Personalized search’s implicit promise is to help users avoid the mind-numbing uselessness of the majority of web content. The troubling problem with personalized search is that it only delivers what a user already believes he or she wants, and this contributes to a narrowing of worldview. more ›

Vote now for the Bing Earth Day Photo Contest. Working with DonorsChoose.org, an online charity that provides aid to students in need, the contest hopes to raise environmental awareness while supporting classrooms across the U.S. Visit the contest site to browse entries by age group and select your favorite. For each daily vote you’ll receive a $5 “GivingCard” that can be used to support the classroom project of your choice. Many worthwhile causes are requesting assistance including health, literacy, arts and environmental initiatives. Up to 20,000 GivingCards will be rewarded each day through Monday, April 19, so be sure to stop by daily to submit your vote. more ›

"SPOTTED ON BING MAPS" by CHRISTOPHER575 from the Seattlest flickr pool. more ›

The Washington state Department of Information Services has chosen Binghoo! to serve as the search engine for the state's website, says TechFlash. But the DIS spokesperson claims it wasn't about snuggling up to Microsoft: "the bottom line was to get the best search engine we can get." Seriously? What were your fucking metrics? Bing is almost two months old, and Google's search dominance is unquestioned. (We're fine with them picking Binghoo!, btw--just try to be proud of it.) We note that this is the same DIS that thinks access.wa.gov is a better URL than wa.gov. That "access" makes all the difference--it's...um..."accessier." more ›

After 18 long months of on-again, off-again online business romance, Microsoft and Yahoo have final sealed the deal. The two announced today they will team up in an effort to chip away at Google's dominating lead in the search engine marketplace. more ›

• Playground purse snatcher on the loose! A woman reported her purse stolen today at 11:30 a.m. from West Seattle Gatewood Elementary. A young man (late teens/early 20s) jumped out of a car, ran into the park, and grabbed the purse---which was sitting on the ground near the woman.
• The next bus King County Metro purchases should come with spell check, because "Freemont" is inexcusable.

TechCrunch is reporting that Microsoft's decision engine Bing has decisively leapfrogged Yahoo! search traffic for the second time (post all the what's-a-Bing? search traffic just after launch). 12.9 percent, says StatCounter.com. What a horse race! It's like Mountain Dew battling it out with Dr. Pepper! Bing's boost is suspiciously close to the appearance of NYT tech-guy David Pogue's "Bing, the Imitator, Often Goes Google One Better," which says Bing can save you a few clicks. Yahoo! aside, mighty Google dipped about three percent, to 75 percent of search traffic. No benchmarks were provided on which surfaces more free HD pr0n. more ›

• Last night a group of pedestrians were robbed at knifepoint forkpoint in the area of 1st NE and NE 107th. Police have arrested the three suspects and recovered the weapon, a dinner fork.
• The street signs in Downtown say you can park till 6 p.m., but the tow trucks on First Ave. don't agree. Come 3:00 p.m., commute hours kick in, cars get towed, and tourists go crazy searching for their car.

So we thought Microsoft's big ol' ray of Bing was a one time deal. Then last night, the UFO-esque light was back again shining in all its blurry glory. So, was it a re-do from Tuesday's celebration? Or was the light for the decision engine's new travel section? We wonder if we'll see it again tonight. Until then Bing, you've left us all in the dark. more ›

In case you missed it or were just confused, the racket from the helicopters circling around the Space Needle last night was caused by the the giant light beam celebrating the launch of Microsoft's new decision engine, Bing. more ›

Attempting to compete with the wide world of Google search, this morning Microsoft introduced their newest (overhauled) search engine, Bing. The new engine has been designed as a "decision engine," to help navigate through the ridiculous amounts of trash we have cluttering the Internetz and provide a more productive and highly organized Internet search experience, as fast as computer-ly possible. The new search-a-roo, at www.bing.com is expected to be live on June 3. more ›