Washington - Microsoft's new Bing search engine (http://www.bing.com) made a splash when it was introduced recently, in part because it represents some long-overdue competition for search giant Google. Beyond the introductory fanfare, though, most are left wondering what makes Bing special - and how or whether it's worth using alongside, or instead of, Google. Here's a rundown of the best of Bing. --- Web page previews
At every turn, Bing is about reducing the number clicks required to find what you need. That's evident throughout the search engine, and it's a welcome productivity saver for click-weary Internet users.
Case in point: Web page previews. Allow your mouse cursor to hover over a link in a list of search results, and to the right you'll see a vertical line with a small orange do in the middle. Move your mouse cursor toward the line, and Bing shows you a preview of the text on the Web page without your having to visit it. The preview often includes an "also on this page" section, with frequently-visited sections of the page, so you can go right to a section of interest with one click.
--- Local intelligence
Bing also tries to save you time by reading your mind as much as possible. If you type the name of a store or place into the search engine, for instance, Bing will give preference to locations closest to you - and it will label the result it thinks you want as a "best match," placing it at the top of the search results.
The same kind of local prescience is at work when you type other words commonly searched for when trying to find local news and information. Type "traffic," for example, and Bing will show you a miniature map of local traffic and provide you with links for further details.
--- Image search
Search for an image on Bing, and you'll get a page that contains all of the images Bing finds on one scrolling screen. This is far preferable to Google's image search, which has you clicking Next repeatedly to find additional images.
What's more, Bing gives you more options in how images are displayed than does competing search engines, including Google. Options to the left of the image search results page allow you to specify the size and layout of images, as well as determine other parameters. Allow your mouse cursor to hover over an image, and an enlarged view appears, along with information about the image's source and a link that takes you to similar images.
In short, Bing outdoes Google in image searching, thanks to a user interface that dramatically reduces the number of clicks you'll need to find an image you want.
--- Video search
As with image search, Bing brings a few tricks and some significant usability enhancements to the area of video search. Allow your mouse cursor to hover over a thumbnail of a video, for instance, and Bing will play the clip for 30 seconds, complete with sound. The source of the video file is displayed clearly under each video thumbnail, as is the length of the full-length video. As with Bing's image search features, these preview features can save you quite a few mouse clicks.
Oddly, though, Bing does not present video search results on one scrollable page. Instead, you have to click Next to view successive pages of video clips.
--- Maps
Bing's mapping feature outdoes Google's in some respects. For starters, it's easier to save default locations in Bing than it is in Google Maps. And Bing's Clearflow mapping feature can plot alternative routes for you when there's heavy traffic - a boon for just about anyone who commutes in a metropolitan area.
On the flip side, Bing's maps do not scale as nicely as Google's do, and interactively changing a route is not as intuitive as it is with Google Maps.
Overall, though, Bing has enough areas of improvement over Google to make this a serious search contender. It's a bit difficult to fathom that Microsoft represents the underdog in this vital area of software, but that's long been the case. With Bing, the competition will undoubtedly be good both for Google and for the rest of us.
