For more info on a specific newsletter, click the title. Details will be displayed in a new window.
Subscribe to
Computerworld 40 years of the most authoritative source of news and information for IT leaders.
Microsoft says its search will be better than Google soon
or
Other Web Site Management Stories
|
|
|
|
March 01, 2006 (Reuters) -- Microsoft Corp. will introduce a search engine that's better than Google in six months in the U.S. and Britain, followed by Europe, its European president said today.
"What we're saying is that in six months' time, we'll be more relevant in the U.S. marketplace than Google," said Neil Holloway, Microsoft president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
"The quality of our search and the relevance of our search from a solution perspective to the consumer will be more relevant," he told the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit.
But being good is not enough to win the hearts and minds of consumers already dedicated to another standard.
U.S. courts and the European Commission found that Microsoft countered that problem by trying to kill off Netscape's browser and RealNetworks Inc.'s audiovisual software by bundling its competing code into Windows, violating antitrust laws.
But bundling would find little purchase against Google, which lives insulated from Microsoft on the Web, unlike other applications that were easy game for the software giant as they perched directly on Windows.
Holloway said the company has no plans to integrate its search engine into Vista, the new Microsoft Windows operating system set to replace Windows XP later this year or early next year
Twice as good
"Should we add a Google-like search engine, but twice as good, hard-core into Windows? Guess what -- if we did that, I don't think a company called Google would be very happy," Holloway said.
"You've also got to step back and say, where do you integrate?" he said.
Microsoft will put its search engine into its widely used communications tools Windows Messenger and Hotmail.
"Integrating search into those other applications ... makes it very seamless for people," Holloway said. Timing of availability in Europe will be pegged to that in the U.S.
"The U.K. will probably be at the same time, France maybe three months behind, Germany maybe three months behind. It's not two years behind," he said.
Holloway said that Microsoft's goal -- but not its initial offering -- would go beyond finding URLs and instead focus on the specific information sought by Internet users.
"Generally, these days what you get back is URLs, and based upon research, 50% of the time you do a search [and] you don't get the URL you're looking for," he said.
Holloway said the promise of Microsoft's search capability is being able to dig down.
For example, he said, potential home buyers might find a group of houses in the price range and with the precise amenities they are seeking. Or a diner might find a restaurant with the kind of menu he wants in a particular geographic area.
Additional reporting by Siobhan Kennedy
Reprinted with permission from
This article is reprinted by permission from Reuters.com, Copyright (c) 2006 Reuters. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Reuters or its third-party content providers. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. For additional information on other Reuters Services, visit the Reuters public Web site.
|
Print this Story |
|
Send Us Feedback |
|
E-mail this Story |
|
Digg this Story |
|
Slashdot this Story |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
All Zones Application Performance Zone Enterprise-Class Security Zone Enterprise Solutions Zone The File Data Management Zone Grid Computing on Windows Zone Security Management Zone ITIL Best Practices Zone The SAS Zone Storage Virtualization Zone The Data Center Management Zone |
 See your link here
|
 |
||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
|
Download this Computerworld report, free for a limited time, compliments of HP.
Long Tail Supplier Collaboration - What's In It For You? 
Download this white paper, free, compliments of CiRBA.
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services.
- Mozilla launches Firefox 3.0 RC1 early
- Microsoft: Don't misunderstand UAC, other Vista features
- HP confirms XP SP3 endless reboot snafu, promises patch
- More top stories
Computerworld Technology Briefing: An open-source path to optimal virtualization Looking for a virtualization strategy that offers both the flexibility and reliability to meet the demands of mixed-source environments? Look no further than the fast-emerging open virtualization approach backed by some of the biggest names in enterprise computing. Together they are pointing the way toward higher data center performance without higher costs.Download this briefing
|
|
|
CIO
Computerworld
CSO
DEMO
GamePro
Games.net
IDG Connect
IDG World Expo
Infoworld
The Industry Standard
ITworld
JavaWorld
LinuxWorld
MacUser
Macworld
Network World
PC World
Playlist
Copyright © 2008 Computerworld Inc. All
rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium
without express written permission of Computerworld Inc. is prohibited.
Computerworld and Computerworld.com and the respective logos are
trademarks of International Data Group Inc.
|
