Microsoft aims for Google

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Zugzwang152

Lifer
Oct 30, 2001
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Originally posted by: DrJohnMarkway
I swear that If M$ f%cks up Google like everything else, for me that will be the straw that breaks the camels back and I will convert to Linux for good and just learn to live with the limatations of Open Office.

heh. i'm sure bill gates is just kicking himself for losing your business. me, i laugh at him and the thousand bucks of free software he gave me, that i will never use, just to spite him.
 

SagaLore

Elite Member
Dec 18, 2001
24,036
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Originally posted by: Deeko
If MS buys it, they will kill it.

Well at least it's not AOL. If AOL buys it, they will torture it first, then kill it, then rape it's corpse, then grind it to pulp and feed it to jackels. i.e. WinAmp, ICQ, the Internet...
 

SagaLore

Elite Member
Dec 18, 2001
24,036
21
81
Originally posted by: anxi80
am i missing something? from reading the article, it seems that MS doesnt want to purchase Google, but rather make a search engine that functions better and is more used and more popular than Google.
Visse said the company was making some significant investments in developing a better search engine.

That's what they want you to believe. MS knows it can't make superior stuff, so they buy up other software and companies, and then slap on a new interface and tweak some of the files to mesh with Windows a little more and they call it their product.
 

SagaLore

Elite Member
Dec 18, 2001
24,036
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Originally posted by: kami
I am so far from anti-MS it's not even funny. I've even defended them on this board numerous times...but if they take control of Google that is a blow to the internet as a whole. Google is literally perfect the way it is. I don't want google turning into some useless crap like this. Google is a highly efficient search engine, and I bet MS wants to turn it into a money making "web portal" :disgust:

Heh, I clicked on it, and their flash animation covered my screen to let me know I could win $10,000. :D
 

T2T III

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
12,899
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Originally posted by: BingBongWongFooey
Originally posted by: Tiles2Tech
Originally posted by: Deeko
If MS buys it, they will kill it.
Kind of like how AOL hobbled Netscape. :(

Eh? Please explain.
The development arm of Netscape is still alive and active (Phoenix & Mozilla) - however, Netscape was a much bigger player before AOL bought them out. :(

 

Czar

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
28,510
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Originally posted by: Tiles2Tech
Originally posted by: BingBongWongFooey
Originally posted by: Tiles2Tech
Originally posted by: Deeko
If MS buys it, they will kill it.
Kind of like how AOL hobbled Netscape. :(

Eh? Please explain.
The development arm of Netscape is still alive and active (Phoenix & Mozilla) - however, Netscape was a much bigger player before AOL bought them out. :(

not to mention the screwed up winamp :|
 

jjones

Lifer
Oct 9, 2001
15,424
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MSN has very poor search engine technology and much of their listings are supplemented by LookSmart and paid inclusion. They have to do something to remain competitive especially now since Yahoo provides Google content and has recently purchased Inktomi. Add to that the fact that in the past two months Overture has purchased both Alta Vista and AllTheWeb, MSN now finds itself far behind in the search engine market.

The hard part for MSN will be to develop its search engine in a way that's competitive in the area of relevancy, which has always been their weak point, hence their idea to model a new version of their search technology on Google's success. Of course their real challenge will come from their advertising and internet portal scheme and how they will necessarily have to hone this down to meet the sleek usability of Google. MSN got caught up in the build up of advertising and becoming a portal just like most others did. Now most have discovered that users tastes have changed and most prefer the ease and speed of a no-nonsense search engine.

The good news about all this is the fact that all of these so-called search engines and directories are finally getting back on track to providing real relevant content rather than the blatant money making schemes we have been subjected to for the last 5 years. Sure they will still seek paid content but even Google does that with its Adwords services without any detriment to performance.
 

Superwormy

Golden Member
Feb 7, 2001
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Originally posted by: OulOat
Originally posted by: TNTrulez
Originally posted by: anxi80
am i missing something? from reading the article, it seems that MS doesnt want to purchase Google, but rather make a search engine that functions better and is more used and more popular than Google.
Visse said the company was making some significant investments in developing a better search engine.

A lot of ppl don't read the articles from links. :D

Let the dumbos continue to post

I agree... people should really read teh article... MICROSHAFT IS NOT BUYING GOOGLE, THEY WANT TO BE COMPETITORS TO IT!
 

Originally posted by: Superwormy

I agree... people should really read teh article... MICROSHAFT IS NOT BUYING GOOGLE, THEY WANT TO BE COMPETITORS TO IT!
And they will surely fail, even if the technology is superior. Google has ubiquity and like someone has already said, it's perfect. The article says the term "Google" has become a verb at this point. I can't picture people saying they want to "MSN'" for something on the Internet. Good luck, but Microsoft has no luck when it comes to the Internet, outside of IE.

 

Parrotheader

Diamond Member
Dec 22, 1999
3,434
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Originally posted by: SagaLore
Originally posted by: Deeko
If MS buys it, they will kill it.

Well at least it's not AOL. If AOL buys it, they will torture it first, then kill it, then rape it's corpse, then grind it to pulp and feed it to jackels. i.e. WinAmp, ICQ, the Internet...
Actually, I believe AOL quietly has a fairly significant financial stake in Google as part of the deal they negotiated to syndicate Google's search and AdWords services.

And like somebody said above THIS DOESN'T MEAN MSN WANTS TO BUYOUT GOOGLE. They simply want to be competitive with Google in the search field. Yahoo has similar aims which is why they bought Inktomi's search engine technology. Most people are so head over heels in love with Google (understandably so) that they fail to realize that there are other search engine companies out there now with relevancy quality just as good as Google - or at the very least, with the potential to be as good with some minor tweaking. I love Google, but there ARE areas where their ranking algorithm is weaker compared to other search models since Google places an overwhelming amount of its weighting on link popularity. While this is fantastic for general searches (which most searches are) it's not as strong for more specific searches. However, they're able to minimize this weakness by the sheer size of their index which is larger than any other engine except FAST.

If I was a betting man, with Yahoo snatching up Inktomi I'd put money on MSN eventually switching to the Wisenut search engine which is owned by their partner LookSmart. Wisenut could easily serve up results on par with Google if it was only given a chance to stretch its legs and get out from underneath LookSmart.