Microsoft Considered Selling Bing to Apple in 2020

[Robert.Walter]

I’d prefer to not support google if I could but despite trying different browsers I don’t think they are near to Google.

Also:

Given: “According to Bloomberg, Apple did not move forward with a deal because of the money that it earns from Google and because it was concerned that Bing could not compete with Google in "quality and capabilities."

I find it odd that Apple even bothered unless they were looking for leverage over Google negotiations or regulation.

 

[tCdemon]

What's Bing?

 

[Kottu]

I tried Duck Duck Go several times but had to go back to google because, DDG wasn’t good in Swedish language. It’s time consuming to look for the answers among the search results it created.

 

[svish]

With the huge amount of money Apple gets from Google, don't think the default search engine will change.

 

[SoldOnApple]

How hilarious would it be if Apple and Microsoft merged, leaving Apple to be independently managed, but giving Microsoft the hardware platform it has for so long desperately needed for its software and services.

 

[bousozoku]

That could have been interesting. I remember using Sherlock and when I got something, I thought to name it "Sheer Luck".

I get the feeling that Apple doesn't find the right people for the job, or perhaps, it's the way they treat them once they're in the company.

 

[johannnn]

Apple are smart. They know that that Bing could not compete with Google in "quality and capabilities."

I've tried Bing. I've tried DDG. They are fail in quality compared to Google.

 

[2ilent8cho]

If Microsoft would like Bing to be the default search engine, instead of taking money for it, which Apple does not really need, Apple should say make ports of some games to Mac, like Age of Empires 2 or the ones from Bethesda they've recently acquired. That would be a lot more helpful.

 

[ForkHandles]

Apple are smart. They know that that Bing could not compete with Google in "quality and capabilities."

I've tried Bing. I've tried DDG. They are fail in quality compared to Google.

Apple are smart, they know that Search involves selling your users profile to the highest bidder.

I’d run a mile if they started to do that with my profile. I kinda believe in all that privacy stuff.

 

[one more]

Didn't stop them from pushing Apple Maps when it was still half-baked.

That was a different story. If I remember correctly, it was Google wanting to use iPhone users’ data and holding Apple “hostage” by not wanting to give iPhone users turn-by-turn directions and other more advanced mapping & navigation perks available for Android. So Apple were caught off guard and, indeed, had to very quickly come up with something alternative.

 

[one more]

Apple are smart, they know that Search involves selling your users profile to the highest bidder.

I’d run a mile if they started to do that with my profile. I kinda believe in all that privacy stuff.

What if we use Google in the guest mode, without signing into it in Safari? Can they still track and profile us then?

 

[ForkHandles]

What if we use Google in the guest mode, without signing into it in Safari? Can they still track and profile us then?

Don’t they say, if a product is free….. you are the product that’s being sold.

In the case of search your profile is being sold to advertisers.

 

[Abazigal]

Didn't stop them from pushing Apple Maps when it was still half-baked.

Google Maps was bad at the time (outdated data and no turn by turn) and it made sense to release Apple Maps, both as a viable alternative, and to force Google's hand into finally updating their app or lose access to Apple's lucrative user base. At the time, what did Apple have to lose, really?

Conversely, google search is still pretty good, plus Google is paying Apple a hefty amount of money to effectively not compete in this space. It's hard to say no to $15 billion, plus the R&D savings.

 

[sracer]

I keep trying, but I keep finding myself having to type !g so often I just switch it back. I'll give it another go.

I've regularly tried using DDG and the results are always terrible... worse than Google search... worse than Bing. I'm temped to ask Bing ChatGPT what are the most common searches performed on DDG.

It honestly isn't half bad. I usually rack up enough points for an Amazon gift card or something before long. Edge wouldn't be half bad either, if they stopped forcing down our throats and collecting mountains of data.

Bing Rewards were easy to accumulate and easy to cash out. I just passed $600 in Amazon gift cards. But Bing search has taken a nosedive for me with the merging of ChatGPT into the search UI. It's now more "noisy"... and requires effort to visually scan past the ChatGPT stuff to get to the actual search results.

As for "privacy" and "collecting mountains of data", if anyone is using DDG for privacy but isn't using an ad blocker and tracking blocker then they're not really accomplishing what they intended.

 

[Hammerd]

Didn't stop them from pushing Apple Maps when it was still half-baked.

and the cake is still spongy

 

[Sowelu]

If Microsoft gifted Bing to me, I’d probably throw it into a closet until I forgot about it, then eventually regift it when I do a little spring cleaning.

 

[Jay Tee]

I’ve been using DDG for years and it’s pretty good nowadays. I supplement it with ChatGPT for more complex queries. Rarely, if I’m really stuck with researching something, I’ll open Chrome and Google and run a search. But I find myself doing that less and less, especially since ChatGPT came out.

Yeah, i used to always !g my DDG queries to strip the tracking info in google results, but am using DDG itself much more now: Google results are now out to lunch.

 

[webkit]

I definitely wonder when Apple will stop taking Google’s money and create their own search engine. It definitely seems like over the years, Apple wants to do everything in-house. So I wonder when Apple’s search engine will come

That may be decided, at least in part, by the outcome of the current DOJ case against Google.

 

[Haiku_Oezu]

I don’t believe anything Bloomberg publishes but imagine that
You really have to wonder what an Apple search engine would look like

 

[NufSaid]

I wish DDG worked better but nothing beats google for results.

 

[jdawgnoonan]

Bing is a fine search engine and is actually what I use in Safari. That said, I am getting pretty sick of having the Bing AI pushed at me as I don't give a crap about it.

 

[robbietop]

"Soooo, Tim....I have serious reservations about buying Bing."
"Craig, this isn't about the money from Google. We could make that back."
"No, that's what I am worried about. Bing is a dumpster fire."

 

[370zulu]

Why does a company that publicly touts privacy as a core competency of their products knowingly continue to default their own bundled web browser to the least private search engine on the planet?

$$$

 

[neliason]

Google results have gotten bad recently. Many of the top results are clearly AI generated. Search engines are going to have to figure out how to filter out AI spam.

 

[ErikGrim]

Switched to Bing about a month ago, and it's far better at most things that have been mired in sponsored listings and SEO crud on Google. Could be slightly better at local searches in Australia, but a far cry from the almost useless DDG local search.