back to article Microsoft inks search pact with...Opera

Microsoft has inked a deal with arch-nemesis Opera Software, convincing the Norwegians to make Bing one of the, um, "default search engine choices" on their latest desktop browser. It's true. You can see for yourself by downloading the new Opera 10.60 beta here. As announced by Microsoft Bing general manager Jon Tinter, this …

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  1. Charlie Clark Silver badge
    Pint

    Nothing to see

    Bing has always worked in the search box but I've hardly used it. Cuil is good enough most of my queries and failing that Goggle.

    Bing was added to Speeddial search in one of the recent desktop team builds and announced as such. No stealth here and the competition amongst search engines is good for all.

    For some reason Opera isn't "magical and revolutionary". It's just damn good at its job!

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Just a Norse floozy on powdered Spanish Dragonfly

    This isn't much of a surprise for me. Opera cheated on Google long ago by having a fling with Yahoo. That didn't work out so they went back to Google.

    Then, a couple of years later Opera got Norwegian wood for Ask Jeeves and ran off with them too, until Google promised it would change and Opera went back to them again with that sad look upon its face like Gloria Gaynor's ex-partner in "I will Survive".

    Now Opera's felt the itch again and has copped off with Bing for what I expect will prove to be nothing more than a quick Friday night knee-trembler up an alleyway, before pulling up its trousers and scurrying off back to Google, blaming it's absence on staying late at the office. I bet Bing was on all fours eating a portion of Harry Ramsden's finest throughout.

    I don't know who's worse. Opera for being unable to control itself or Google for taking them back every time.

    It'll be Alta Vista next. I bet the filthy vendor already has the Norse horn thinking about it.

    1. dogged

      Norse horn?

      Are helmets involved?

      1. TeeCee Gold badge
        Coat

        Re: Norse horn?

        That'll be the lur horn. An enormous bronze horn, notable for usually having a ring around its bell end......

    2. Pascal Monett Silver badge

      Congratulations

      That is a strikingly vivid way of painting corporate relationships, one that will remain in my mind for a while.

      Applied to some other companies, it makes things so much clearer...

  3. J 3

    Not here yet

    Yeah, version 10.53 beta on Linux also does not have Bing as an option on the drop down. Not that I miss it, since I never can get myself to use that search bar on any browser, for some reason...

  4. bitten

    Same rules

    If Windows give the choice for Opera among other browsers, Opera should give the possibility to use Bing among other search engines.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    Opera just move to whoever pays best

    As work any software developer that relies on search fees from the 120m or so Opera users.

    Clearly Bing are paying well...

    Regardless, you can set the search to whatever you want, so nobody really cares.

  6. Defiant
    Happy

    Doh

    I already had it added but thanks anyway Opera

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Norse floozy

    Heh? -maybe on the speed dial page but Google search has been the default on the tabbed browser since forever. Google search revenues are what allowed Opera to be offered free. Besides, since 2000 (v4) Opera gave he user the choice of their own search engine and to add it in if it wasn't one of the listed defaults.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Linux

    Switch Search To Google

    Problem solved

  9. John 62

    a separate search bar?

    lol! how quaint.

    I've used Opera's keyword address bar search since it started. doesn't have autosuggest, but hopefully that'll come before too long. the convenience of doing a Google web search by typing "g search terms" or a Google image search by typing "i search terms" or a Youtube search with "yt search terms" or an Amazon search with "az search terms" or ... (you get the idea) is quite the win and I prefer it to Chrome's way of doing things.

    Need an icon of The Cheat saying "Meh"

  10. mhenriday

    To paraphrase Henry John Temple,

    companies have no eternal friends or perpetual enemies, but only eternal and perpetual (i e, until the next quarterly report) interests. In any event, the Bing search option can easily be removed from Opera by those who like myself find it superfluous....

    Henri

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Erm?

    It's not like it's difficult to add Bing to the dropdown manually or indeed make it the default search engine in previous releases. So what's the big deal?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What's the big deal

      The big deal is that normal people leave things on defaults and just use it how it comes out of the box. Why do you think MSN search has always had such a notable market share whilst Yahoo hasn't? Lots of people can't even be bothered or don't even know how to use Google! Some of them probably even refer to searching MSN/Bing as 'Googling' just like they refer to the Internet or any program running on Windows as as 'Microsoft'.

      Therefore, companies pay a premium to Opera to be the default. Opera have that sussed so much that they've even broken it up into different defaults so they can charge more than one company a premium.

      This is a big deal for the marketing people in both companies, not for techies who know all the options in Opera and can edit INI files with their eyes closed.

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