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In an ironic twist, Bing may actually be the superior search engine now. Whether this is because Bing has genuinely gotten a lot better (all those AI advancements must count for something), or whether it's because Google has gotten so much worse... well, who knows. :p

(okay, but seriously, why are Google search results so bad these days? 🙃)
It's not just Google Search but YouTube search as well. I search for example the 8-bit guy and it recommends me videos from tech daily, pixel reviews and some random Papa Roach music video. I don't get it.

I also use bing and have no issues tbh.
 
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I believe the final paragraph says it all:
  1. [Apple] Roll your own SE and NOT get billions of dollars
  2. Buy Bing and NOT get billions of dollars
  3. Switch to any other SE and NOT get billions of dollars
  4. Stick with Google and get billions of dollars
I wonder if they picked a number out of a hat or spun the bottle, after what I assume was weeks of contentious debate to have to find somewhere to store those billions if they went with #4. ;)
It’s a lot of money, but wanting the money and believing Google is the best search engine are not mutually exclusive (if that’s what you were suggesting).
 
I would guess the decision has less to do with the quality of Bing and more about how many green stacks one company offers vs another.
 
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It’s a lot of money, but wanting the money and believing Google is the best search engine are not mutually exclusive (if that’s what you were suggesting).

No much simpler (beyond mostly just making a joke): take billions or not take billions? Pit just about any situation on the latter side of that question and I suspect modern Apple would take the billions. 💰💰💰
 
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As an aside, it's interesting how much money google and MS are prepared to pay for searches generated on iOS devices yet at the same time Spotify / Epic / EU etc.. do not feel the iOS user base is worth paying anything for.

Make it make sense people..
 
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I wonder if Apple will change its tune after the horrid results Google has been giving as of late. Bing has always been far better at media searches (yes, including those media searches) and lately Bings results have been a lot better than Googles.
Apple has been developing their own search engine as of late.

Most people didn't notice it because it's called spotlight and it's heavily integrated into the Home Screen and Safari.

But here is the proof, the fact that it follows Googlebot's instructions in robot.txt should be exemplifying.
 
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Total victory for Apple and its shareholders...A company is paying them massive amounts of money to have their search engine that everyone would use anyway. It's only Microsoft zealots who keep using Bing.
 
No much simpler (beyond mostly just making a joke): take billions or not take billions? Pit just about any situation on the latter side of that question and I suspect modern Apple would take the billions. 💰💰💰
Possibly. It would be interesting to know how much Microsoft offered Apple.
 
As an aside, it's interesting how much money google and MS are prepared to pay for searches generated on iOS devices yet at the same time Spotify / Epic / EU etc.. do not feel the iOS user base is worth paying anything for.

Make it make sense people..

The EU definitely feels that iOS user base is significant which is why they think it's unfairly anticompetitive that Apple has such power, control, dominance, etc. over the mobile OS market. The EU wants to see more app access (sideloading and alternative app stores) competition in that notable segment of the market.
 
Possibly. It would be interesting to know how much Microsoft offered Apple.

It was a negative amount. They were offering to SELL Bing to Apple. Instead of regularly collecting "billions" from Google, they would have had to pay Microsoft something to buy Bing. Was that Billions? Millions? Thousands? A buck 95? 5 "magic beans"? A refurbished Apple $20 handkerchief? Unknown.

Yes, they also allegedly "begged" Apple to adopt it as default engine... but I suspect they didn't beg with "a higher bid" and thus, Apple chose to maximize revenue. Shareholders rejoice! 💰💰💰
 
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I don't get the clickbaity title.

Isn't this standard procedure? I mean, there's a spot to get (default search engine) that happens to get renewed every year or so. Isn't it a given that others will make an offer besides Google?

Also, given Google's dominance on the market, there's not much incentive to change this besides selling the whole thing, especially when it's not an attractive proposition for yourself. You know, "Hey, I'm not really using this Bing thing since pivoting to cloud services, but maybe it can be of some value to you, wanna buy it cheap?"

From a strict business point of view, it makes sense and it's not shameful.
Yes, this is completely normal, and if it wasn't Microsoft, it wouldn't have this type of title. No one begged anyone for anything. Apple and Microsoft were in normal conversations, and offers were made, considered, and decisions were made regarding them.

Its just like how Google offered to sell themselves to any number of entities in their early years. They didn't beg, they made an offer, no one took it, and we won't ever know what that meant for how Google evolved over the years.
 
Google pays billions of dollars to remain the default search engine on Apple devices. Google argues that Microsoft's repeated pitches to Apple demonstrate the competitive nature of the search engine market, countering allegations that Google holds a monopoly in web search advertising.

To me that says the opposite. Google is paying Apple, so anyone else that wants to be paid by Apple is already at a disadvantage. Paying to remain the default option doesn't seem like a good look in an antitrust case.
 
I think this thread is going to be full of people giving their own experiences being approached by Microsoft to buy Bing from them.

When they approached my family, unfortunately I had just bought groceries and, with the high food prices lately, I was unable to afford buying Bing at that time. It's too bad; it's been a lifelong dream to own a mediocre search engine.
I had to log in just to react to THIS comment! :D
 
It's not just Google Search but YouTube search as well. I search for example the 8-bit guy and it recommends me videos from tech daily, pixel reviews and some random Papa Roach music video. I don't get it.

I also use bing and have no issues tbh.
It wants you to go back to those ol' days of Papa Roach and Kerrang! For those old enough to remember, it was a strange time to be alive
 
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Microsoft repeatedly attempted to persuade Apple to switch to Bing as the default search engine for Safari or even buy it outright, it has emerged.

microsoft-bing-chatgpt.jpg

The information was disclosed in documents as part of Google's ongoing antitrust case against the U.S. Justice Department (via CNBC). According to the filings, Microsoft approached Apple in 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2020, proposing that Bing should replace Google as the default search engine in Safari.

Apple consistently declined these offers, citing concerns over Bing's search quality relative to Google's. The documents reveal that in 2018 Microsoft not only suggested making Bing the default search engine but also offered to sell Bing to Apple or establish a joint venture around the search engine. These proposals were similarly turned down by Apple.

The court filings provide insight into Apple's decision-making process, highlighting the company's evaluation of Bing's capabilities against Google's. Eddy Cue, Apple's Senior Vice President of Services, is quoted in the filings expressing skepticism about Bing's search quality and Microsoft's investment in search technology.

Google pays billions of dollars to remain the default search engine on Apple devices. Google argues that Microsoft's repeated pitches to Apple demonstrate the competitive nature of the search engine market, countering allegations that Google holds a monopoly in web search advertising.

Article Link: Microsoft Begged Apple to Adopt Bing as Safari's Default Search Engine
The headline is childish and misleading. Is this the quality of the people on this site? Businesses always try to leverage their products where it is beneficial. The two worlds most valuable companies are not begging each other for anything. This is lazy reporting.
 
In an ironic twist, Bing may actually be the superior search engine now. Whether this is because Bing has genuinely gotten a lot better (all those AI advancements must count for something), or whether it's because Google has gotten so much worse... well, who knows. :p

(okay, but seriously, why are Google search results so bad these days? 🙃)

I had bad experiences with both Bing and google, primarily with Ads containing malware.
Recently, one of my clients contacted me because his PC was popping that fake antivirus with the voice message saying to hurry and call some phone number after clicking on an ad in Google disguised as a search result.
I did the same search on my Mac, click on the same ad, and got to the same page.
I personally use DuckDuckGo after years of using Altavista, Yahoo, Google, Bing, etc. So I know I made the right decision so far.
 
There are several. There's one called Kagi. But here's the twist: if you don't want search to suck and be full of ads and spy on you, you have to pay for it.

It just better not be a subscription or a great number of the self-appointed experts on finance around here will go six shades of purple summoning hellfire and damnation that they be asked to pay, regularly, for anything.

It's like that ancient Jack Benny routine:

Robber: (pulls a gun) Your money or your life!
Victim: ...
Robber: Didn't you hear me? Your money or your life!
Victim: Don't rush me I'm thinking about it!
 
I’ve changed the default search engine on my iPhone a few times trying out Bing, DuckDuckGo even Yahoo! I’ve always switched back to Google as I find Google consistently results return what I’m looking for and I don’t have to adjust my query to get those results like I did with the other search engines.
 
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I had bad experiences with both Bing and google, primarily with Ads containing malware.
Recently, one of my clients contacted me because his PC was popping that fake antivirus with the voice message saying to hurry and call some phone number after clicking on an ad in Google disguised as a search result.
I did the same search on my Mac, click on the same ad, and got to the same page.
I personally use DuckDuckGo after years of using Altavista, Yahoo, Google, Bing, etc. So I know I made the right decision so far.

This is a consistent problem with all ads on the web. Bad actors are willing to pay for ads just get their code out there despite the fact that Google et al usually disable the ads within minutes once they are determined to be malware. The simple fact that the benefit of doing this outweighs the cost is very telling. Most people have no idea how to secure their computer or protect their passwords so a couple of seconds of ad time is enough to more than pay for the ad (if they even used a legitimate payment source).
 
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