Microsoft kicks off search effort (Microsoft throws down gauntlet to Google)

CNET ^ | 2/1/2005 | Stefanie Olsen

[KwasiOwusu]

Microsoft on Monday replaced Yahoo's search technology with its own homespun software and will kick off a huge advertising campaign to supplant Google in consumers' hearts.

As expected, MSN, a unit of the software giant, has taken its Web search technology out of the laboratory, and placed it on MSN's newly redesigned home page in 25 countries. Two and a half years in the making, MSN Search will now be the focal point of the updated, lighter-weight site; and it is the subject of Microsoft's newest ad campaign, which includes television, print, Internet and outdoor promotions.

MSN Search Vice President Christopher Payne would not disclose ad spending, but he estimated that 90 percent of Americans, as well as U.K. and Japanese residents, will encounter the campaign. television ads, for example, will run during the Super Bowl, the Oscars and the Grammys. "Oh, you're going to notice it," he said.
....................................
Google is still at the top of the heap, but its lead is shrinking. In December 2004, Google served about 34.7 percent of the market, down 0.3 percent from the previous period in 2003, according to ComScore Networks. During the same period, Yahoo jumped from serving 27 percent of the market to 31.9 percent. And MSN added a point to its position, going from 15.4 percent to 16.3 percent from December to December.

Key to MSN's strategy to win over the Web population is providing "answers" to queries, rather than millions of links, Payne said. While Yahoo, Ask Jeeves, Google and smaller sites like Answers.com have sought to fill in search requests with answers to questions on the weather, entertainment and package tracking, MSN believes it can do one better with its encyclopedia software Encarta.

[HamiltonJay]

Kwasi,

as someone who has worked in the search engine industry.. trust me, MS has tried to take the search crown many times before... This is hardly their first attempt and they have lost every time...

Someday they might get it right, but forgive me if I yawn and ignore this latest supposed gauntlet.

[Constantine XIII]

The difference here though is that MS can't use their OS monopoly to play dirty pool. They have a less than stellar record when it comes to level playing fields.

Mind you, this is coming from a guy who would live with an abacus and a slide rule rather than touch a Mac. :P

[Doohickey]

So what you're saying is that competition against Microsoft is okay. But when Microsoft competes against someone else, that's bad. Interesting.

[Doohickey]

M$. Hahahaha. That's so '90s.

[KwasiOwusu]

"No uptime is currently available for beta.search.msn.com"

Ummm.. did you read the article at all, dude?
It says msn search went live YESTERDAY on msn.com and at 24 other msn's worldwide.
"Went live" means no more beta. Get it?
Use msn.com for your search.

[An.American.Expatriate]

Umm, yes I did.

AND, since you nicely pointed out that I used the wrong url . . .

OS, Web Server and Hosting History for search.msn.com
http://search.msn.com was running AkamaiGHost on Linux when last queried at 27-Jan-2005 11:54:55 GMT - refresh now Site Report
Try out the Netcraft Toolbar! FAQ
OS Server Last changed IP address Netblock Owner
Linux AkamaiGHost 26-Jan-2005 212.187.244.6 Akamai
Linux AkamaiGHost 25-Jan-2005 212.23.37.14 Akamai
Linux AkamaiGHost 23-Jan-2005 212.23.32.6 Akamai
Linux AkamaiGHost 22-Jan-2005 192.91.244.231 CERN- European Organization for Nuclear Research
Linux AkamaiGHost 21-Jan-2005 213.248.112.109 Akamai
Linux AkamaiGHost 20-Jan-2005 212.23.33.6 Akamai
Linux AkamaiGHost 18-Jan-2005 212.23.32.15 Akamai
Linux Microsoft-IIS/5.0 17-Jan-2005 212.23.32.15 Akamai
Linux Microsoft-IIS/5.0 16-Jan-2005 193.45.1.112 Akamai
Linux Microsoft-IIS/5.0 15-Jan-2005 212.23.32.8 Akamai

No uptime is currently available for search.msn.com.

I'd still like to know what this means . . .

[KwasiOwusu]

"as someone who has worked in the search engine industry.. trust me"

Ummm.. I obvioulsy can't do that for someone with such an obvious anti-Microsoft agenda.

"Someday they might get it right, but forgive me if I yawn and ignore this latest supposed gauntlet."

Msn search market share has already started inching up, even before releasing this very impressive piece of technology and the massive marketing that is coming up (Super Bowl, the Oscars and the Grammys).
Microsoft has never even marketed msn search on TV before as far as I can remember, let alone on Super Bowl and the Oscars like they are going to do now.

I am gonna bet ya, by a year from today, msn search market share will be higher than today, and probably by a considerable amount too. :)

[KwasiOwusu]

"AND, since you nicely pointed out that I used the wrong url . "

Go to msn.com, which is my home page, (which is running happily), they have a very nice search bar there, put in your search request (like I just did), and get your excellent Microsoft inspired results.
Again, don't use msn search beta like you did before. Its live now.
Is that simple enough for you to follow? How about that?

[An.American.Expatriate]

Okay, one last time . . .

When I go to MSN and use the search bar, my results are shown via beta.search.msn.com - I provided the netcraft data for this.

Based on your post, I provided the netcraft for SEARCH.MSN.COM (not beta).

The "latest" results are:

OS, Web Server and Hosting History for search.msn.com
http://search.msn.com was running Microsoft-IIS on Linux when last queried at 1-Feb-2005 15:39:08 GMT Site Report
Try out the Netcraft Toolbar! FAQ
OS Server Last changed IP address Netblock Owner
Linux Microsoft-IIS/6.0 -- Microsoft-HTTPAPI/1.0 1-Feb-2005 193.45.1.118 Akamai
Linux Microsoft-IIS/6.0 -- Microsoft-HTTPAPI/1.0 1-Feb-2005 192.91.244.230 CERN- European Organization for Nuclear Research
Linux AkamaiGHost 30-Jan-2005 192.91.244.229 CERN- European Organization for Nuclear Research
Linux AkamaiGHost 29-Jan-2005 212.23.32.15 Akamai
Linux AkamaiGHost 28-Jan-2005 192.91.244.230 CERN- European Organization for Nuclear Research
Linux AkamaiGHost 27-Jan-2005 212.23.32.15 Akamai
Linux AkamaiGHost 26-Jan-2005 212.187.244.6 Akamai
Linux AkamaiGHost 25-Jan-2005 212.23.37.14 Akamai
Linux AkamaiGHost 23-Jan-2005 212.23.32.6 Akamai
Linux AkamaiGHost 22-Jan-2005 192.91.244.231 CERN- European Organization for Nuclear Research

Now, can you please tell me what this indicates?

[An.American.Expatriate]

The results I posted are from SEARCH.MSN.COM - not beta - that was a mistake on my part in the first post.

Care to comment on the results??

[An.American.Expatriate]

Sorry for the second post - it took a long time for the first one to appear and I thought it was "lost"...

[stainlessbanner]

ping

[Banjoguy]

I just can't equate "googling" with "msn-ing"-something just doesn't sound right...besides which nothing could cause me to cooperate with the efforts of MS to drive another competitor into the ground.

[KwasiOwusu]

"Based on your post, I provided the netcraft for SEARCH.MSN.COM "

Again Microsoft search is live at msn.com and 24 other national sites worldwide, like msn.co.uk for Britain ,etc etc.
Again go to msn.com and do your serach (which is now live)
Again you will get all the excellent Microsoft technology powered results that you want.
I have just done 10 searches already while you keep refusing to go to msn.com which is running very smoothly.
You want to do a search, go to msn.com.
You don't want to do a search, that is also fine by me. :)
My msn search is working happily.
That is all I care about.

[KwasiOwusu]

"Care to comment on the results??"

Nope.
Its not relevant to my msn search from msn.com.

[An.American.Expatriate]

Again Microsoft search is live at msn.com and 24 other national sites worldwide, like msn.co.uk for Britain ,etc etc.

Then I'm unlucky, because when I go to MSN.COM and enter a search for "dd" I get a result url of http://beta.search.msn.ch/results.aspx?FORM=MSNH&srch_type=0&q=dd&geovar=76 (I live in Switzerland).

Again go to msn.com and do your serach (which is now live)

I have already done so.

Again you will get all the excellent Microsoft technology powered results that you want.
I have just done 10 searches already while you keep refusing to go to msn.com which is running very smoothly.

Yes, works fine.

Now, can you finally comment on the results of the netcraft query?

[KwasiOwusu]

"...besides which nothing could cause me to cooperate with the efforts of MS to drive another competitor into the ground."

That's fine.
That's what America is about. Choices.
Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of people worldwide (including me) will be switching our search to or staying with msn in the coming years.
That is also a choice.

[KwasiOwusu]

"Now, can you finally comment on the results of the netcraft query?"

Nope.
I don't care for Netcraft surveys.
I think I already dissed Netcraft on another thread concerning the way the arrive at their web server market share figures and provided contrasting figures from another site.

[Capitalism2003]

"Free Republic" Search Results:

MSN
1-10 of 6,510,183 containing free republic (0.17 seconds)

Google
Results 1 - 10 of about 20,000,000 for free republic [definition]. (0.23 seconds)

Google wins.

[An.American.Expatriate]

Oh, okay.

The fact that each and every server for the new microsoft search is running under LINUX is irrelevant.

Thanks for taking the time to explain why . . .