Microsoft has been investing heavily in its Bing search engine in an effort to take on market leader Google for a slice of the hot search and keyword advertising markets—and according to StatCounter the effort is bearing fruit. StatCounter’s latest figures show that Bing has finally unseated Yahoo as the world’s number-two search engine worldwide. However, on a global scale the numbers aren’t all that impressive: StatCounter finds Bing accounted for 4.37 percent of the global search market in February, with Yahoo accounting for 3.93 percent. Google, conversely, accounted for 89.94 percent of the worldwide search market.
“It is significant that Bing overtook Yahoo globally for the first time on a monthly basis but it remains a tough battle to claw back Google’s market share,” said StatCounter CEO Aodhan Cullen, in a statement.
Of course, Bing’s share of Internet search in some regional markets is considerably higher—like the United States, where Bing is also the driving power behind Yahoo search. In the United States, Bing accounted for 9.03 percent of searches in February, although Yahoo still was in the number-two position with a 9.74 percent share. Bing also drives Yahoo searches in Canada, Australia, Mexico, and Brazil.
February also marks the first time since August 2009 that Google’s share of the global search market has dipped below 90 percent.
Bing has recently been cricitized by Google for apparently copying Google search results in an effort to make its service more competitive.
Mozilla is giving Firefox’s Smart Window two new tricks. If you haven’t tried it yet, Smart Window is an optional AI mode in Firefox with a built-in chat that helps you get things done while you browse. With this update, it can fill out online forms using details from your tabs and keep an eye on websites for you.
Tired of typing the same details into every form?
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.