After reading an article about how Microsoft’s new “Bing” search engine is gaining in popularity since its launch, I decided to finally try it out.

I decided to use the exact same search string in both engines so that I’d get an idea as to which one would give me better results.

Being a smartass, the string I chose was “why is windows so expensive.”

Search Results:

Click for full-size images

Google search: results appear unfiltered.

Bing search: playing dumb?

Hmm. Microsoft apparently tried to help correct my grammar by replacing “is” with “are,” and suggested I wanted to know why vinyl windows were expensive. Maybe Bing’s just dumb?

Nope. Bing had the audacity to replace “windows” with “Mac” and “OSS” in the search string. Mac and Open Source, of course, being the two main threats to Windows’ domination of the PC market. That seems pretty dishonest, doesn’t it?

Now, I realized that this wasn’t 100% scientific. There was no incriminating question for Google to choke on and avoid. Maybe all search engines did this. So, I tried another search string to even things up a bit: “google privacy concerns.”

Search results:

Click for full-size images)

Google search: again, results appear unfiltered.

Bing search: some different results, but to be expected with a different search algorithm

Conclusion:

Google doesn’t seem to filter out negative press for the company in its search results. Microsoft does, shamelessly. I think I’ll be sticking with Google.