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Many Android phones will offer Bing alongside Google search in Europe
Microsoft scores key markets in the latest browser choice auction.
Microsoft won't force Office 365 business customers to use Bing after all
Microsoft has walked back from its decision to make Bing the default search engine in Chrome for Office 365 ProPlus customers. Over on its techcommunity website, the company says it will now instead give admins the option to opt into installing the Microsoft Search in Bing extension on their organization's devices.
Office 365 business installations are auto-switching Chrome search to Bing
Microsoft is making Bing the default search engine in Chrome -- for business users, that is. The tech giant has announced that when enterprise customers install Office 365 ProPlus Version 2002 or update the suite in February, they'll find that the "Microsoft Search in Bing" extension will also be installed for the Chrome browser. Microsoft says that making Bing the default search engine will allow users "to access relevant workplace information directly from the browser address bar."
Google's EU Android search choice is good for DuckDuckGo, bad for Bing
Last year -- following an antitrust ruling by the European Union -- Google announced it would start offering a choice of search providers to Android users. The "choice screen" set to appear on Android devices shipped in Europe from March 1st is designed to mitigate Google's search engine monopoly, and give other providers the chance to get in front of users. These other providers, however, will basically not include Bing.
Microsoft's Chromium Edge browser arrives January 15th
After launching a beta test for the new Chromium Edge in September, Microsoft is now gearing up to officially launch the browser on January 15th, 2020. Over the weekend, the company also revealed a new pinwheel-like Edge logo, which looks like an offshoot of Chrome's logo. You can test out the near-final Release Candidate version today, which should be stable enough for anyone to use, but also serves to let IT administrators to prepare for the new Edge. And speaking of IT folks, Microsoft is also debuting new Bing features for businesses, which gives the search engine the ability to index intranet files and corporate data.
All I want to do is chill and play 'Flight Simulator'
It's been a long day. You get home as the sun is setting and close the door behind you, throwing down your keys and sliding off your shoes. You grab a drink and sink into the chair in front of your PC. The screen boots up and -- click, click -- it's filled by a long stretch of asphalt backed up by the mechanical hum of a single-engine Cessna. You throttle the small plane forward, straighten out, and take off. As soon as you're in the air, you flip the perspective from inside the cockpit, surrounded by dials and gauges and window frames, to a third-person view just behind the plane. Suddenly, the land below stretches 600km in every direction, alive and dense with realistic detail. Above, an infinite sky is peppered with layers of mist and clouds. You pick a direction and fly.
Microsoft confirms Bing is 'inaccessible' in China (update)
While China blocked Google's and Facebook's services long ago, Microsoft's search engine remained available in the country. That is, until Bing became inaccessible on Wednesday in what appears to be a DNS corruption issue -- one of the most common methods the Chinese government uses to censor websites. Microsoft says it's aware that the search engine is having issues in China, and it's now exploring its next steps.
SwiftKey for Android adds a handy search function to its toolbar
SwiftKey recently gave users the ability to translate conversations without having to leave their apps, and now it's making it easier to search the web. SwiftKey for Android has added a search function, allowing users to search for what they need right from their keyboards. Just open the Toolbar by tapping the "+" on the top left of the keyboard, tap the search icon and type in your search. If you're typing in words, the search function will bring up results from Bing while typing a URL will take you right to that page. You can then share links or screenshots without having to leave your app.
Bing and Yahoo were suggesting offensive search terms
Tech companies continue to have problems with clearly offensive search terms, and Microsoft is no exception to the rule. How-To Geek discovered that Bing (and by extension, our sibling brand Yahoo) was suggesting offensive searches even if you had SafeSearch turned on. If you searched for "Jews" or "black people are," for example, you'd see racist auto-complete recommendations. Even an innocuous video search for "Michelle Obama" would turn up bigoted suggestions, while image searches offered queries for underage girls and similarly disgusting (not to mention illegal) results.
Microsoft merges search across Windows 10, Office, Edge and Bing
Amid hardware updates and other announcements at Ignite 2018 Monday, Microsoft said it's releasing a string of new features to boost productivity, including one major change that will affect how you find what you're looking for. The company is unifying search across Windows 10, Office, Edge and Bing in Microsoft Search. The search box will live in a "consistent, prominent place" across the apps, the company said.
Bing implements Google's fast-loading AMP tech
If you're in the US and use Bing as your search engine on mobile, you might start coming across AMP's lightning bolt in the results page. While Microsoft already uses AMP in some of its apps, including Bing, it's only now that the search engine has started implementing Google's open-source technology for its search results within a browser. You can think of AMP as the solution Google conjured up to make web pages load faster on mobile, and it works with Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, Opera and UC Browser.
Microsoft Edge iOS beta offers handy visual search tool
Today, beta testers of the Microsoft Edge browser on iOS can now try out Visual Search, which parses images taken by your device's camera and delivers links to related information. The Bing-based feature came to early users on Android last month, and it works with just-taken photos or from those in your camera roll.
Bing can use your phone camera to search the web
Microsoft isn't about to let Google's visual search features go uncontested. The tech giant has introduced a Visual Search feature to Bing that uses your phone's camera (either a fresh shot or from your camera roll) to identify objects and serve up links related to what you see. Snap a picture of a landmark and you may get travel info, for instance. Logically, Microsoft is also playing up the shopping angle: search for an outfit or home furniture and you'll get prices and shopping locations.
FDA wants Facebook and Twitter to crack down on opioid sales
In a speech given yesterday at the National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced that the agency would be inviting a number of internet company CEOs to a summit that will host discussions on potential solutions to the tech industry's role in the US opioid crisis. Gottlieb says that the FDA has found offers to purchase opioids and other drugs on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Google, Yahoo and Bing. He added that in a report from the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, investigators found that "'it was easy to find fentanyl advertised online,' pay for it using cryptocurrency or credit cards and have it shipped to anywhere in the United States through international mail."
Microsoft unveils improved AI-powered search features for Bing
Microsoft unveiled a handful of new intelligent search features for Bing at an event held in San Francisco today. Powered by AI, the search updates are meant to provide more thorough answers and allow for more conversational or general search queries.
Apple drops Bing for Google on Siri and macOS searches
Apple has ditched Bing in favor of Google for results when searching the internet with Siri on iOS or Spotlight on macOS. It will finish rolling out this afternoon, according to TechCrunch, a switchover that was likely timed to sync with today's release of MacOS High Sierra.
One week with Microsoft Cortana
"Never mind it. Never mind," I cursed, looking down on the poorly formed monstrosity that gazed back at me with a singular pulsing eye. No, not at me -- through me. This was not my trusty Google Assistant, with whom I shared a deep logistical and day-planning-based bond. This thing barely looked like the AI to which I was accustomed and -- even then -- only in passing. This alien program appears to have eaten my digital assistant and started wearing its skin -- and I'm about to spend the next week having it organize my life.
Comcast’s new XFi tools give parents more control over the home network
After debuting an all-in-one streaming app for its cable TV service and a new IoT-commanding home gateway earlier this year, Comcast announced on Friday that it is adding a trio of new parental control features to its XFi internet system: Timed Pause, Safer Search and a Notification Center.
Windows 10 S is a gamble on the future of desktop apps
So what is Windows 10 S? Is it the perfect OS for school kids and teachers, or is it the OS that will make Microsoft's new Surface Laptop shine? Can it be both? If you don't have 105 minutes to watch the presentation, Windows 10 S is a skew of Microsoft's OS that only runs Windows Store apps. Because of this, it's purportedly faster and, thanks to app sandboxes, more secure than Windows 10 Home or Pro. Before its unveil, it was widely assumed that 10 S was all about competing with Chrome OS at the low end. But despite introducing the OS at an education-focused event, Microsoft and its hardware partners will sell Windows 10 S machines to the masses, with prices ranging from $189 to more than $2,000 for the most expensive Surface Laptop.
Microsoft privacy dashboard gives you control over your data
Microsoft has been accused of overstepping privacy boundaries with Windows 10, but it's ready to try and regain some of that broken trust. It's launching a web-based account privacy dashboard that lets you monitor and control the information Microsoft services use. You can view and wipe your Bing search history, Edge browsing history and your location activity. And if you're worried about what Cortana Notebook and Microsoft Health are doing, you can edit your data for those services.
