Articles about Bing

Translation has become a big thing for search engines. If you use Chrome then you have likely seen a translation option pop up when you click a story that isn’t in your native tongue. But Google is not the only one that can do this -- Bing too has translation capabilities.

Now Microsoft's search service is upping its game, announcing new features to its translation engine. The update is available for both Windows Phone and the desktop.

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It’s the eve of 2014 and, let’s face it, tech news is scant on this day. Silicon Valley has taken a hiatus, but will return next week, with the kickoff of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But a holiday is always good for one thing -- checking the search engines to see how each is celebrating the event.

Google today has gone all 1970’s on us, with dancing and a disco ball. The animated numbers 2 0 1 3, are having a blast as the speakers pound out an unheard rhythm and the mirrored ball spins above. One would think we were on the verge of welcoming in 1977, and you can almost hear the Chic music playing in the distance, but actually it's 4 that's waiting impatiently for its chance to take over 3's spot on the colorful dance floor.

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Bing is a decent search engine, and the daily images that adorn its homepage are always worth a look. Late last week the Bing team announced the ten most popular homepage images for 2013, which includes an aerial view of Gardens by the Bay and the Super Trees in Singapore City, a night shot of Mount Shasta in California, a mangrove seen from underwater in the Seychelles, and Lulworth Cove along the Jurassic Coast, in England. As well as showing off the pictures, the Bing team provides a link so you can download them for use as desktop wallpaper.

If you’d prefer to have the images cycling in a screensaver, the Bing team has now made that possible too, in the form of a new 13MB "Wallpaper & Screensaver" Pack.

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Photosynth is a free panoramic photo app that can take your pictures and stitch them together into some of the most beautiful images you will find on the web. The app was publicly released in 2008 and is now moving to its third generation, designed to mesh with last week's update of Bing Maps.

Microsoft claims the new update to its 3D technology delivers "a dramatic step forward in smoothness and simplicity, and is what we now recommend for anyone with a D-SLR or a point-and-shoot camera". This is only a technical preview at this point, and the previous two generations of Photosynth are still available.

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We must be edging towards a new year as Bing has just released a roundup of the top search trends for 2013. It seems a bit weird to push out the results before December has even had a chance to make its presence felt, but clearly Bing wanted to get in there first.

The roundup is the result of billions of searches across 12 countries, and the full results can be explored on bingtrends.com. Bing also has blog posts covering results from the different countries.

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With just a few days left until the Xbox One goes on sale, Microsoft is pushing the features and benefits of its new console, focusing on everything except games.

Today, it’s the turn of Bing to step into the spotlight, with a new blog post detailing the search engine’s vital role on the system. Stefan Weitz, Senior Director, Bing explains "Whether your game, show, song or movie is in an app, on your console, or in our own Xbox Music or Xbox Video, the same instant search technology that powers Bing web search also brings your entertainment results together beautifully on your TV".

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Little brings more emotion to daily life than music. For many people it's a part of the psyche, lending meaning to everyday events, leaving memories that are specifically associated with a particular song. For instance, reggae songs can bring visions of summer, while Air Supply dredges up memories of middle school dances.

Bing now wishes to help you find all of those sappy songs, in video form -- though the search engine also promises to help find the newer and less sappy ones as well.

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While Google is known for its "doodles", Bing remains more stately, opting for beautiful photography, but Halloween is about, not just treats, but also tricks. It's a time for scary movies, ghost stories and children working the neighborhood streets in search of candy hand-outs.

Today, Microsoft's search engine goes the extra mile, opting for an interactive background image, as opposed to the usual high-resolution image that appears each day.

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With Android handsets and iPhones taking the lion's share of the smartphone market, Windows Phone is quite often overlooked by most consumers in their purchasing decisions. The popularity, or lack thereof, of devices running Microsoft's mobile OS likely plays an important part but it also detracts folks from getting the smartphone that may be right for them. Ask yourselves how many of your acquaintances have been in this position.

Many do not even take Windows Phone into consideration and the ones that do easily find a couple of reasons to dismiss the platform and jump on the Android or iPhone bandwagon. Yes, Windows Phone may not be the right answer for everyone but it might be for more people than naysayers think. And I have got 10 good reasons why consumers should give Windows Phone a chance.

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With winter coming here in the northern hemisphere, our mindset begins to change. Trips to the beach are replaced by ones to the slopes. The "boys of summer" are replaced by the guys on the gridiron, the court and the ice rink. It's the perfect time for skiers, snowboarders and sports fans.

Now, the Bing Weather app is adding ski reports to its list of features -- "you’ll find the app now supplies current snow and weather conditions at ski resorts around the world, plus weather history and additional metrics like the UV index", reports Microsoft's Michael Stroh.

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Back in August, when the weather was still warm, Microsoft announced a new contest surrounding its Bing search engine. The Hometown Homepage Photo Contest was designed to bring attention to local photographers, both amateur and professional, and provide them the opportunity to get some recognition.

The winner was chosen by the public after the Bing team narrowed the choices down to nine finalists and will receive a Nokia Lumia 1020, 500px membership, and a canvas of the image. Plus, the photograph is appearing today as Bing daily image, bringing nationwide recognition.

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In the red corner, Bing. In the blue, Google. But which is better? Microsoft launches the Bing It On campaign in the UK to enable web searchers to choose which results are best. Google is such a ubiquitous online tool that it has become a verb and entered the dictionary; it is the search engine that automatically springs to mind for most people when they need to research something.

But this does not mean that there is not room for a little competition, and this is something that Microsoft is keen to exploit with its latest campaign.

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Microsoft opens up Bing Places to businesses in the UK and Canada, making it possible for business owners to promote themselves online more easily. This is essentially an online directory that enables firms of all sizes to gain an online presence and become more easily discoverable by potential customers. It is something of a quiet launch, but businesses are invited to create their online listing free of charge.

Bing Places -- or Bing Places for Business to give its full title -- is a rebranded version of Bing Business Portal. Business owners can check to see whether there is already a listing for them in the directory, and are given the chance to create a new one if there isn't. To help avoid the problem of fake listings being created, ownership then has to be verified either over the phone or via post.

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The official Twitter app for Windows Phone 8 has received little attention from its maker this year, confirming the operating system's standing as a second-class citizen. Meanwhile, the popular social network released major updates for its Android and iOS counterparts, which continue to have a comfortable lead in the features department.

Today, Twitter tries to narrow that gap with a major update for the Windows Phone 8 app. The latest version reintroduces the dark theme, that was unavailable in the previous release, and adds new features for the user interface. AMOLED panels should benefit most from the dark theme, as the use of darker colors will drive power consumption down. It also seems to match Nokia's display trend, as the maker uses more AMOLED panels in its Lumia lineup (albeit only for the high-end models at the moment).

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When I can get a good deal, I take it. Given the opportunity, I always try to leverage sites like Groupon and Livingsocial to save money on dinners, entertainment and even Christmas shopping. However, managing and remembering the deals you buy can be problematic. I have had Groupon deals expire before I have the chance to use them. Luckily, Microsoft has people like me in mind and announces the new Bing Offers Card-Linked program.

In a blog post that reads as if it's been translated from a foreign language, Microsoft says: "Since we launched the program [Bing Offers] we have been committed to exploring ways to make as easy as possible for you to find and redeem great offer. You told us to that one thing you didn't like having to pre-purchase deals that they might forget or not use due to inflexible redemption options. Also people didn't like the added hassle of having to print up coupons or display QR codes to redeem savings".

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