We're as good as Google: Microsoft

MICROSOFT has begun phasing in a slick new version of its Live Search service in a bid to gain ground on leading internet search rivals Google and Yahoo.

Microsoft's improved Live Search will be available throughout the US in a week and globally by the end of October, according to search and advertising platform group vice-president Satya Nadella.

"The core thing for us is to show user we made a quantum leap in search results," Nadella said while demonstrating Search at an invitation-only gathering last week at Microsoft's campus in Mountain View, California.

"This time, we feel we can claim we are as good as Google," he said.

Google, based in Mountain View, is the world's most popular internet search engine, and Yahoo ranks second.

Live, which replaced Microsoft's MSN search service in 2006, has been mired distantly in third place.

"Relevance of results has been my big gripe about Live Search in the past," Gartner analyst Van Baker said during a an event titled Searchification, at which the enhancements were unveiled.

"It fell short of Google in relevance and I think Microsoft is catching up," he said.

"The downside is Microsoft's messaging sucks. They need to give internet users a reason to give Live Search another try, and that's missing."

Microsoft says it has quadrupled its index of web pages from which search results are mined and refined software that figures out what people are seeking despite vague or misspelled queries.

The search platform is "loosely based" on the workings of the human brain so it can assess relationships between search words rather than just the presence of words on web pages, Live Search team member Ramez Naam says.

"Search is not a dark art," team member Sebastian Gard says. "It is block-and-tackle stuff. You don't need wizards and wands."

Relevant charts, maps, video and pictures are displayed on search result pages.

Microsoft's three dimensional mapping service is woven into web searches in which location is a key attribute. "Think of it as the map becoming the graphical interface for the search engine," says Microsoft's maps engineer.

The update adds BlackBerry devices to the compatible smart phones.

Microsoft has jazzed up its multimedia search to track news, trends and gossip concerning a perpetual internet hot topic: celebrities.

An X-Rank feature shows which celebrities are getting the most attention online at any given moment and what is being said about them.

Video search shows movie trailer style highlights of the content on results pages so people can decide whether to watch videos.

Product guides and reviews are built into Live shopping searches.

Health searches pinpoint online medical data using encrypted information to protect privacy, Microsoft's health services group senior director Grad Conn says.

Health query records are erased after 90 days, Conn says.

Nadella declines to specify how much Microsoft spent overhauling Live Search, saying only that it required a substantial investment to catch up with Google and Yahoo.

"The whole Live thing in general has been botched so badly by them in the branding and messaging," Baker says, referring to Live Search as a well-established number-three.

On Ian Chappell and Sachin Tendulkar

Ian Chappell thinks Sachin Tendulkar should retire. Sigh. Such comments will fly back and forth in the next few days. I hope Sunil Gavaskar will be in the thick of it, just for fun.

In my view, there are only two questions that need to be asked as far as Tendulkar’s retirement is concerned:

1. Is he still good enough to be in the Indian side?

2. Does he have the desire to play international cricket?

As long as the answers to both these questions are “yes”—and I believe they are at the moment—I don’t see why Tendulkar should retire. Comparing him to Brian Lara, as Chappell does, is pointless. Comparing him to his own past self, as Chappell also does, is equally pointless. If he’s good enough to be in the current side and wants to play, he should carry on.

Comments

This is a very hard one. Its clear that tendulkar is not the same batsman he once was - but that is only to be expected. His reflexes have slowed and he has lost that extra split-second that he used to enjoy. That makes him look more ordinary and vulnerable. But I still think he has a very compact technique. And given the lack of talent around, he can certainly hold a place in the Indian team for now. Would he make the Australian team right now - the answer is no. But there arent too many knocking on the doors of the Indian cricket team right now.

Where the team management can help him is by giving him a clear role. I think he enjoys opening the batting in one day cricket. It puts him in a positive mindset, and it allows him to enter the field when India is 0/0 - so his mind is fresh and clear. I dont think he has the adaptability to adjust his game to different scenarios when he plays in the middle overs. He ends up thinking about it too much, and not playing his natural game. So, I think Sachin should open the batting in one day cricket.

In test cricket - I think he should retire. We need to nurture a new look middle order. Sachin - in my view - is not a great test match batsman. He is good, but there have been many better than him. His only hundred in the last 2 years has been a scratchy one at kotla - and he is simply blocking the number 4 test slot. That is a slot that yuvraj should now occupy. In our test match line-up, I think we need to look at building the nucleus of a new team (batsmen between the ages of 23 and 27).

The argument for sachin to retire from both forms of the game is just that it would protect his own legacy. Ponting is going to break all the records anyway - so why should sachin protract a flailing career.

That’s a powerful argument.

T20 worldcup 2007 finals Indian celebrations after winning..