For the past 15 years, Microsoft’s master business plan seems to have been, “Wait until somebody else has a hit. Then copy it.” I know that sounds mean, but come on — the list of commercial hits/Microsoft wannabes is as long as your arm. You would think Microsoft would feel a little sheepish after awhile. And now we have yet another me-too effort. It’s something called Bing, and it’s the latest iteration of Microsoft’s multiyear attempt to imitate Google. The name, presumably, is supposed to evoke the sound of a winning game-show bell. The cynics online, however, joke that Bing is an acronym for, “But it’s not Google.” Here’s the shocker, though: In many ways, Bing is better. That’s quite a statement, of course — almost heresy. But check it out yourself. It’s easy to compare the two, thanks to sites like bing-vs-google.com. Here, you are shown search results from both Bing and Google, side-by-side, on a split screen.

At first, Bing is pretty much Google: a Search box; a menu that offers to complete what you are typing; and inconspicuous links to Images, Videos, News, Shopping and Maps. Once you hit Enter, however, you can’t help noticing Bing’s more concerted effort to get you answers faster. For starters, how’s this for a dream feature? Point to any search result without clicking; a pop-up balloon shows you the first few paragraphs of text on it. Without leaving the results list, you know whether it’s going to be helpful. Here’s another example. On Google, search results usually appear as a long list of blue text links. Occasionally, a photo appears, too. Or, if your search clearly has only one informational answer — weather, stock price, sports scores, street address — you get that answer right at the top: a five-day weather forecast, a stock chart, current game scores, a…

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Surprise! Bing Can Outdo Google