Microsoft trickles out Bing search engine

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Microsoft Bing Logo

Microsoft launched Bing today. The home page leads to a video and not a lot more.No search box. It will be fully deployed worldwide on 3 June 2009.

However, a check of http://www.decisionengine.com/Letter.html reveals some detail. A Reviewer’s Guide and some screen shots are at the PressPass site. Another great resource is Discover Bing.

Features include:

  • Best Match
  • Quick Preview
  • Instant Answers
  • xRank
  • Quick Tabs
  • Related Searches
  • Rich Listing Results
  • Sentiment Extraction
  • Travel info
  • Instant Answers
  • Search Refinement
  • Hotel Rate Key
  • Health info

V or W?

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Indian languages (at least the North Indian ones) have only one letter “wa” (व) to cover the letters V and W, therefore many Indians mispronounce words that contain the letter “v”.
The “wa” sound is made with the lips forming a circle as you open the mouth.
The “va” sound requires you to place your lower lip behind the upper front teeth and release the lip as you say it.
In Marathi, the V sound is transliterated as व्ह (“vh”) – no idea why, because it causes people to inject the “h” sound when none exists.

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