It’s here folks. A new search engine. The new one from Microsoft. Bing. Fresh into Beta and ready for you to compare to all those years spent in the glory of Google’s search results.
It’s got some nice features, some nice lag on video, image and site previews and a fresh look at how browsing can actually be improved. Like clicking. Can browsing be more enjoyable by having to click less? Microsoft thinks it can, but what are your thoughts? Is it more useful for what you do each day?
5 Ways I’ve been using Bing for Design and Engineering
Inspiration – Search design in images. Zoom right on the page and view related searches in left sidebar.
Job Searches – Search for SolidWorks jobs. Use context pop-up (mouse-over right of search results) to quickly view link details.
Video Tutorials – You can search and view hi-res video tutorials right on the search page.
Definitions – You can find definitions on Google by using “define: “ for a lot of results. In Bing you can type ‘def ‘ and get a nice short list.
1 800-BING 411 – Yep, Free, like GOOG 411, but (according to some) better. Use it to find businesses or… just book movie tickets.
Calculations – Really no different from Google, but some of the search results give more insight and examples into the function/values being used.
Wolfram Alpha: Better for calculations and Conversions
Anything mathematical you plug into Wolfram will allow you to become gloriously enlightened. The others can perform calculations and conversions, but Wolfram provides a bit more data and extends your search.
Try:
Converting lbs to ozs
Calculating advanced equations
Are Search Engines Improving?
Is search moving ahead here or is it a regurgitation of what Google is already doing? I think there’s some excellent features in Bing. I like having to click less. I like being able to see more. And I like the way it’s presented with related and recent searches. I’d prefer to set a larger number or search results per page and not to have the lag on the information preview, but those are small nit-picks compared to being able to browse content in a more meaningful, productive way.
Bing is Nice. Microsoft is obviously not inclined to just sitting around while Google and Yahoo take over the web. Features keep getting better, but I have to wonder, with search engine like Wolfram, why are search specific business functions not more integrated into search engines? Functions not even specific to design and engineering. Bing is moving some things in the right direction, there’s a lot of potential for a more useful application.
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