You might get the idea that I am anti Microsoft. I would rather think of myself as pro “other company”. However, when I see something I like, I should say so no matter the source.
I like Bing the search site. I have fallen into using Google by default and I have decided this is not a good thing. If nothing else, I think it is important to encourage innovation and you certainly do not do that if you fail to give those who offer new offerings a chance.
Microsoft has attempted to differentiate Bing from Google Search by describing Bing as a decision engine. I interpret this to mean that locating information is not the same as locating answers (I want credit for this just in case it is original).
Microsoft proposes that Bing is the answer to the way we actually search. Perhaps this is a recognition that we typically take a simplistic approach even though sophistication could be imposed with a little more effort. We rely on the popularity of sites to reflect the usefulness of information to an undescribed goal.
Bing suggests extension options as search terms are entered. Bing offers categories related to the findings produced (or that can be applied to the search) and these categories can be applied to focus the results.
There are probably formal efforts to compare search power, but in the end the decision is based (or perhaps should be based) on whether the tool serves the user. I propose Bing is worth a look.
