Bing, if you don’t know, is Microsoft’s new search engine. The point? To compete with Google of course. Their own engine (Live Search) is used just long enough for people to homepage Google or install a search bar before it is ditched forever more. I’ve often thought that one of Google’s main modus operandi is to take something someone else is doing (like searches) and do it better.

Apparently Microsoft is trying the same thing with Bing. The problem? Microsoft sucks.

Bing is just like Google on it’s face (well once you hit the search button) but Microsoft’s version of “improving” on the original is to make it more like Live Search. The first thing you’ll notice is the opening screen. Mine opened on a picture of Cappadocia, a place in Turkey that I’ve actually been to. Of course, you’ll have no idea what it is since no where on there did it tell you what you were looking at. I think that’s part of the point to get you to click but honestly, even though I am interested in the place, I didn’t because I got so annoyed that I couldn’t quickly identify what I was looking at. Edit – OK, I clicked to look for the correct spelling of Cappadocia and got to some map that STILL didn’t tell me where it was (other than Turkey). I ended up Googling it. Edit 2 – OK, tried a different link and it did get me to a search for Cappadocia. Wow, what a really useful feature.

The search results will look so familiar to you that you’ll be looking for the “Powered by Google” logo – at least at first. They are a little reorganized of course but the sponsored links are still on the right and top and the colors are nearly the same. The one upside is the summaries you get when you pass over the top of the links (shows up as a bar on the right). Those expand on the summary you read plus may include additional links.

My main pet peeve with Bing is how Microsoft can’t help but try and tell you what you really were searching for. You know what I mean – groupings. After the first couple of links, suddenly you have links grouped together by topic which may or (most likely) may not in any way be related to what you were actually thinking of. I searched (quite at random) for Benadryl. After the first six links, I got a new group of results under the heading Benadryl Side Effects, and then Benadryl Ingredients, Children’s Benadryl, Benadryl And High Blood Pressure, and finally Benadryl Pregnancy (which is a pregnant Benadryl pill I guess?). After each grouping, there is a “see more results” link. Dude, I already told you what I was searching for, I don’t need to click to get more results, just give me the results I asked for.

Google became popular (IMO) because they had a powerful search engine fronted by a no-nonsense interface with a minimum of ads. You asked for a search and they gave you the results. Google doesn’t assume you’re stupid or try to read your mind. All the other search engines have done just that. But what you end up with is a page full of results with only the first 6 (in my case) on the actual search I asked for. What a waste of time! Knowing M$, this is only going to get worse with more ads, more groups, and probably sponsored groups which will show up whether you like it or not.

M$, if you’re going to try to outdo Google, you’re going to have to get rid of those programmers that are so in love with their old features and hire someone fresh and new. It seems that even when you have the chance to start over and really innovate, you end up with more of the same. Bing is still in Beta and hopefully they’ll rethink this thinly veiled face-lift of Live Search in favor of something more revolutionary that can really compete against Google. Because Bing isn’t it.

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