MSN or Google who's going to win?

[urbanhostonline]

In this month's Fortune magazine, on the cover is Bill Gates. It is the top story for this month. Mostly it goes on to say that Microsoft has missed out on a lot of products/services, but will come out on top. Such as an digital music player (iPod) and a search engine (Google). Bill Gates claims that Google is just another Netscape. Bill Gates says, "once Microsoft is done with MSN search, people will look back at the way we googled for things and laugh."

Do you think Microsoft will come out on top like it has before? Personally, I don't know what to think. This is going to be one of the biggest battles between tech companies that we have seen in a while. The result can only lead to better products/services for the consumer.

 

[peaudecastor]

Welcome Back,

Just to add a little more to the topic, I don't think the actual searching technology can improve a lot more. You can tweak your algo a bit here and there to follow some trends or eradicate some clear spamming pattern but thats more "filtering" than real improvement.

The next step, and we've got the google lounch last week is personalised search. The search engine will really be able to know what you like and what you don't and that will improve the SERP a lot. The innovation is there, everyone's brain is wired differently, they've got to a point that to improve, they will need to determine how you're brain react to some SERP and feed you with what YOU are looking for.

Thats an area where Microsoft have a huge advantage over anyone. They're big brother. If they wanted they could actually personalise search from Google results... or Yahoo.. or whatever. That may look unethical right now, but who's to say what is going to be ethical in a couple of years? Google started gmail to gather some personnal information, but that is a bit late...

Have a nice day,

Cheers,
Mathieu

 

[nametrekker]

I feel they both will win --- different events -- surprised Gates fired a salvo across the bow of Apple yesterday regarding the soon-to-be demise of ipods? Jobs will find a way to leverage that brand with motorola and/or develop their own mobile communication device (with all the bells and whistles) -- never underestimate the powers of the Jobster!

 

[chelsea]

Actually, I prefer MSN. Looks better, good results, nice and easy.

 

[Zeeble]

I agree very much with the above post, but yet I still type in "google.com" automatically as a result of it being forced into me during my school days.

 

[ScionStatic]

I think DotsAvenue hit it on the head for the most part.

for me, I am liking msn more and more each day. the search results on msn are just so much more relevant than googles "slam 'em with what we go" format.

I agree. Google may be big, but they're going to need to upgrade their services a little bit more, in my opinion.

God bless,
David

 

[AdoptableDomains]

Nothing is forever. Google is on top now, but does anyone remember when these names were in the running: AltaVista, Hotbot, Lycos, Excite, etc. Altavista used to be my favorite before Google showed up.

There's no guarantee MS can catch up either, although they do have the financial backing to pretty much do what they want. Most people think they are always number one, but that's not the case. MS Money is a small player behind Quicken, IIS is a small player compared to Apache as a web server, They still don't domininate in Web server O/S market compared to Linux, Dreamweaver has eclipsed FrontPage as the web desinger of choice, and they've never done well with an imaging software. I don't see MSN becoming the premier search engine any time soon.

 

[StudioWorks]

Altavista used to be my favorite before Google showed up.

.

I still remember the days when I used Altavista...

heh

 

[marisolblue]

altavista and northernlight used to by my favs back when

 

[AdoptableDomains]

altavista and northernlight used to by my favs back when

Wow, I almost forgot about NorthernLight. I also used Magellan for a while before Altavista. Search has definitely evolved from many small competitors to just a few large ones.

 

[snareklutz]

I agree. The phrase "google it" has become habit to a lot of people. If MSN was going to have ANY chance to beat google they would have had to start this months ago.

Actually, google means "to search" in latin.

 

[-db-]

Actually, google means "to search" in latin.

Are you sure?

I knew that "google" was a deliberate twist on mathematical term "googol" which means "10 raised to the 100th power" or "the number 1 followed by a hundred zeros" but I've never heard anything about it being a real word/term. Do you have any links or references? I'm interested.

 

[Petter]

I think google will be the most popular internation search engin for a fair long time.

 

[AdoptableDomains]

Are you sure?

I knew that "google" was a deliberate twist on mathematical term "googol" which means "10 raised to the 100th power" or "the number 1 followed by a hundred zeros" but I've never heard anything about it being a real word/term. Do you have any links or references? I'm interested.

You are correct -db-. It's 1 followed by 100 zeros. Google plays on this by spelling it with varying numbers of "o"s, such as gooooooooogle in their ads. It was created to emphasize the huge number of pages they index being virtually unlimited.

From Google themselves: http://www.google.com/press/facts.html

The Meaning of Google
"Googol" is the mathematical term for a 1 followed by 100 zeros. The term was coined by Milton Sirotta, nephew of American mathematician Edward Kasner, and was popularized in the book, "Mathematics and the Imagination" by Kasner and James Newman. Google's play on the term reflects the company's mission to organize the immense amount of information available on the web.

More interesting info:
http://www.google.com/corporate/history.html

 

[AsclepiusZ]

i think its too close to count

 

[ThreeD]

Google all the way! If MS implements their new search engine into Winblowz, it would give them a little advantage. The search engine itself though would have to be to notch quality, and A LOT better than google for it to have success. And we all know that ain't going to happen..

 

[-db-]

You are correct -db-. It's 1 followed by 100 zeros. Google plays on this by spelling it with varying numbers of "o"s, such as gooooooooogle in their ads. It was created to emphasize the huge number of pages they index being virtually unlimited.

From Google themselves: http://www.google.com/press/facts.html

More interesting info:
http://www.google.com/corporate/history.html

Mark, thanks for the confirmation and links. Good stuff. :tu:

 

[CrazyTech]

Google has the market right now and I don't see this changing much in the forseeable future. IMHO they are the search juggernaut. If you've been on the internet here in America, odds are you've been to Google.

 

[wisconsin]

Microsoft has the technical expertise, innovation driven vision, and money! I won't be surprised if they come ahead of the game in the long run!

 

[hotrod12]

I also think that google will win. Do you ever hear anyone say, "Lets MSN what the word flopication means." Google has become a household name and I believe that it will always be better then MSN.

 

[urbanhostonline]

Right now, I think its still very early. There is still much to achieve. Just because Google is dominant, it doesn't mean Microsoft can't gain market percentage.