Bing.com is Microsoft's response to Google and it is running on a pretty strong platform - "Not just a search engine, but a decision engine." Basically, Bing.com is trying to fix internet searching to provide results that are appropriate to the original search (because Google will retrieve the most random results at times.) Google has also been chastised for not being the most user friendly or aesthetically pleasing website, having been developed before web design and hierarchy were as important as they are now, but unwilling to change their aesthetic and get all their users in an uproar.
So with all these possible improvements that Bing.com could implement, does it live up to our expectations? I thought I would check it out.
I was not satisfied with the results that I found, especially in the image search. The options for looking for varying sizes is a lot more limited than Google (a huge issue for me as I am searching for images that can blow up to print quality). I also don't like the categories that were created for "easier searches." I realize that while those may be the most popular categories, there are more than a few important categories missing - are we really only news, travel and shopping?
Although I have a problem with the functionality of the site, I have to say, it is very pretty. I love the option of having larger thumbnails in the image search. And the inclusion of sections and hierarchy on the search homepages - but does the site work if it is just pretty and not really functioning in a new and better way than Google? Overall, I have to say that I think I will continue to use Google - who needs design, when all I am looking for are results?
