A fairly decent number of people claim to have happily switched from Google to Bing. In what we can only assume is an effort to prove to the more steadfast Googlers how easy it is to go to the dork dark side, Microsoft sponsored an "independent" study that saw fifteen Google users use only Bing for seven days straight. The result, a lot of people like 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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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
Install IE8 (is it still even optional?) and even if you have Google set as your default search engine, Microsoft adds Bing to the list at the #1 spot.
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'm convinced, anything MS does is glorious and perfect, we must obey and send them money just because of their perfection.
I'll keep my Linux and Google and freedom from you, MS, thank you
those ads are rather good...they just got me to try Bing. meh, it's got some cool stuff, but misses a few useful results that Google finds. I'll keep using both.
I don't think any search engine will ever dethrone Google because it's now hard-wired into society. Somehow, telling somebody to "bing it" just quite doesn't have the same impact as "google it"
@rcarlton: That's why I use Firefox. Well, one of the many reasons, but a good one.
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.
