Bing vs. Google vs. WolframAlpha

Have you tried Bing? It is Microsoft's new search engine that the company "hopes will help it grab a bigger slice of the online ad market," AdAge says. I don't aim to review it fully, but figured you'd like to test drive it for yourself.

If inertia plays a role, Microsoft has an uphill battle with a tool that just, for me, doesn't seem able to replace Google right now (though admittedly preference, and inertia — what we are used to — plays a big role here). Remember Bob?

Maybe the $80 million ad campaign will change my mind.

Meanwhile, check out WolframAlpha, a name-challenged search-engine-like thingy that's a load of fun to play with. It's not a search engine, geeks will tell you, but it kinda behaves like one. Rather, it bills itself as "make all systematic knowledge immediately computable by anyone." The upshot: If you know how it works, you can use WolframAlpha to generate splendid and useful results. If you try to use it as a replacement for Google, you'll be bummed. Rather than explain it further, I suggest you try typing in your birth date or anything from the "A few things to try" list on the main page.

Robert Roy Britt is the Editorial Director of Imaginova. In this column, The Water Cooler, he looks at what people are talking about in the world of science and beyond.