Microsoft Raises Bing Bar Against Google

by Nicholas Kolakowski

The Bing Bar, along the top of the screen, provides one-click access to News, Weather, Stocks, Video and other options. It is currently available as a download for Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Clicking on the Bing Bar’s News tab provides access to the stories of the moment (through MSNBC, of course) and allows news to be searched.

Another Bing Bar button allows users to control Autofill, which makes it easier to fill out online forms.

The Bing Bar also provides one-click access to weather information, but the default seems to be Dallas—if you live somewhere else, you’ll need to shift your saved location by typing in the city or ZIP code.

The Bing Bar also allows for stock monitoring. Watch your net worth crumble in real time!

The Bing Bar can feed video from Bing’s newly expanded video page.

A tool bar allows users to customize which apps are present in the Bing Bar.

You can also adjust the Bing Bar’s color, among other aesthetics.

Users can conduct Web searches through the Bing Bar.

The Bing Bar allows Image Search.

Here’s a look at the Bing Bar’s Video Search.

To use the Bing Bar’s Shopping Search, type in the name of a site such as “Craigslist” before your search term, such as “Running Shoes,” and a Cashback widget appears in the Bar, allowing you to sort search results by those that offer “cashback” through Bing.

Here the Bing Bar is accessing Bing News.

This is the Bing Bar’s Map Search. Apparently, there’s a Bing in Montana.