Google's challenger, Bing it On

  • Thread starter Thread starter Greg Bernhardt
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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around user experiences and opinions regarding search engines, particularly Google and Bing. Participants express frustrations with Google’s search results and interface changes while exploring the improvements and potential of Bing as a competitor. Other search engines like DuckDuckGo and Startpage are also mentioned, highlighting user preferences and concerns about privacy.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express frustration with Google due to perceived spam in search results and excessive multimedia content, suggesting it detracts from the usefulness of searches.
  • Others note that Bing has improved and may soon compete with Google in terms of quality results, though not in popularity.
  • A participant mentions a specific annoyance with Google’s recent changes that prevent users from copying search URLs, impacting their ability to share useful links.
  • Some users report positive experiences with DuckDuckGo, appreciating its privacy features and results, while others find its result pages harder to scan.
  • There are mentions of alternative search engines like Startpage and Ixquick, which focus on privacy and do not track user data.
  • One participant shares a humorous take on a new search engine, dinoogle, claiming it is superior to others, while others express skepticism about its claims.
  • Several participants share their personal experiences with Bing, noting a shift in their preferences and some positive outcomes in search quality.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally express dissatisfaction with Google, but there is no consensus on whether Bing will successfully replace it. Multiple competing views on the effectiveness of various search engines remain, and the discussion is unresolved regarding which search engine is ultimately superior.

Contextual Notes

Participants' experiences are influenced by personal preferences, browser settings, and the evolving nature of search engine algorithms. There are references to specific features and changes in search engines that may not be universally experienced.

Greg Bernhardt
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I hate to say it but I've been frustrated with Google lately. Lots of spam in results and too much on page information. Like if I search for a celeb. I'll get photos, information, videos and etc all cramping the search results. Too much multimedia. Sometimes it is quick and useful, but mostly it's annoying.

Anyho, Bing has been getting better. It's not quite there yet, but they are finally making good progress and imo will be soon able to compete with Google results. Not in popularity yet, but in pure quality results.

Here is an interesting site to show how far Bing has come.
http://www.bingiton.com
 
Computer science news on Phys.org
I do use Bing as a home page. The daily scenic pictures are fascinating.
 
Greg Bernhardt said:
I hate to say it but I've been frustrated with Google lately. Lots of spam in results and too much on page information. Like if I search for a celeb. I'll get photos, information, videos and etc all cramping the search results. Too much multimedia. Sometimes it is quick and useful, but mostly it's annoying.

Anyho, Bing has been getting better. It's not quite there yet, but they are finally making good progress and imo will be soon able to compete with Google results. Not in popularity yet, but in pure quality results.

Here is an interesting site to show how far Bing has come.
http://www.bingiton.com

Google has also made a change recently that I find very annoying. When you do a search and get lots of good hits, you can no longer copy the address bar and post it as a link to the search. I used to do that all the time to help PF newbies learn how to use good search terms to find useful web pages. But now when you do a search, the URL box is empty. Frustrating.
 
berkeman said:
Google has also made a change recently that I find very annoying. When you do a search and get lots of good hits, you can no longer copy the address bar and post it as a link to the search. I used to do that all the time to help PF newbies learn how to use good search terms to find useful web pages. But now when you do a search, the URL box is empty. Frustrating.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding something, here?

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sclien...96,d.eWU&fp=7bfa033871245053&biw=1106&bih=881

http://www.google.com/search?q=Goog...a:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=rcs

OCR
 
Last edited:
I've been using DuckDuckGo for a while, and I generally like the results. I also like that it stores a lot less data about me than Google does...
 
cbasst said:
I've been using DuckDuckGo for a while, and I generally like the results. I also like that it stores a lot less data about me than Google does...

Thanks for the tip, DDG is an interesting project! The results aren't too bad, but the result page is a little harder to scan imo.
 
  • #10
I just tried the challenge again and surprisingly I choose Bing 4/5 times.
 
  • #11
I been using google way too long and am fairly convinced it is going to be run down by something newer someday. I'm just not convinced it will be bing. It has its own warts.
 
  • #12
I'm surprised you guys haven't found the newest and latest search engine; it's superior to all that have come before it, and all that will come after it.

www.dinoogle.com
 
  • #13
AnTiFreeze3 said:
I'm surprised you guys haven't found the newest and latest search engine; it's superior to all that have come before it, and all that will come after it.

www.dinoogle.com

haha if only... :D


I've been using http://www.duckduckgo.com a bit. Worth a look.
 
  • #14
AnTiFreeze3 said:
I'm surprised you guys haven't found the newest and latest search engine; it's superior to all that have come before it, and all that will come after it.

www.dinoogle.com

It's google with a jazzed up front end.
 
  • #15
These are pretty okay:

startp_logo.gif

https://www.startpage.com

Fetches results straight from the Google search engine without saving the users IP addresses or giving any personal user information to Google's servers.

ixquick.gif

https://www.ixquick.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ixquick

A metasearch engine that provides search results from over ten best search engines in full privacy.

I use Startpage.com most of the time (except for videos & pictures).


P.S: Don’t miss the Settings.
 
Last edited:
  • #16
I've always been a bit adamant about using Bing because of my early memories of it. Apparently, that's changed. Bing won four out of five with the last being a draw.

Impressive.
 
  • #17
As berkeman pointed out, here's why I quit using Google and started using Bing most of the time: http://harborsparrow.blogspot.com/2013/05/google-tracks-clicks-on-its-search.html

However, I also installed plugins in my browser to prevent Google from doing link-tracking if I do need to use it.

Disappointed in Google search lately, as per Greg.
 

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