NY Times : The coming search wars

Sunday’s New York Times took a look at the upcoming search war between Microsoft and Google. There is no doubt in my mind that Internet search will be built-in to Longhorn. Google will offer their deskbar, and you may even be able to choose your default search technology similar to your media player, instant message client, browser, etc. today. Google will change once it enters the public market. Employee perks will be scrutinized, and there might be some employee shuffle. Google and Yahoo! are the first names techies think of when it comes to search, and MSN Search will have a more difficult time accepting top talent. I interviewed with MSN Search in December 2000, before the company dedicated itself to its own search technology. They were proud that they were #2 in search and they felt something is obviously going right. I asked where they placed in Internet searches from a browser other than Internet Explorer and was told that statistic does not matter since Internet Explorer has such a huge market share. Sharepoint carried the search torch the last three years. Maybe things have changed for the better, but Microsoft still does not have its key pieces in place (keyword advertising, Intranet) to compete anytime soon.