Mozilla rolls out Firefox for Windows 10 with browser-choice cues

Mozilla's Firefox 40 for Windows 10 includes built-in browser-choice mechanisms meant to unseat Microsoft's Edge and Bing search engine defaults.

After complaining that Microsoft has made choosing a browser other than its own Edge too difficult with Windows 10, Firefox officials have taken browser-choice into their own hands.
 

 

Firefox 40 for Windows 10, made generally available on August 11, includes new "support materials to show you how to restore or choose Firefox as your default browser in Windows 10."
 
The new Firefox for Windows 10 goes further. When Windows 10 users look to the Cortana search box built into the task bar, web searches done from that search box will "show results in the default search engine you choose in Firefox," rather than defaulting to Bing, Firefox officials said.
 
The Firefox for Windows 10 browser supports third-party add-ons -- unlike Microsoft's Edge at this point, though add-on support is coming, Microsoft officials have said. Mozilla is distinguishing between Mozilla-certified add-ons and non-certified ones. Non-Mozilla-certified add-ons currently include warnings, and in the future, will be disabled by default.
 
The new Firefox also includes user interface tweaks, including bigger and bolder design elements.
 
Firefox 40 for Windows 10 is available for download from Mozilla's web site.
 
~ Mary Jo Foley

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Microsoft: Windows 10 collects users' private information, but not for ads

 

It’s been a week since Windows 10 was released, and the biggest issue about Microsoft’s latest OS seems to be in the nature and the amount of private data it collects.
 
We recently wrote about Cortana, the digital assistant, and how much it collects, and now Microsoft has updated its terms of service agreement to better clarify what it collects and how it uses such data.
 
According to the agreement, the OS will save your Bing searches, private email content and the apps you access, as well as "your typed and handwritten words".
 
Microsoft says the data is being collected to personalize the OS.
 
"We will access, disclose and preserve personal data, including your content (such as the content of your emails, other private communications or files in private folders), when we have a good faith that doing so is necessary to protect our customers or enforce the terms governing the use of the services", Microsoft said in its recently updated new terms of services agreement.
 
"Windows does not collect personal information without your consent. To effectively provide Windows as a service, Microsoft gathers some performance, diagnostic and usage information that helps keep Windows and apps running properly. Microsoft uses this information to identify problems and develop fixes".
 
It also added that the data is not being collected to serve ads.
 
"However, we do not use what you say in email, chat, video calls or voice mail, or your documents, photos or other personal files to target ads to you", Microsoft’s privacy statement reads.
 
Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
 
Photo credit: Anton Watman / Shutterstock
  
~ Sead Fadilpašić

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Microsoft will encrypt all Bing search traffic

 

In a post-Edward Snowden world, privacy and security are huge concerns. While many people call him a traitor to his country, many others -- myself included -- consider him a hero. Snowden shone a light on government programs that were arguably illegal and unconstitutional. The ultimate win from his actions is that people that were ignorant to privacy issues before, are now interested in them. He planted a seed of curiosity and concern.
 
As a result of this new interest in privacy, many companies have been reacting to show customers that they are safe and secure. One of the most vocal of these companies is Microsoft. Today, the company announces that it will soon start encrypting all Bing web searches. Whoa. This is huge.
 
"Bing has already been offering users the option to encrypt search traffic for about a year and a half now. Beginning this summer, we will begin the process of encrypting search traffic by default. This means that traffic originating from Bing will increasingly come from https://www.bing.com as opposed to http://www.bing.com", says Duane Forrester, Sr. Product Manager, Bing.
 
Forrester further explains, "with the move to encrypted search by default we will continue to pass along a referrer string so that marketers and webmasters will be able to identify traffic as coming from Bing. However, to further protect our users' privacy, we will not include the used query terms. We will still provide some limited query term data available without compromising the security of customer data through our various webmaster and advertiser tools".
 
While Microsoft should have made this move long ago, it is still appreciated now. I mean, hell, better late than never right?
 
Microsoft admits this move may negatively impact webmasters and marketing teams, but says its users are more important. It is refreshing to see a company putting a high priority on the concern of its users. Kudos, Microsoft.
 

Photo Credit: concept w/Shutterstock
  
~ Brian Fagioli

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Facebook drops Microsoft's Bing in favor of its own search tool

 

Bing has been unceremoniously dumped by Facebook. The social network had been using the Microsoft search tool to power its Graph Search platform for some time now, but no longer. While no announcement has been made, Facebook confirmed the news to Reuters.
 
The lack of official announcement meant that the dropping of Bing was immediately noticed. Facebook does not have a replacement partner in mind -- there is no danger of the social network teaming up with Google -- but will go it alone instead.
 
It seems that the decision tied in with Facebook's recent updating of its own search tool. A few days ago, the search tool was updated to make it possible to find specific posts rather than users and pages. This made Facebook Search more like a "proper" search engine, and probably led to questions about the value of maintaining links with Bing. But there are other reasons behind ditching Bing.
 
Facebook issued a statement to VentureBeat in which it explained the switch in focus:

We're not currently showing web search results in Facebook Search because we're focused on helping people find what's been shared with them on Facebook.

While Microsoft will undoubtedly be unhappy with Facebook's decision, it's one that will probably go down well with users of the site. The move is an interesting one, if not one that is entirely surprising. The problem with using Bing to display web search results within Facebook was that it did just that -- display search results from the wider web rather than just Facebook.
 
This meant that while there was arguably a better experience for users thanks to the extra features, there was a far stronger risk that people would navigate away from Facebook and stop consuming ads. It's not yet clear whether Facebook will start to cast its search net wider, displaying results and pages in a closely controlled built-in browser, but this is certainly something to look out for further down the line.
 
Photo credit: 1000 Words /Shutterstock
 
~ Mark Wilson

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Microsoft rolls out the new MSN, rebrands Bing apps for Windows, Windows Phone

 

Microsoft did something rather unexpected earlier this month. The software giant unveiled a revamped MSN, saving the online portal from oblivion -- its biggest merit lately is being the default website for Internet Explorer. The new MSN looks great, connects users to Microsoft's consumer-facing cloud services, and can be tailored to suit their preference. It also makes it easy to trigger a search across the InterWebs. Heck, I have even said it might work as the Bing landing page.
 
Fast forward to today and Microsoft announces that more than 10 million users have tested the new MSN, with more than 80,000 of them also submitting feedback. Those numbers look really good. And they should, considering the online portal's Microsoft-focused audience. The feedback it has received must have been good also, as Microsoft announces it is rolling out the new MSN in the next three days.
 
Microsoft says that "more than 425 million people in over 50 countries around the world [...] come to the site each month", which makes this a very important change, that can either attract a bigger crowd or, in the worst-case scenario, alienate the existing user base. The way I see it, the former sounds much more likely. (As you can probably tell, I like what Microsoft has done with the new MSN.)
 
Microsoft is confident that you will love the new MSN so much so that it has even decided to rebrand the Bing app suite to MSN, on Windows and Windows Phone. The writing has been on the wall for the Bing brand on those operating systems, as the software giant has long removed it from app names. The MSN name hasn't surfaced next to the app's title, however, but it can now be easily seen once they're open. Corresponding MSN apps will launch on Android and iOS next, in "the coming months".
 

 

"While Bing will continue to provide search and intelligent experiences, now the apps will be branded to reflect their alignment with MSN as a premium experience for content, combined with personal productivity features", adds Microsoft. "Aside from Bing Finance, which will now be MSN Money, all of the apps retain their existing names".
 
At this point, I should mention that Health & Fitness and Weather for Windows Phone have received something extra in the latest round of updates, which mainly replaces the Bing brand with MSN. Lockscreen support for the latter has been extended to include additional weather information, while the former gains a step counter and GPS tracking information on the lockscreen on certain Windows Phones, like Lumia 630 and Lumia 1520. It's rather nice of Microsoft to do that; it certainly increases the value of those offerings and improves the mobile experience for users. Here's what those changes look like.
 

 

Microsoft reveals that it built the new MSN on its Azure cloud platform. It makes use of more than 30,000 cores and 100 TB for data storage -- that sounds rather impressive, doesn't it? Microsoft says it needed those sort of resources to deliver a "consistent experience" to its customers, no matter if they are using Money, Sports, Food & Drink or any other major feature of the new MSN. As it is customary in what Microsoft calls a "cloud-first, mobile-first world", Microsoft accounts tie users' preferences across the new MSN and today's major platforms, including Android, iOS, Windows, Windows Phone and the web.
 
For the new MSN, Microsoft has partnered with the likes of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNN and AOL, in US, while, in other markets, it has teamed up with publications like The Yomiuri Shimbun, The Asahi Shimbun, Sky News, The Guardian, NDTV, Le Figaro and Le Monde.
 
~ Mihaita Bamburic

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Microsoft to finally unveil Siri, Google Now rival in April

Microsoft to finally unveil Siri, Google Now rival in April

Apple first unveiled Siri in the fall of 2011, Google took the wraps off Google Now in the summer of 2012 and now Microsoft is at long last about to release its own voice-enabled personal assistant this coming April. One of MSFTNerd’s sources claims that Microsoft plans to release its Cortana virtual assistant this spring, just in time for its annual Build developers conference.
 
MSFTNerd hints that the new service will be integrated directly with Bing and that users will be able to activate it on their mobile devices simply by saying the phrase “Bing tell me…” MSFTNerd also says that “the service will expand to the Bing app for iPhone in the US market this fall” and that “the underlying technology will be extended to American Xbox One & Windows users in 2015 with Threshold.” Cortana, for all you non-gamers out there, is the name of famous artificial intelligence character in Microsoft’s smash-hit Halo series.

~ Brad Reed

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