Microsoft no rival for Google's wizardry - yet

By ANICK JESDANUN


Microsoft isn't often an underdog in anything, so when the software powerhouse released its new search engine I was anxious to give it a whirl.

First the good news: MSN Search has a few features that go beyond Google - laudable given Google's formidable head start.

Now the verdict: Bill Gates, you're no Google. I won't be changing my search engine of choice.

Granted, the new MSN is still in a "beta" test phase - a work in progress. Early next year, Microsoft is expected to make the technology part of its main MSN site, replacing the Yahoo-powered search engine it now uses. By then, it might have resolved some of the troubles I had.

For now, it's generally disappointing.

Among the MSN Search features that Google lacks are three graphical levers that help you refine searches. One moves between "exact match" and "approximate match", while others control results based on how often a site is updated or how popular it is.

Though the levers seem to affect mostly the order in which sites appear rather than results, the feature is a good start in letting you tell the search engine what matters most to you.

An easily accessible "search builder" also lets you add keywords and limit results by country or language.

Google's "advanced search" lets you choose a language, too, but MSN lets you pick more than one.

One thing Microsoft does with the MSN beta is to incorporate its new music-download service. You can type in the name of a singer or a band and get links to 30-second clips of the performer's top hits. You can also buy full songs for US$1 ($1.40) each (ka-ching ka-ching).

If only the search function were better.

Typing "Dexys Midnight Runners" won't produce its one wondrous hit, Come on Eileen. Instead, you need the song's title. And partial names such as "Springsteen" aren't good enough; Microsoft says it didn't want to make the tool too liberal and always assume you're looking for songs.

Sadly, neither the music clips nor the search builder fully worked with the Opera browser, though they do with Firefox and, of course, Microsoft's own Internet Explorer.

MSN also incorporates Microsoft's Encarta reference tools and promises direct answers to research questions for free. Type "What was the population of France in 1980?" and MSN spits back, "Answer: France: Population, total: 53,869,743."

This automated feature, however, can be hit-or-miss (Google's version uses humans, but carries a fee).

I went through 16 examples given in Microsoft's own reviewer's guide and found that five did not work.

For one, asking for the top 10 cities in the world, I got only one response, Lagos, Nigeria.

Microsoft's research lab has a project, called AskMSR, to produce answers based on natural language queries but the company says it likely won't be ready in time for next year's MSN relaunch.

I asked MSN, "How far is a marathon?" and got silence. I then asked, "What is a marathon?" and got how far it is: 42,194.9880161 meters. Right answer, wrong question. And it was given in metres, for a race far less daunting to think of as about 26 miles or 42 kilometres.

The MSN beta plays catch-up with Google in many ways. Now you can search an index of images, perform calculations, obtain word definitions and fine-tune results based on your location.

Unlike Google, the calculator can handle algebraic formulas: "2x-5=10" tells you "x=7.5" (schoolteachers: be forewarned).

But for the most part, the tools need work.

You must type "define" or "definition" to get a word's meaning. With Google, words that match its dictionary are automatically hyperlinked to a definition.

And while "8-8" and "8 minus eight" both give you zero, "8-eight" stumps the engine.

MSN also fails to recognise ounces when doing weight-and-measurement conversions.

The new search engine can convert temperature from fahrenheit to celsius. But misspell it as "fareinheight in celsuis" and you won't get a thing.

Like Google, MSN is now supposed to suggest correct spellings, but the tool often fails to work.

As for the local search, the results were quite laughable.

I'll check back with MSN to assess its progress, though.

I've no doubt it will get better as Microsoft absorbs feedback, and I look forward to that.

Even Google could use some competition.