How to change the default search engine in Microsoft Edge
Windows 10's new modern web browser comes with Bing as its default search engine. This will, of course, surprise absolutely no one. Some people will be more than happy with that choice, but others will prefer to switch to using something different. Like Google.
The process isn’t especially intuitive but it is very straightforward and won’t take more than a few seconds of your time. Here’s how to do it.
Google will let you shop straight from search results
Google is preparing to make shopping online even easier, by cutting out the middle-man and allowing customers to shop directly on the search engine.
Called Purchase on Google, a small list of retailers will allow Google to show their products on the search engine, with a Buy button for quick sales. Once the user clicks the buy button, it will take them to a mini-site with the look and feel of the real site, and advance straight to payment.
Java installer is making changes, but don't get excited just yet
Security problems aside, Java has been a thorn in people's sides for other reasons. When installed or updated, the app breezes you right past the part where it installs the Ask Toolbar. Sure it does put it on the screen, but it's set to opt in and many people are too busy clicking OK to notice. So when Ask's inclusion was canceled it seemed like good news.
Not really. Instead, Oracle has opted to move on and will now start changing the default search for its customers. If you aren't careful, then you can expect to find Yahoo as your new default. Are you excited yet?
Safari is king of the mobile browsers -- which could be bad news for Google
Google’s dominance of the web is best illustrated by Mobilegeddon. The search giant has made changes to its algorithm, prioritizing sites that are "mobile friendly" and demoting those that aren’t. Google says that mobile-friendliness is just one of 200 signals that it uses to determine the ranking of results and that sites which don’t have mobile versions won’t disappear as a result of this change. That said, the truth is if Google says you need a mobile site -- that it approves of -- then you need a mobile site.
But while Google is forcing sites to offer mobile friendly versions or suffer the consequences, it’s Apple’s browser that the majority of people are using to access the web while on the go.
Google cleans up URLs in mobile search results with breadcrumbs
Google is revamping the way URLs appear in search results on mobile devices. Smaller screens have a tendency to truncate lengthier URLs, and even when this doesn’t happen diminutive screen size can make addresses difficult to read.
To combat this problem, the search giant is introducing a new breadcrumb trail presentation with a view to making the information easy to absorb at a glance. But what does this change actually mean?
Bing lobotomizes Yahoo Search, while Google stands by laughing
Yahoo's search deal with Microsoft just gets worse by the day. Six years ago, when announced, I called the agreement "Christmas in July" for Google. My prediction then: The combined entity would cannibalize from Y while taking little from G. Bing would be the big beneficiary, and its painful gains have been punishing.
March 2015 U.S. search share figures are out from comScore, raising a milestone that is no cause for celebration. Bing reached 20.1 percent, or about where Yahoo was in the months before announcing its deal with Microsoft, which essentially came to power Y searches. Yahoo is 12.7 percent. Combined they're at 32.8 percent, which is up from 28.6 percent five years earlier. The dent to Google is minimal, with share falling to 64.4 percent last month from 65.1 percent in March 2010. Aggregated gains came from other providers, such as AOL. not from the market leader. In fact, if not for Mozilla swapping G for Y as Firefox's default search engine, there would be no meaningful gains from Google whatsoever.
Order food and find the right hotel using Bing
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.
Yahoo takes a big bite out of Google's search share, catching up to Bing
When Mozilla announced that Yahoo would be replacing Google as the default search choice in Firefox in the US, there were raised eyebrows everywhere. After all, Google has been baked into Firefox for the past decade, and Yahoo’s days as a top search engine are long gone. Or were long gone at least.
Yahoo’s inclusion in Firefox has given the ailing search engine a major boost, helping it achieve its highest US search share since 2009. Unsurprisingly, this share increase came at the expense of Google.
Better Search: a one-stop web research assistant for Chrome
If you're starting a web research project then Chrome is an ideal companion: fast, easy to use, and with a capable bookmarking system to record your favorite sites.
There's still plenty of room for improvement, though, and Better Search extends the browser with a host of new search-related features and functionality.
Europe votes in favor of splitting up Google and other online companies
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have voted overwhelmingly in favor of breaking up big online companies like Google. While Google is not specifically mentioned, the MEPs aim of "unbundling search engines from other commercial services" to increase competition would clearly impact on the search giant if the resolution is approved by the European Commission.
It's all part of a bid to not help the growth of the EU's digital single market, but also to help boost competitiveness. All very reminiscent of the anti-trust lawsuits that have plagued Microsoft. The vote itself was fairly decisive. 384 voted in favor of the proposed resolution, 174 against, and 56 abstained from voting.
Google can count many blessings this Thanksgiving
While I keep the list short this year, it wouldn't be U.S. Thanksgiving without my writing about gratitude, and why some tech company's executives, employees, and partners should prostrate and pray "Thanks".
Let's start off with Google, which continues a great run that started with Larry Page's return as CEO in April 2011. If he's not all smiles this Turkey Day, someone should slap that man aside the head. I could tick off a hundred things for which he should give thanks. For brevity's sake, so you can get back to the big game and bigger bird, I select some things that might not come to mind.
Proof that Bing is trying to impersonate Google
A couple of days ago, I wrote an article about my impressions of the redesigns of Bing and how it seems to be changing in reaction to Google. It was getting to the point where it seemed as if they were trying to confuse users.
Some of the commentators disagreed vehemently. Some denied the changes, and said Google was copying Bing (what?!). Some said that this was the natural progression of design to a more minimalist view. While that second point does hold some merit, it doesn't explain the discrepancies between the Bing web search versus the larger Bing theme, especially the navigation bar underneath the search box and why these discrepancies happen to mimic Google.
Is Microsoft trying to confuse users by having Bing look like Google?
Microsoft has been tweaking Bing's design for a while now. The latest design makes it seem that it wants Bing to be indistinguishable from Google. If you have Bing as the default on your browser (or accidentally clicked a Microsoft prompt to do so), and are not very tech-savvy, you may not even realize that you're using Bing -- especially if you think any type of internet search is "Googling."
Notice how each have a minimalist search bar at the top with options for different searches at the bottom with "Web" highlighted with a colored bar.
Microsoft rolls out the new MSN, rebrands Bing apps for Windows, Windows Phone
Microsoft did something rather unexpected earlier this month. The software giant unveiled a revamped MSN, saving the online portal from oblivion -- its biggest merit lately is being the default website for Internet Explorer. The new MSN looks great, connects users to Microsoft's consumer-facing cloud services, and can be tailored to suit their preference. It also makes it easy to trigger a search across the InterWebs. Heck, I have even said it might work as the Bing landing page.
Fast forward to today and Microsoft announces that more than 10 million users have tested the new MSN, with more than 80,000 of them also submitting feedback. Those numbers look really good. And they should, considering the online portal's Microsoft-focused audience. The feedback it has received must have been good also, as Microsoft announces it is rolling out the new MSN in the next three days.
Using an older browser version? Google wants you to move on
Google has begun displaying old versions of its search page to users of out-of-date web browsers.
Over the previous weekend, many people reported seeing the 2013 version of the Google homepage when using an older version of certain browsers.
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