Microsoft launches new MSN and MSN Search

The wait is over for Microsoft fans who were looking for something big from the software giant to confront Google with. The new MSN and the MSN Search Engine are very unlike Microsoft. The sites are lightweight and actually work decently across all browsers for a change. Microsoft apparently tried this new theme first on MSN Music, which is now being spread across all of their sites. Very decent indeed. Reminds me of Apple. They launched a beta of this search engine quite sometime ago. It had a shaky beginning as the server responded with errors quite regularly. However, these are now things of the past as Microsoft seems to be quite satisfied with what they have to offer with their latest search engine. It has now replaced Yahoo’s algorithm and search results as they are completely running their own engine for the searches on MSN.com. However, Microsoft is still using Yahoo’s sponsor advertisement mechanism powered by Overture.

Microsoft has openly admitted in the past that Google took the initiative in this much in news market and beaten them comprehensively until now. However, Bill Gates seems to be quite excited about this latest offering from them as he mentions in an open letter currently visible on the MSN’s homepage:

Our mission at Microsoft is to use the power of software to solve our customers’ toughest problems. Searching the Internet today is a challenge, and it is estimated that nearly half of customers’ complex questions go unanswered. That’s why we’re proud of our new MSN Search service, a simple and powerful tool that helps you find the answers you want from sources as diverse as Web pages, images, news headlines, music downloads, and even files on your PC.

I am quite impressed by the new outlook and attitude of MSN. Though, still skeptical about the quality of searches compared to Google. Microsoft has an advantage in having a larger pool of resources integrated in MSN Search like Encarta and MSN Music. However, what Google comes up with next is something I cannot wait to watch!