Articles about Bing

It is a cliche, but the three most important things to look for when buying a house are location, location and location. In other words, no matter how beautiful the house, if the location sucks, so too will the living experience. For example, if the house is in a city with a high-crime rate, next to the railroad tracks, or near an airport, you just wasted your money (unless, of course, you can't afford anywhere better). If you have children, you ideally need to find a neighborhood with a good school district too.

With all of that said, if you are looking for a new home, you have your work cut out for you. Quite frankly, what should be a fun experience ends up being a stressful chore. Don't worry, however, as Microsoft has your back. Bing is now updated to make this easier for you.

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Whenever I use Bing Maps I get the sense that Microsoft has long conceded that its service will never be as popular as Google Maps. Otherwise it would look more visually appealing -- not as if it is a low-priority product -- and frequently gain new, powerful features. With Windows 10 on the horizon -- and Bing a key part of the experience -- not having Bing Maps ready for an influx of new users feels like a missed opportunity.

However, Microsoft is actively working on a major redesign for Bing Maps, which might put it back on consumers' radar. "Users want a map experience that is fast and easy to use, and makes the most of the visually rich data that maps can bring to life", says the team behind the service. And with lots of changes, it certainly looks promising.

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When consumers think back to the 90's, there are two companies synonymous with personal computing -- Microsoft and AOL. People bought Windows computers and connected to the web with the AOL ISP. Hell, I begged my dad for my first computer when I learned I could talk to girls in AOL chat rooms. In hindsight, I was probably talking to old men pretending to be girls, but I digress.

Both Microsoft and AOL are still quite successful -- the former much more than the latter -- and today, they announce a decade-long extension and expansion to existing agreements. Microsoft is handing over the keys to a large portion of its advertising business, while AOL search will begin using Bing.

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Bing and Google have very different philosophies when it comes to search interface design. Google is famously minimal -- for the most part, it's a white page, the company logo and a search box. Conversely, Bing is loud and proud -- beautiful pictures, videos and colors, creating a welcoming portal to the web.

Today, Microsoft is taking its search page to a new level. Besides seeing the beautiful scenes, you can now hear them too.

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In a post-Edward Snowden world, privacy and security are huge concerns. While many people call him a traitor to his country, many others -- myself included -- consider him a hero. Snowden shone a light on government programs that were arguably illegal and unconstitutional. The ultimate win from his actions is that people that were ignorant to privacy issues before, are now interested in them. He planted a seed of curiosity and concern.

As a result of this new interest in privacy, many companies have been reacting to show customers that they are safe and secure. One of the most vocal of these companies is Microsoft. Today, the company announces that it will soon start encrypting all Bing web searches. Whoa. This is huge.

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While Windows Phone is not the best mobile operating system, Cortana is the best overall digital assistant. Google Now is very useful, but cold and heartless. Siri is just... a pleasant way to get the weather -- I'm only half-joking here. Microsoft's offering is a mix of personality and usefulness that truly makes life better; I cannot wait until she is available on iOS and Android.

Today, Cortana joins the mile high club. No, she is not doing anything naughty (I hope); she is making air travel a better experience for Windows Phone users. In other words, she is almost like a nagging mom or wife (or dad, husband) that gets you to the airport on time!

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When signing up for an online service or installing new software, it's common to be confronted by a privacy statement as well as a service agreement. It goes without saying that few -- if any -- people bother to read through these as they are not only lengthy, but also packed to bursting with legalise. Microsoft wants to change that.

Starting at the beginning of August, the Microsoft Services Agreement and the Microsoft Privacy Statement will be updated so they are easier to understand. Microsoft stresses that the essential content of the documents will not change, just the way it is presented, and the language in which it is written. Covering products as diverse as Bing, Cortana, Microsoft accounts, OneDrive, Outlook.com, Skype and Xbox Live, this is Microsoft's latest bid to be more transparent to customers.

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Many (OK, most) people use Google to conduct their web searches, and why not? It is a great search engine which I use regularly too.  However, it is important to remember that there are other choices available too. While some talk up the privacy benefits of DuckDuckGo, I find its results to be lacking. For me, besides Google, the only other worthy search engine is Bing. Not only does Microsoft's search engine offer great results, but it is pretty too. While Google's search interface is bare-bones, Bing offers a more visually pleasing experience with beautiful photos.

If you are a Bing fan like me, you would probably like to visit the Bing Headquarters for a tour right? Of course you would; that would be friggin' awesome! Guess what? This can become a reality. Simply enter the Ultimate Bing Experience III sweepstakes and you and a friend might win a trip to Seattle on August 10, 2015.

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Last month Google announced a series of changes to the way it handled search results on mobile devices, and now Microsoft is following suit. Now there is a focus on promoting those sites that are optimized for viewing on a smaller screen. Microsoft said six months ago that it would start to push mobile-friendly sites, and today this plan is being put into action.

The project started off by simply highlighting mobile-friendly sites to aid identification, but now they will be promoted further up search rankings. If there are two sites rated equally highly for their content, the one which is considered most suitable for viewing on a mobile device will appear higher in results when a search is conducted from a mobile device.

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The Premier League is almost over, but the final positions of the 20 teams is still up for debate, with several middle of the pack teams currently tied. Microsoft’s Bing Predicts looks to answer where every team will be come the end of the season.

Using algorithms based on past matches against future opponents, current form, injuries and other factors, Bing Predicts has a good overview of the entire situation, although nothing is for certain.

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Microsoft thinks that typing on a mobile device is difficult. At the same time it understands that "you love to discover images" on the very same devices. To help make your mobile searches a little easier to conduct, the company is introducing a number of tweaks and changes to the iOS and Android Bing app.

Of course it is not possible to entirely eliminate the need to input words in order to conduct a search, but Microsoft has taken steps to reduce it to an absolute minimum. How has this been done? Enter simple search terms and you're provided with a couple of new ways to drill down to exactly what it is you're looking for with just a few taps.

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Late last year Getty Images hit Microsoft with a lawsuit for using its images without license in the Bing Image Widget. Getty had complained that Microsoft turned its images into "a vast, unlicensed clip art collection". In a bid to avoid trouble, Microsoft opted to take down the widget and now -- seven months down the line -- it seems that it may just have paid off.

Today, the two companies announced that they are forming a partnership to bring properly licensed images to products such as Bing and Cortana. Technologies from both Microsoft and Getty images will be used together to enrich services on both sides.

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While I did graduate from the world-renowned Stony Brook University, it took me longer than usual. Sadly, I was what you would call a "higher education adult learner", meaning I was older than most of the students and only went part-time because I had to work a job. This wasn't a bad thing from a learning perspective, but I did not get to participate in the full college experience. In other words, I was working while the younger students were participating in clubs and watching sporting events. Truth be told, I am a huge basketball fan, and I regret not going to any games while attending.

Luckily, my alma mater is only one win away from going to the big tournament for the first time ever. Yes, if the Stony Brook Seawolves defeat Albany on Sunday, we get to experience the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. Even if they don't make it, I can still enjoy watching the games, but more importantly I can enjoy building my brackets. If you aren't familiar, this means picking the teams that will win and advance in the tournament. For some, picking winners (and gambling) is more fun than the actual sport! This year, Microsoft has partnered with the NCAA to make Bing the official bracket data partner. Will the search-engine pick winners?

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Microsoft has been very busy lately. Just in the last month, the software giant has adopted an international standard for cloud privacy, released Windows 10 Technical Preview for phones, introduced an Outlook app for mobile devices, updated mobile Office to support its rivals' cloud storage services, and removed all restrictions from its OneNote app. However, Microsoft isn't done, as it just introduced two useful new features in Bing.

Bing is making it easier for users to order food and find the right hotel right from the search results. For restaurants that make deliveries, the search engine will show an Order online button; click it and you'll be taken to an ordering service to receive your favorite dishes at the door.

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You can easily increase the amount of storage that's available with your OneDrive for free. Bonus space can be unlocked by referring the service to your friends and enabling the auto camera upload feature in the mobile apps. The most that you can get though is 20 GB. Those of us who have been using the service from the early days also get a loyalty bonus of 10 GB. But maybe that's still not enough.

As you may know, Microsoft has recently started to give Bing Rewards users the option to unlock a further 100 GB of free OneDrive storage. The catch? Only folks using the service in US have been welcome. However, now you can get the same treatment worldwide. Here's how.

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