Bing HTML5 Site Expected To Have Instant Search Results

The search war between Google and Microsoft's Bing has certainly brought Web users a plethora of new tools and capabilities.

Bing introduced the permanent left-hand sidebar with search options, social results from Facebook and Twitter, and even results tailored to food recipes, all of which were later added to Google. Now it looks like Bing will take Google's lead, with a version coming that emulates Google's recently introduced Google Instant results, which fill up the result page even before a user finishes typing a query, based on search predictions.

Earlier this week, the company made live a preview site of the HTML5 version of Bing at the address Bing Peek preview site, but the company apparently has pulled the site in the wake of media publicity. When asked about Bing's HTML5 ambitions, a Microsoft representative told PCMag.com that "Microsoft doesn't comment on rumors or speculation." And when the site was pointed out, "We have nothing to announce at this time."

The preview site was reported by WinRumors yesterday, which also made the claims about the instant search feature and that the new version of the search site will debut alongside the company's next-generation browser, Internet Explorer 9, at the MIX11 conference next month. Recent comments by Microsoft executives give weight to the idea that the browser will launch at the event. According to WinRumors, CEO Steve Ballmer said that Internet Explorer would be available "in the next month or so." But the media has received invitations for an IE9 event at SXSW in Austin on March 14, which points to a release of that Web browser on that date.

The preview site for Bing's HTML5 version, when it was live, claimed that the version would offer "search previews as you type," "animations that make search come alive," and "seamless transitions between pages." The Bing team has even posted a video showing HTML5 features of a future version of the search site on Bing Videos, including many of the rumored new features. And another video shot at Apple's WWDC 2010 shows an HTML5 version of Bing running in Safari, so the company's current tight-lipped approach is somewhat puzzling.

About Our Expert

Michael Muchmore

Contributor

My Experience

I've been testing PC and mobile software for more than 20 years, focusing on photo and video editing, operating systems, and web browsers. Prior to my current role, I covered software and apps for ExtremeTech and headed up PCMag’s enterprise software team. I’ve attended trade shows for Microsoft, Google, and Apple and written about all of them and their products.

I still get a kick out of seeing what's new in video and photo editing software, and how operating systems change over time. I was privileged to byline the cover story of the last print issue of PC Magazine, the Windows 7 review, and I’ve witnessed every Microsoft misstep and win, up to the latest Windows 11.

I’m an avid bird photographer and traveler—I’ve been to 40 countries, many with great birds! Because I’m also a classical music fan and former performer, I’ve reviewed streaming services that emphasize classical music.

Technology I Use

For everyday work, I use a good-old Dell tower with 16GB of RAM, a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 processor, and an Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti GPU that runs on Windows 11. I pair it with a 4K Lenovo ThinkVision P27u-10 monitor and a Logitech MX Vertical mouse. For offsite work, I use a 2024 Microsoft Surface Laptop with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor. Camera-wise, I moved to mirrorless from a Canon EOS 80D with a Canon 70-300mm IS USM lens. I now have a Canon EOS R7 with a 100-400mm lens, but I miss my DSLR for several reasons.

In order of usage, the software I turn to most frequently is the Edge web browser, Slack, Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft 365, Firefox, Brave, and WhatsApp. I use the Windows Phone link app to see everything on my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra phone, which has excellent telephoto capability.

For fitness monitoring, I have a Fitbit Charge 6 and use an Anker Smart Scale P1. I’m also a streaming fan, so I subscribe to both Amazon Music Unlimited (especially for its Dolby Atmos content) and Qobuz (for its high-res sound quality and classical catalog). I recently added a Vizio 5.1 Soundbar SE, which sounds surprisingly good given its low price. To holler commands instead of using a remote control, I have the Amazon Fire TV Cube in the living room, which lets me verbally tell the TV what I want to watch. It hooks up to an LG B4 OLED TV. I have a Sonos One speaker in my kitchen that also ties in with Alexa, as does the Echo Dot 2 With Clock in my bedroom. For serious listening, I have B&W 601 speakers plugged into a Conrad-Johnson Sonographe amp and preamp, with a Cambridge Audio AXN10 streamer as source. For reading, I also have a Nook GlowLight 3.

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