Amazon Dumping Google for Microsoft?

theodp writes "How do you reward Google for letting your CEO buy stock for six cents a share? If you're Amazon, you dump Google for Windows Live Search to power subsidiary Alexa, who has not yet commented on the switch. Other Windows Live Search sightings are being observed at Amazon subsidiary a9.com." From the Search Engine Lowdown article: "The Alexa toolbar's gotten Alexa a bad rap from privacy advocates, though in function it's effect on search results is similar to click stream data that Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask may or may not be using in their determinations of relevance. Wall points out that 'A9 is still powered by Google...' A9 is Amazon's primary search project. Wall wonders, however, if the change in Alexa indicates a larger coming change in Amazon's relationship to Google. I agree. In fact, I see the move as the first Google Dump in the post eBay's-seeking-partners-against-Google era."

I actually used A9 until this

[DuncanE]

For several reasons I tend to buy a lot of books from Amazon so I used the A9 site to gain my slice of Pi discount. I quite like the interface and it was giving me Google results anyway.

In case its relevant I'm in Australia.

I saw this change straight away... The "powered by Windows live" left a sick feeling in my stomach. So I switched immediately to the visible option for "powered by Google".

Today the Google option is no longer available. Even in the more choices section. I'm considering buying my books elsewhere.

Interestingly A9 has a "add your search engine" option which allows search engines to add there own API. So I'm hoping Google will use this to add back there excellent search engine ;-)

Google vs. Amazon

[Metabolife]

Froogle is quickly becoming a popular selling portal, I wouldn't be surprised if Amazon believes that Google might overtake it eventually. I for one love the increased competition.

Rotten tomatoes

[broothal]

I wonder what they have to offer. It's dead slow - try for your self [live.com] and if you manage to get an actual search through, it will prompt with a javascript error.

Oh - they do have one thing that reminds me of google - the small "Beta" in their logo :)

Re:Alexa, Google... Hmm, no difference *there*!

[John_Renne]

Allthough Google might have a better reputation then Yahoo or MSN (and certainly Alexa) they're not saints either. The privacy policy for Orkut for example wasn't all that too.

Despite that, this sounds like a first class mindslip from amazon

More piss poor speculation

[TrappedByMyself]

Is there anyway to filter out topics with summaries that end in a '?'

Re:I actually used A9 until this

[Lewisham]

I too, was one of the A9 crew. I loved having web results/image results/wikipedia all in one search. When Windows Live came up, I switched Google back. Now they've abandoned Google completely, and you can't search for web-wide images (from *anyone*) at all anymore.

I tried to live with Windows Live search, although it's results weren't so great. But the loss of image results as well was a deal-breaker.

A9 has lost it's edge in some bizarre powerplay. They should have been shouting about their service, and instead you got there by accident from IMDb or Amazon. Now I have to go back to Google, and it's oh-so-bland results.

*sigh*

Re:I actually used A9 until this

[DuncanE]

Wow... I hadnt even noticed that images is gone...

I think that means you're right. It's a powerplay. Bill has rung Jeff and said "Hey Google is bad for us both".

2 1/2 billion dollars at work

[Wylfing]

This is the shape the additional spending for 2007 will take: paying people loads of cash to sign exclusive contracts to use Windows Live. That is how Microsoft "competes."

Kylix

[William Robinson]

It is known and Microsoft will not give up with their evil marketing tactics.

This move, however, will not hurt the community as much as the 'kylix'. Borland has dropped support/development of this wonderful product for Linux due to the pressure from Microsoft.

Read This [freebyte.com]

From TFA:

Needless to say, this step is a heavy blow for all companies and individuals which have invested time and money in Kylix-based projects on Linux.

It has been claimed that this was the result of a non-public agreement with Microsoft, where Borland would abandon all products for Linux in exchange for receiving .NET based technology from Microsoft. This would indeed be a clever move by Microsoft because it (1) binds Borland to Windows and (2) disrupts the possibility of a Visual-Basic-like programming-tool being available on Linux.

People like me hate M$ for what they have done to Kylix. Hope google will be able to kick their ass.

Keep going google, we are with you always.

Note I sent to Amazon customer service

[Anonymous Coward]

Hello, I have been a customer of Amazon.com for a few years. It has been brought to my attention that Amazon now uses the A9 Web Search which is powered by "Microsoft Windows Live". I do not use or support Microsoft products. In my opinion their business practices are horrible. I do not support companies who act the way they do. How can I expect to get reliable results when searching for example the word "Linux" when Microsoft does everything in their power to stifle competition? I work in computers and will not trust Microsoft search to give me reliable results when searching for computer books/products or anything else. If the search facility Amazon uses continues to be from Microsoft, I will be forced to buy my products using other web sites that do not support Microsoft. Thank you, Scott

Re:Google vs. Amazon

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

I wish I had mod points today - would bump you up a bit. See also:

eBay Looking for Allies Against Google
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/04/21/185120 6 [slashdot.org]

Amazon to Take on Google?
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/09/26/199222 [slashdot.org]

and especially:
Google Base Retail Rumours Confirmed
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/03/16/153425 2 [slashdot.org]

Google's search is less relevant than Microsoft's

[dada21]

Because Google is (one of the?) most popular search engine, I am finding it less and less relevant when I do searches. The top 10-20 results are more spam than relevant and good information. MSN, on the other hand, is starting to be my preferred search tool because it doesn't seem as "keyword stuffed" as the Google responses. I know this isn't the case for everyone, but almost all the geeks I know are starting to shift away from Google en masse. I much prefer Google as a company, of course, but just being #1 (or close to it) seems to make it a target for the spammers, sploggers and Made-for-CPC websites.

I'm not hoping for a shift for anyone to Microsoft's search technology but if Google continues to lose the battle to PageRank chasers, they'll find themselves slipping as users automatically attach Google to spam sites rather than relevant sites.

My home page is still Google (due to the customized interface), but I am more often using other search engines to combat the spammers. Is Amazon seeing a similar problem?

Google Still the Best

[pavera]

Ok, so I'm a programmer, I write code in at least 10 different languages and often times I'll forget "How do you do X in Y?"... Well I just ran through my last 10 such searches on google... ran the exact same searches on a9, and directly at live.com.... Yeah so "determine distance between zip codes", Google results: first 5 hits open source, freely available code to perform that calculation in PHP, python, perl, and C. Windows Live: 1 hit on the first page that was PHP related however, its a $200 closed source script, all others pay for web sites that offer a form to type in 2 zips and get the distance, but nothing that would allow me to understand how to do it.

The other 9 searches were similar. On google, I never go past the first 10 results to find the answer I'm looking for, regardless of language, technology, whatever Google always has the answer. On windows live, the first page is stuff with people who are paying for their links, or just by MS's bias they list "commercial" sites first in an effort to hold open source down. I never have used A9 but I never will now.