It's no secret that Bing has been waging an uphill battle to stay relevant, and now, Microsoft is hoping that its partnership with Pinterest will be enough to win you over. The Bing team's latest effort combines its own search results with a new feature: image collections, a supplement that presents related Pinterest boards to the right of your main results. For example, an image search for "Pink cupcakes" will pull up a list of boards relevant to your interests. Clicking on one of them -- we opted for "Pretty in pink cupcakes" -- will take you to a new page that collects the user's pinned images along with a direct link to the board on Pinterest. The new feature is designed to introduce a social element to Bing by uniting collections curated by living, breathing humans with the search engine's algorithms. We don't know if it'll be enough to convince people to "Bing it" next time they're on the hunt for images, but we do know that we're now in desperate need of cupcakes.
Filed under: Internet, Microsoft
Via: The Next Web
Source: Bing
Wondering how Bing's upgraded Page Zero search feature produces rich details and options before you've even finished typing? Microsoft has posted a deep dive that explains a lot of what's going on. Bing is taking better advantage of its entity relationship engine, Satori; as soon as the search tool finds a likely subject, it both displays an information tile and the most popular intentions associated with that subject. Look for the San Francisco Giants, for example, and Bing will offer search pages dedicated to scores or tickets. The technology is also clever enough to both expand and refine the list of intentions over time. The new Page Zero details won't necessarily get you to switch search providers, but they do show how Microsoft is responding to Google's constant refinements.
Filed under: Internet, Microsoft
Source: Bing Search Blog
Microsoft's search engine continues to push the rock up a hillside as it chases Google, and some new Bing features add or enhance its search in very familiar ways. First up is a reworked logo, detailed to a level that we're sure Marissa Mayer can appreciate. Bigger than that however are the adjustments to search, with improved "Snapshot" cards that try to fill in what you want to know about a person, place or thing before you even click on a search result. Like Google's cards it has a quick index of info, but it also pulls from Facebook and Twitter to see what your friends might be saying about it. The "Page Zero" results that auto-fill even as you search a query are improved as well, with mini-tiles there that have pictures and text. Other tweaks are meant to improve the experience on screens from phone to TVs, while new "Pole Position" results fill in answers for easy questions about things like the weather. Senior Director of Search Stefan Weitz tells the WSJ the company "went back to the drawing board about how to build searches" -- let us know if the changes are enough make you switch.
Filed under: Internet, Microsoft
Source: Bing Blog (1), (2)
Windows Phone's future may involve more than just a few more home screen tiles. Elaborating on rumors from the summer, ZDNet claims that the next version of Windows Phone (possibly 8.1) will focus on Cortana, a personal assistant that goes beyond the likes of Google Now or Siri. The Halo-inspired component is reportedly more of a shell than an app, and would integrate the OS with Microsoft services like Bing. Ultimately, Cortana would find its way into versions of Windows and the Xbox One's Dashboard.
The assistant might not be the only major feature in 8.1. Windows-Phone.pl has posted what it says are photos of the OS running on a smartphone. They suggest that the previously leaked notification center would reside in a Live Tile, and that users could group-select tiles like they can with Windows 8.1. There's no guarantees that the images or the Cortana rumor are authentic, although they're consistent with Microsoft's publicly stated desires for both a notification center and a "service-enabled shell." We may not get any official details for a while, however -- if real, Windows Phone 8.1 might not ship until sometime in early 2014.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft
Source: Windows-Phone.pl (translated), ZDNet
You know who seems like someone well equipped to dictate what shows up on a news site? That weird guy in your Facebook feed who is way, way too vocal about his political beliefs. Blatant sarcasm aside, Bing News has overhauled its web portal in order to accomplish two primary goals: look less like Google News, and surface stories that are trending. Naturally, the new look is built for touch -- you did buy a touchscreen-enabled laptop, didn't you? -- and it'll "automatically adapt to fit your browser width." Furthermore, "the latest buzz" from social channels will be highlighted, leaving news that actually matters to languish somewhere in the abyss. But hey, the next Casey Anthony trial is totally the most important thing ever, right?
Filed under: Internet, Microsoft
Source: Bing
Microsoft knows that web-based video searches are cumbersome at times -- you frequently have to leave your results to see much more than a thumbnail. Accordingly, it just redesigned Bing's own video search to offer a smoother experience with fewer interruptions. Result pages now include pop-out previews that both play clips and show extra details, like view counts; more exacting users can filter searches with criteria such as the resolution or source site. There's also a new overlay that lets viewers stay on Bing while they start playback and look for related footage. If you'd like nothing more than to watch videos back-to-back-to-back, you can try the new search tool today.
Filed under: Internet, Microsoft
Source: Bing Search Blog