MSN Search
From Open Encyclopedia
Image:Msn search.png MSN Search is a search engine that allows one to search for web pages, news, products, groups (see MSN Groups), images and Microsoft's encyclopedia, Encarta.
MSN Search has improved with a new look to compete against Google and Yahoo!.
MSN Search includes a new search engine, index and crawler; which offers the ability to search for specific types of information using search tabs that include Web, news, images, music, desktop, local and Microsoft® Encarta®.
MSN Search aims to make its over 2.5 billion worldwide queries each month “more useful by providing consumers with improved access to information and more precise answers to their questions.” MSN Search can be found at: search.msn.com.
Microsoft now provides its own Microsoft-built search engine results (list of web addresses with samples of content that meet a user's query). Starting as a beta program in November 2004 (based on several years of research), and came out of beta in February 2005. The MSN Search Engine Index now includes more than: 5 billion documents, 400 million images and 3 million instant answers.
Previously, it relied on different search engine companies as sources, including Inktomi, now owned by Yahoo. MSN Search has now begun providing its results to other search engine portals, making it a major competitor to Google, Yahoo and others. The MSN Search index is updated weekly or even daily
Criticisms
By default, a mistyped URL in Internet Explorer will send the user to MSN Search. This is seen some critics as a means to increase traffic on their search tool, and a loose form of typosquatting. A configuration menu is available to change the default search engine in Explorer, but Google, MSN's main competitor, is absent, and a custom URL cannot be entered. To change this behaviour users may install an add-on. For example, the Google Toolbar add-on, can be used to direct such searches to Google instead.
Microsoft has also been criticized for manipulating its search engine results to favor its own products over those of competitors. It is claimed tactics include ranking web sites using Microsoft's Internet Information Server higher than those using other web server software [1].
Languages
Image:Msn search ro.PNG MSN Search is available in various language versions. Languages include Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.
