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Comment by chollida1 | Hacker News Reader

This was probably a pretty easy decision for Bing to make. Really, how much ad revenue are they missing by not showing adds to students at school:)

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Bing has always been a long term play for Microsoft. If they never made a dollar directly, the research itself still has significant value.

And what is Google going to do in response? Any competing project has to admit the premise that their primary product is unsuitable for children.

Essentially, Microsoft is competing with Wikipedia and homegrown solutions from school districts and the governor's brother in law.

I'm quite surprised it took this long. Hasn't Microsoft's strategy in this space for a long time been to sell schools Microsoft stuff insanely cheap to win the mindshare of students, most of whom leave school knowing only of Windows and Office?

My ICT teacher was quite open that Microsoft essentially wrote his curriculum and provided all his funding, and that's why all we learned was Excel/Access.

Actually I wonder why doesn't Microsoft do it for every one? No tracking, no ads just plain old good results. Google has been attacking Microsoft with its scorched earth strategy in many areas (google docs, chrome OS, etc.) And given that google is just a one trick pony, this might affect them more.

Attacking someone in many areas is a pretty neat trick for a one-trick pony to learn.

I'm not sure if you are trolling but..

If you are seriously calling Microsoft a one trick pony please consider the wide variety of services, software and hardware that they provide.

- developes Desktop, Tablet, phone and server OS's

- develops Development tools

- designs their own keyboards and mouse hardware

- sells a video game console

- runs one of the largest online email providers

- runs a huge online gameing network

- runs one of the largest SAAS/PAAS networks(Azure)

- develops one of the most popular web servers

- develops their own web sdk(asp.net)

- runs a huge network of conferences

- runs their own book publishing arm ....

I've got another 10 or so off the top of my head. Microsoft has many warts, but in no way can you call it a one trick pony.

No, I'm replying to someone who simultaneously called Google a one-trick pony and suggested that they're attacking Microsoft on many fronts, which seemed like an odd kind of thing for a one-trick pony to be able to do.

Don't know why you got the idea I was referring to Microsoft at all.

Edit: To clarify, and before I get another laundry list of achievements, I clearly don't think Google is one either.

Ah, fair enough. I stand corrected:)

I believe that user was referring to Google as a one trick pony in regards to their primary revenue stream.

Yes I was calling ?Google a one trick pony which they are. Have you looked at where they make their profits from?

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