WILL THEREFORE, BE ABLE TO ANALYSE THE SEARCH RESULTS THAT BOTH SITES COME UP WITH AND THIS WILL ENABLE ME TO EVALUATE THE RESULTS……

>>> GOOGLE’S RESULTS

If I type “Star Wars” into a Google search I get a page which displays the first ten results out 299,000 other results relating to online web pages that contain a reference to Star Wars. However, despite 7 of the 10 search results on the first page coming from well known sources such as starwars.com, theforce.net and Wikipedia I notice that three result on the first search results page has very little to do with Star Wars except that maybe the words “star” and “wars” appear in some shape or form within the web page listed. They certainly are not official or well known Star Wars fan sites and they are not particularly useful either. It is at this point that I also realize that it could take me quite a long time to trawl through page after page of results until I find something more specific (and that it is a process that will require me to click on each individual search result to discover what kind of content each of the listed results contains).

Google may have found an impressive number of results but clicking on each link leads to many sites that I would have no wish to visit. There are a number of links which do not lead to any detailed Star Wars related content at all because the link is in fact a link to an online shopping site which is perhaps selling a handful of Star Wars items amongst thousands f other products. Google has simply picked up the phrase “Star Wars” and returned a site that contains that exact phrase and returned results of sites which get hundreds of clicks each day.

>>> BING’S RESULTS

If I type the search phrase “Star Wars” into Bing I am informed that Bing has found 185,000,000 results … and at first this may seem that it has not performed as well as Google. However, unlike the results displayed on the first page of Google all the results displayed on Bing are actually from well known official Star Wars related websites. In addition to this, a number of extra menus and options have also appeared. Firstly, on the left hand side a sub menu appears which gives me a choice of making a selection from several sub-categories related to Star Wars (these categories are as follows: DVD, Trailer, Review, Poster, Cast, Images and Reference). If I click one of these then suddenly my results are even clearer to understand and the search has gone from being general to specific within two clicks of a mouse. I also notice that the top result is the official starwars.com website. This result did appear on Google too but on Bing it has appeared in a little box with it’s own search facility … I realise to my delight that this additional search facility is actually from within starwars.com itself and that using Bing enables you to stay within the search results page whilst accessing and using some of the features of the websites it has discovered. I also notice several Star Wars related images within the results page as well links to video, online shopping as well as suggesting a number of related potential searches I may wish to try.

Bing may not appear to have found as many results as Google but it certainly made the results it did find much more relevant and so much easier to navigate. On just one results page not only do I have a selection of results that are more relevant then the results that Google found but I can also identify which sort of content each of the results contain (eg whether it contains writte information, images, video or is purely a link to an online shopping site) because of the way that Bing has organized my search results.

~~~ Additional Bing Features ~~~

I mentioned right at the start of this review that I first discovered Bing when I noticed the quick add feature that allowed me to integrate Bing search results with my Microsoft email account. In addition to the search engine itself this is just one of a number of additional features. Other feautures of Bing.com are as follows …

>>> BING MEDIA: Bing Media is the part of the search engine related to images and video. Unlike Google you can add more information when searching for an image to refine your search so that you get the best possible results (eg you can search for images that are a specific size). It doesn’t quite look as neat and tidy as Google Images but it certainly has many more features. Similarly Bing Video is extremely easy to access as the search results play automatically by simply hovering your mouse over each result (this means you don’t need to actually visit the site itself to access the video footage you were searching for) … once again Bing has developed another “user friendly” feature.

>>> BING INSTANT ANSWERS: There is an area that you can access from the Bing.com homepage which enables you to instantly get quick and reliable answers on a range of subjects. Basic functions of this feature are
an online calculator, a dictionary and a spell-checker. There are several more advanced options within this section too … you can track the performance of a specific sports team or event (which provides up to the minute statistics) and you can even use Bing to keep you informed about the real time progress of a package you have sent (providing you have entered the tracking number). A new addition to this section is Bing X Rank which enables to track a well known celebrity or personality … Bing keeps you informed about what they’re up to and sends you links to any news stories that feature your favourite celeb !!!

>>> BING LOCAL: This feature brings specific details about the area that you live in (or plan to visit) direct to your computer so that you can access a range of information and services quickly. It’s like having the Yellow Pages online and is impressively up to date too (which I discovered when I saw a review for a new local restaurant on Bing Local … the place had only been open a week but Bing already had links to a review, a map, plus detailed venue information and contact details).

>>> BING INFORMATION SERVICES: A great deal of useful information can be accessed through the Bing.com homepage. There’s Bing News, Bing Reference and Bing Maps to start with as well more specialized areas such as Bing Travel, Bing Health and Bing Translator. These are pretty self explanatory and can all be accessed by entering a simple search term and clicking on the specific feature (listed above) Bing then responds with the most relevant results from the World Wide Web.

>>> BING SOCIAL NETWORKING: Microsoft and MSN have of course been well established for many years but Bing Tweets brings the concept of social networking completely up to date by allowing you to search every public Tweet posted within the last 7 days. It also provides real time updates on the hottest topics the minute they are added to Twitter.

~~~ My Overall Opinion of Bing ~~~

Bing.com is a fantastic search engine packed with an exciting range of features, options and above all it has a sense of fun. Prior to discovering Bing I always used Google but I haven't really looked back as I find that the search results from Bing are more relevant, much more useful and are delivered much faster than with Google. At first, however, it took a little time to get used to but to be honest that was because with Google it's simply a question of typing your search term into the box. With Bing, however, I found that if I took advantage of the ability to customize my search then the results that were returned were a massive improvement and information that would have taken me a considerable amount of time to find using Google became very easily accessable because Bing simply filters pages that you would not find either relevant or useful. Bing, in my opinion, is very innovative and despite initially seeming confusing is extremely user-friendly. From time to time I do use Google but it just doesn't seem as effective any more and to be honest 90% of my internet searches now take place from the Bing.com homepage. Bing is a valuable and extrememly effective internet resource and one that I would highly recommend to anyone.

~~~ Will Bing become the new Google ? ~~~

The answer to this question is “No” !!! Google is the world’s most used internet resource and “Googling” has now become synonymous with searching the World Wide Web. Also, whilst Microsoft have spent the last ten years constantly re-launching and re-branding it’s search engine site Google has remained essentially the same and I think that because of this it has built up a loyal following across the globe who simply wouldn’t consider using anything else. In addition to this many people are actually put off by just how colourful and interactive the Bing search experience is ... I must admit that I often log on to Bing with the aim of doing a little research and end up getting sucked in to the fun and games hidden behind the daily image !!! If Microsoft launched Bing as a serious alternative to Google then I am afraid that they had failed before Bing was even launched. However, Microsoft has demonstrated that search engines have so much more potential than simply returning a list of results that contain every single web page that contains the words you typed into the search. Bing is beautiful, Bing is innovative and Bing is fun … but despite all the positives it just isn’t Google !!!

~~~ 5 Bing Facts ~~~

1) Bing’s original name was going to be Kumo. However, details of project Kumo were discovered within the industry. With the name of the new search engine out of the bag Microsoft renamed the project Bing … which remained a closely guarded secret until launch.
2) Microsoft hired international branding consultants Interbrand to come up with the name “Bing”. Microsoft wanted a word that was short and snappy, easy to spell and could be remembered wherever you lived in the world. The word Bing was chosen as apparently it would remind people of the sound that was made the moment your brain me a new discovery !!!
3) In China Bing’s name is bi ying which means “very certain to answer”
4) In the run up to Bing’s global launch Microsoft spent in the region of $100 million on it’s advertising campaign … the main message of this campaign being that Bing would enable you to find what you were looking for so much faster than any other search engine.
5) Bing has recently become the technology that powers Yahoo’s search engines and many popular websites (including Ciao) have become “powered by Bing” by becoming part of the Microsoft online family !!!

~~~ Final Thoughts ~~~

Microsoft’s official slogan is “Bing and decide” and I think that is a pretty good way of rounding off this review. This review may be informative and interesting for the reader but it could never replace experiencing Bing.com for yourself. When I first discovered Bing.com I wasn’t too keen and preferred the simplicity of Google. I did, however, continue to use Bing.com and started to realise that in terms of a being primarily a search engine it did in fact consistently deliver results that were far more relevant and useful to me. I also realised that despite seeming more confusing than Google it was in fact extremely user friendly and was a doddle to use !!!

The best way to experience Bing is to visit the site and try it out. Explore today’s daily image, have a look at the links that let you explore Bing in a little more detail and try out a few searches yourself. Will you be impressed by the results ? Will you find the fact that Bing enables you to search by more specific categories helpful ? Or will you think it’s all too confusing and return to the realm of Google ?

WHY NOT BING AND DECIDE … ???

http://www.bing.com/

Thanks for reading ;)

>>> jedimastergray73 <<<
 

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