February 19, 2010

After a couple years of false starts, aborted mergers, and other behind-the-scenes mishaps, Microsoft and Yahoo are ready to form a search partnership to better compete against Google, which continues to blow away its competitors in online search. Under the terms of the deal, Microsoft's Bing engine will power both the Bing and Yahoo search sites, with any differentiation coming at a more superficial level.

It's not exactly clear yet how Yahoo will add value to Bing's search results. According to the companies' press release, "Yahoo will innovate around those listings by integrating rich Yahoo content, enhanced listings with conveniently organized information about key topics, and tools to tailor the experience for Yahoo users."

OK, what rich content? Enhanced listings, key topics, and tools? I contacted both Microsoft and Yahoo on Tuesday for more details, but got none. (Microsoft directed me back to the joint release, and Yahoo didn't respond by the end of the day.)

Which led me to wonder: Is Yahoo the next Alta Vista? OK, I realize many of you won't get the reference -- which is exactly my point -- so allow me to explain. Alta Vista, which ironically is now owned by Yahoo, was once one of the most popular search engines on the Web. In the mid-to-late 90s, Alta Vista provided a streamlined, Google-style search experience. Sadly, the service bounced around from owner to owner, was reborn as a Yahoo-style Web portal at one point, and began to lose market share. Alta Vista is still around, but few people even know it's there.

Source:-http://www.pcworld.com