one point of view

Date 08/10/2003
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From the desk of the Australian's Robert Gottliebsen...host of
Business Daily.
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When Evan Thornley and Tracey Ellery established search engine
LookSmart in Melbourne during 1995 they believed the market would
eventually boom.

It's ironic that, just as internet retailing and searching are
exploding, LookSmart has lost its main avenue to the market
Microsoft's MSN.

But there is a good reason.

MSN and LookSmart were being killed in the search engine market
by Google which had twice the audience.

The problem goes back to the original technology.

Google used an algorithm model that ranks pages according to
their popularity.

LookSmart used a different model, it and MSN were the
losers.

Microsoft chief Bill Gates now wants his own algorithm model
which he will incorporate it into Microsoft's next generation
of Windows.

He did not want a bunch of Aussies at LookSmart in on the act.

Will Gates be able to topple Google?

There is no certainty that he will beat the upstart because Google
has a huge start.

The Microsoft culture is to own everything so it is more likely
to use its Windows base than try to link with Google.

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