Just the thing to see. I come back from Rhode Island today and see this article on the home page… Let the war begin! I still say that after all this has gone and come and finished, Google will still remain number one.
“Microsoft’s path to expand the Windows empire is leading directly to search king Google.
The software company this month quietly launched a new search program called MSNBot, which scours the Web to build an index of HTML links and documents. The homegrown system–which performs robot functions previously left to Inktomi and other partners–may pose a significant threat to Google if Microsoft fulfills its promise to make the program a cornerstone of its overall PC and services strategies.
MSNBot is believed to be the first step in a multiyear plan to build new search technology that bridges Microsoft’s home and business customers. Company executives hope the program will eventually prove to be the elusive technology that binds its various Web sites, applications and, of course, the dominant Windows operating system.” [News.com]