Getting good search results is difficult but handing out bad ones is easy. Microsoft does not have to be a competent search engine maker to rank wintel rags high in their results, or filter articles with the word "freedom".
People like Google because, as the Microsoftie in charge of building the MSN search explained in 2002 (paraphrased by Forbes): "Google was developing a great search engine, and how its minimalist design and consistently relevant results-better than those delivered by MSN's cluttered site-were attracting legions of Internet users." http://www.fortune.com/fortune/technology/articles/0,15114,1050065-6,00.html That is the point. The other point is that Microsoft has been up to all of it's usual anti-competitive tricks ever since they realized there was money in search. Those tricks include badmouthing of the "Google is teh evil" type. I'm working through others at John's request. On Sunday 02 October 2005 11:29 am, Justin Trobec wrote: > I'm missing the point here...when I search MSN for linux, the engine > even links to Google. How's that for information supression? > > I've written a search engine before...scoring and ranking results is > incredibly complicated. Why is it in this area that Microsoft is > expected to know exactly what it's doing, when in all other areas of > software development the zealots are saying it sucks. MSN search just > blows at this point...I don't think there's reason to read too much > into the results. Especially not when you're saying, "well, they > don't return the same results as Google, so it must be a conspiracy to > control information." > > It bothers me how much people are bending over for Google.
