Windows 7: Bing fails to boost MS online business.........

Bing fails to boost Microsoft online business where Google reigns.

Microsoft posted strong results for the third quarter of its 2010 fiscal year, largely thanks to sales of Windows 7. But the company continues to suffer heavy losses in its Online Services Division as it tries to match rival Google in the online search and advertising market.

During Microsoft's fiscal third quarter, which ended March 31, the Online Services Division, or OSD, reported a 12 percent increase in revenue, which rose to $566 million on the back of higher advertising revenue. That wasn't enough to offset a surge in operating expenses during the period. The division's quarterly loss grew by 73 percent to $713 million, compared to a loss of $411 million during the same period last year.

OSD includes Microsoft's online advertising business, the Bing search engine, and its various MSN websites.

In a discussion of OSD's results, Microsoft blamed the increase in operating expenses on several factors. It said sales and general administration expenses increased by $145 million, largely due to "transition expenses" from the search deal struck with Yahoo, which handles some advertising sales for Microsoft while Microsoft provides for Yahoo's Web sites.

duh, microsoft... google > bing -- forever and ever and ever. :P

I agree to this.

Google has engraved itself into everyone's head young and old and I don't think even the best marketing is going to change that.

Sure some people might use Bing because it is different and might even be better but I highly doubt they are going to change the mass market.

On the opposite side, I tend to disagree.

It won't be the marketing by other rivals that is going to sound Google's death knell, it will be Google's own actions that will be thier eventual downfall.

That which is engraved, can also be erased.

Google the entity and its ever expanding interests, all of which contain elements that hold a complete disregard for any real semblance of 'privacy' is starting to wear thin for an ever increasing amount of people (myself included).

While the alternatives may not be as good, people will still gravitate towards them.

Obviously, Google is not going away any time soon, nor is their dominance in this area of the marketplace - to think otherwise would be foolish.

However, given enough time, the trend will start to swing back in favour of others.

(You only have to look at what happened to the 'once upon a time favourite' Yahoo when it started to diversify)

Every time I re-install. I just remove Bing and put in Google in my browser. Not even interested if Bings better or not! The majority probably do this the same way! So, Bing is going to get nowhere with this mindset...

The masses don't do this. They run windows and what's their default start page? MSN and Bing.