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New Microsoft search engine could go off with a Bing
27 May 2009 | 19.53 Europe/London
With a launch expected very soon, it looks like Microsoft is planning to ditch the "Kumo" moniker from its new search engine and go to market with an altogether different name. The Redmond giant is reportedly putting aside a hundred million dollars to market its new Google wannabe and, if the name does end up being "Bing," it could need every cent.
If those reports are accurate MS will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Nintendo, which decided to swap the development title for its most recent console - "Revolution" - for something much sillier: "Wii." While the Big N's spokesman Reggie Fils-Amie was almost laughed off the international stage when he announced the Wii N, Nintendo got people talking - and even suggesting sensible reasons for the title, like that the "ii" part of "Wii" comes from the Japanese word for "good."
While the name Wii was a stroke of genius for the gaming giant, what sort of images does "Bing" conjure up? If you're that way inclined, it might remind you of the character "Chandler Bing" from US sitcom Friends (played by Matthew Perry) or a particular kind of cherry (in Japan "cherry boy" is a slang term for "virgin" - and that's a branding that's certainly worked for Richard Branson). But if you're Microsoft's public enemy #1, Google, then it makes you think of Bing Crosby - and that surely must be the kind of cutting-edge product association MS is going for.
ZDNet's blogger on Microsoft says the unveiling of the new search engine could be the time the Redmond firm also announces a deal with Yahoo. According to Mary J. Foley, Windows Live Search could be effectively replaced by Yahoo, which seems to undermine the whole point in MS spending any time and money at all on developing its new search toy - and with such spectacular timing. She says Microsoft's recent registration of a Limited Liability Company is evidence it has an acquisition or joint venture on the cards. If this means MS adopt Yahoo as its search engine, perhaps "Bluff" would be a better new name for Kumo.
For the meantime, one deal Microsoft won't be doing is with the New Zealand government. It would have been a whole-government contract but, while this comes as a blow for The House That Gates Built, it's not a total disaster: MS can still do deals with individual NZ government agencies. Meanwhile, Microsoft is keeping its own government sweet by blocking countries the US has imposed sanctions on from using downloadable Windows Live services, such as its popular Messenger.
In the UK, ITV's decision to stream the Champions League football final on its website is good news for Microsoft: thousands will have to download its Silverlight software in order to watch the game. Installing the Adobe Flash rival is set up to be a one-click process, meaning you agree to Microsoft's terms and conditions without even having to glance at them and click them away. Because there is a link to view the licence agreement - which presumably people hurrying to watch the game won't even notice - we read it.
There are some notable Digital Rights Management (DRM) protocols hidden away in the Silverlight terms of service agreement. For instance, "if the security of your version of Silverlight is compromised" then Microsoft reserves the right to disable your ability to watch any and all DRM-protected content at the request of a rights holder. Microsoft also assign a "unique identifier for your computer" that it sends to rights holders if you try and access content protected by DRM as part of its "standard computer information." You have to wonder why they don't spend a hundred million dollars on advertising things that.
If those reports are accurate MS will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Nintendo, which decided to swap the development title for its most recent console - "Revolution" - for something much sillier: "Wii." While the Big N's spokesman Reggie Fils-Amie was almost laughed off the international stage when he announced the Wii N, Nintendo got people talking - and even suggesting sensible reasons for the title, like that the "ii" part of "Wii" comes from the Japanese word for "good."
While the name Wii was a stroke of genius for the gaming giant, what sort of images does "Bing" conjure up? If you're that way inclined, it might remind you of the character "Chandler Bing" from US sitcom Friends (played by Matthew Perry) or a particular kind of cherry (in Japan "cherry boy" is a slang term for "virgin" - and that's a branding that's certainly worked for Richard Branson). But if you're Microsoft's public enemy #1, Google, then it makes you think of Bing Crosby - and that surely must be the kind of cutting-edge product association MS is going for.
ZDNet's blogger on Microsoft says the unveiling of the new search engine could be the time the Redmond firm also announces a deal with Yahoo. According to Mary J. Foley, Windows Live Search could be effectively replaced by Yahoo, which seems to undermine the whole point in MS spending any time and money at all on developing its new search toy - and with such spectacular timing. She says Microsoft's recent registration of a Limited Liability Company is evidence it has an acquisition or joint venture on the cards. If this means MS adopt Yahoo as its search engine, perhaps "Bluff" would be a better new name for Kumo.
For the meantime, one deal Microsoft won't be doing is with the New Zealand government. It would have been a whole-government contract but, while this comes as a blow for The House That Gates Built, it's not a total disaster: MS can still do deals with individual NZ government agencies. Meanwhile, Microsoft is keeping its own government sweet by blocking countries the US has imposed sanctions on from using downloadable Windows Live services, such as its popular Messenger.
In the UK, ITV's decision to stream the Champions League football final on its website is good news for Microsoft: thousands will have to download its Silverlight software in order to watch the game. Installing the Adobe Flash rival is set up to be a one-click process, meaning you agree to Microsoft's terms and conditions without even having to glance at them and click them away. Because there is a link to view the licence agreement - which presumably people hurrying to watch the game won't even notice - we read it.
There are some notable Digital Rights Management (DRM) protocols hidden away in the Silverlight terms of service agreement. For instance, "if the security of your version of Silverlight is compromised" then Microsoft reserves the right to disable your ability to watch any and all DRM-protected content at the request of a rights holder. Microsoft also assign a "unique identifier for your computer" that it sends to rights holders if you try and access content protected by DRM as part of its "standard computer information." You have to wonder why they don't spend a hundred million dollars on advertising things that.
Perhaps the association they were looking for is "the machine that goes *bing*"?
28 May 2009 | 08.53 Europe/London
Windows Live Search and Yahoo search could usefully disappear from the face of the Earth, with their invasive installers, adverts and weak search abilities. In fact the whole Microsoft Lame! package should be banned by the EU as anticompetitive.
No doubt hundreds of thousands of victims will find this Bung thing installed by MS via an update, a default Windows setting or as part of the browser that is part of the OS. Then they'll be able to claim what a huge success it is (like Vista).
28 May 2009 | 13.50 Europe/London