Google: Bing Is Cheating, Copying Our Search Results
241–250 of 288 posts
Re: Google: Bing Is Cheating, Copying Our Search Results
#242Hmmm. Let's say that Bing sets up a script that sends queries to Google and then records the results. That's clearly copying. But what Bing does is when you use its toolbar, it watches what you do and uses that information to rank results. Is that really copying? It showed Google's Honeypot page because Google's engineers were clicking on the Honeypot page with the toolbar installed. That isn't copying Google's resul…
I don't see this as being any different from what Microsoft has been doing for 20+ years. They let a competitor put the work into figuring something out, then make a a reasonably accurate facsimile thereof. I think it's lazy, but not particularly unethical. If Google were Benz, would they be complaining that Ford was making 4-wheeled vehicles with an engine? More appropriately, and given that I've been on a Top Gear bender lately, if Google were Cadillac would they be complaining that everyone else was copying their method for operating vehicles, with three pedals, a gear shift, a steering wheel and a handbrake?
I get why Google is upset, but this doesn't strike me as unethical behaviour in a free market.
Re: Google: Bing Is Cheating, Copying Our Search Results
#243The balls on MS people are fucking amazing: "Harry Shum, VP of search development at Bing, responded by admitting that Google had uncovered a new form of search fraud, and said he wished Google had spoken to Microsoft about it before taking it to the press". So bing is either (a) scraping all web behavior out of ie, or (b) scraping G's search engine results, or (c) both -- and dude is pissy because G didn't give them time to get their lies together in private? Amazing.
ps -- there's a word for what MS's software appears to be doing: spyware.
Re: Google: Bing Is Cheating, Copying Our Search Results
#244If Bing is really copying what about those who fought Bing vs Google war as if it were Vi vs Emacs war?
By any chance, is Bing named after Chandler Bing?
"DuckDuckGo" has become by default. Its awesome.
Re: Google: Bing Is Cheating, Copying Our Search Results
#245If Bing is really copying what about those who fought Bing vs Google war as if it were Vi vs Emacs war? By any chance, is Bing named after Chandler Bing? "DuckDuckGo" has become by default. Its awesome.
also, did anyone took a look at Windows XP source code? I suspect there might be linux kernel in there.
Re: Google: Bing Is Cheating, Copying Our Search Results
#246Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am not a lawyer, but as I understand it there is some precedent in the US of intentionally ignoring robots.txt being unauthorized computer access, exposing you to all the liability that entails (possibly criminal).
I'd like to see an actual case reference for this. I've never heard of ignoring robots.txt resulting in any kind of legal action. It would take a pretty big leap to go from robots.txt is advisory to ignoring it constitutes a criminal action.
Internet Archive was sued unsuccessfully. As I understand it a lawsuit is still in process against Google on the topic. So I guess the precedent is weaker than I thought, but still: tread carefully.
Re: Google: Bing Is Cheating, Copying Our Search Results
#247Hmmm. Let's say that Bing sets up a script that sends queries to Google and then records the results. That's clearly copying. But what Bing does is when you use its toolbar, it watches what you do and uses that information to rank results. Is that really copying? It showed Google's Honeypot page because Google's engineers were clicking on the Honeypot page with the toolbar installed. That isn't copying Google's resul…
Does anyone think that the Google toolbar doesn't do the exact same thing? Just sayin
Re: Google: Bing Is Cheating, Copying Our Search Results
#248In other news, Google has finally figured out why their search result quality has been steadily declining but won't comment on the specifics.
Re: Google: Bing Is Cheating, Copying Our Search Results
#249Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well yes there is a hard link happening between a google search result and a link being clicked, however googles argument isn't as strong if it turns out bing is doing this for all search engines. It might be that they aren't targeting google specifically, but instead they're targeting all search sites generically.
I think this would still leave Google with a fairly strong argument - if Bing does it for all search engines, then they're effectively copying whoever is most popular. Since it's done through Internet Explorer, which is still bundled with Windows in most places, they could try to make the argument that Microsoft is using their position in the OS market to crush competition in other markets.
Interesting angle to go through the tied market and competition policy: that's a type of authority that is far more intelligent, and precisely just prosecuted IE in Windows. However, you'd have to either have a US court acknowledge that a European was right to disagree with them in the first place, or have a European court admit that their previous decision wasn’t enough. It’s feasible, but hard.
Where you’ll be more limited with it, is that it’s apparently not IE, but the Bing Bar that is at stake—the connection is getting thinner.
Re: Google: Bing Is Cheating, Copying Our Search Results
#250Earlier quoted context omitted.
But then still, the Bing toolbar is watching what you're searching for and recording that information. That's a pretty big privacy issue
Google doesn't really want to get into a heated discussion about the evils of a search engine knowing everything you've ever searched for. Stones, glass houses, etc. (Given Google's near-monopoly of the market, Microsoft and DDG have some amusing competitive synergy going on, don't they. DDG can criticize Google all they please for retaining user data because DDG doesn't and isn't in a position to benefit from it. Mi…
For all Google’s sins, there is a Dashboard that let you erase all you care them not to know: Google could promote that heavily in case of stone, glass house. I always assumed this would be a great way to learn more about queries: spotting what words people are ashamed to have searched for.
It could be something a registered user could set from a browser toggle, and DuckDuckGo is a very good project, or course. My point was: data portability and user control are within Google's long term interest, not being evasive about their data cache.