Update 3: MSN Search Launch
Forbes.com: Update 3: MSN Search Launch: "Microsoft Corp. finally debuted its own Web search technology on Thursday, hoping to challenge Google Inc.'s long dominance of the field with results tailored to a user's location and answers from its Encarta encyclopedia.Google signaled that it is ready for a fight, announcing Wednesday that it would nearly double the amount of Web pages available to search through its site.
The Microsoft search engine, offered in 11 languages, will initially be available on a special 'test' site. Gradually, some users visiting Microsoft's MSN site may find that the existing search bar uses the new search engine, said Adam Sohn, a director with the company's online division. But a full rollout, perhaps with new features, isn't expected until early next year"...
MSN have "devoted $100 million in an aggressive catch-up effort. The company also pledged to clearly separate paid search results from those based purely on the relevancy. That's something its previous search engine hadn't done but that the new technology will do.
Microsoft also plans to offer by year's end a test version of its hotly anticipated technology for quickly locating e-mail, Web pages and other files on desktop computers"...
Google nearly doubled the size of its search engine index to more than 8 billion Web pages Wednesday evening. A Google spokesman downplayed the Microsoft connection, saying the Mountain View-based company had been working on the expansion for months. Google last expanded its Web index to 4.3 billion pages in February when another rival, Yahoo Inc., unveiled a search engine powered by its own in-house technology."
"Microsoft says its site will sort through more than 5 billion Web pages"...MSN has new feature called "Search Near Me" (this) guesses where users are located based on their Internet connections and seeks to provide results nearby. Another feature promises to answer plain-language questions such as "What is the capital of Germany?" by culling through Encarta."
Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage: "Microsoft is aiming to boost advertising revenue, gained by displayed text-based ads alongside search results, and also ensure that its software and services won't be overtaken by similar offerings from Google."
posted by Jen @ 6:10 PM
<< Home