Microsoft Convinces Googlers to Switch to Bing
I thought Microsoft was doing pretty well up until now. The company was slowly gaining search market share and showing nice month over month growth (aside from the slight dip in September). Then the video contest happened. Microsoft ran a content to try and find the Bing jingle and while the winner was incredibly annoying, it was still kind of fun. Then this study happened. I'll admit that when someone says 'Microsoft study' I automatically think of the Mojave experiment the company did a few months back. Microsoft gave a bunch of people who, for some reason or another, had never used Vista before and shocker, they all loved it. Even the ones who had heard Vista was the root of all evil. So perhaps I'm a little jaded when it comes to over-enthusiastic results from a Microsoft-run study. This study shows that ten out of the fifteen Googlers in this study have apparently seen the error of their ways and are ready to change to Bing full time.
Microsoft has posted the results of the survey in a series of shorts. These are embedded below. Do you think the results of the survey are reliable? While fifteen is quite a small sample size, the fact that Microsoft convinced almost 70 percent (rounding up, here) of the group is quite impressive. If it's true, go Microsoft! Check out the videos and leave your thoughts on the study in the comments below.
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For most non-technical folks the IE option selections are so arcane that they just click through. But let's say that you're a geek and you tell IE that you don't want any of its options - or better yet - not to change anything and you'll decide at the end.
Bing's still been inserted into your browser no matter what only - not you have to delete it.
Set "Keep my search providers updated" - Bing comes back.
And - I think it's also delivered/set again via compatibility view updates.
Only way I have been able to stop the "Bing-creep" is to remove all traces and then select the "Do not change my search provider" option.
If it's so good - why the sneakiness?
Moreover, it feels like one of those "negative options" subscriptions - Microsoft will keep Bing in no matter what you choose unless you can figure out how to stop it.
While most Tom's readers could figure it out - ask yourself what your Mom, Dad, sister would/will do when presented with those choices.
I'll keep my Linux and Google and freedom from you, MS, thank you
I decided to try Bing on my own for a week but I didn't make it. It does some things as well as Google, some things not so much. I didn't really find any advantages for the way I use it but I definitely found some disadvantages. Halfway through the week I changed my homepage back to Google out of frustration since I kept having to go back there anyway.
Also, I just prefer the plain and simple look of Google.
15 PEOPLE DISQUALIFIES IT AS RESEARCH. PERIOD
You can not call 15 people "a study." It is a focus group at best, and a Microsoft picked one at that. Is there no real news to report on, or does Toms's now just rehash press releases by google, apple and MS?
I just use whatever Firefox uses by default.
Search should be a protocol not a website.
You know what? I'll take both and eat whatever the hell I want.
Why do you care what the typical user has to search with as long as they can find their results? Do you have stock in google? If you don't it shouldn't matter to you as long as they are satisfied.
Microsoft is not even close to the only company who does this with their software. I prefer firefox, the other day I was showing a friend the benefits of the firebug addon in firefox, I knew this person preferred IE so I made sure to uncheck the default browser settings when installing firefox for them, sure enough as soon as the browser popped up we were prompted with the set as default option, which you have the specifically check don't display again before hitting no. Point is they all do it, whether it be media players, browsers, java, etc. Every company has an agenda including google. I think it's ridiculous to only fault MS for it. All company's are self serving, Google is no different.