Bing.com’s deals site aggregates retail and e-commerce sales information from many sources across the US. Microsoft apparently wants to separate that content from local daily deals. However the local daily deals are still accessible from the Bing/deals site (see upper left tile in screenshot below).

While it makes sense to use MSN to popularize and expose deals, given the site’s massive traffic, separating daily deals from other types of deals may create more confusion than it avoids. Other deal-centric sites such as Savings.com and the newspaper-owned Find n Save attempt to be consolidated, “one stop” destinations, aggregating coupons, retail sales information and daily deals for consumer convenience.

This change from Bing Deals to MSN Offers is something of a metaphor for the challenge that Microsoft has faced in managing the relationship between Bing and MSN, including which one it wants to promote as the primary consumer brand.

Postscript: A Micrsoft spokesperson offered the following rationale for the change in an email to me:

The re-naming of Bing Daily Deals to MSN Offers better aligns daily deals with MSN, where people can go to find the best things going on in their local area.

If you were with us back in July, you might recall the small firestorm that burned for a couple days after news spread about Socl.com. At the time, it was called Tulalip and, when Microsoft published a very early version of the site, the home page promised a way to “Find what you need and Share what you know easier than ever.”

At the time, Microsoft described it as an “internal project” and said publishing it was an accident. Socl.com no longer resolves and nothing’s been heard about the project since then. Until today.

TheVerge.com (and other Microsoft “friends”) has been testing Socl.com and wrote up an overview Tuesday along with several screenshots.

What stands out for me on reading The Verge’s writeup is how Microsoft appears to be staying true to the idea of melding search and social. The status update bar at the top actually doubles as a search box (or maybe it’s the other way around), and if you use it to conduct a search, Bing search results appear to get posted as content that friends and contacts can comment on.

(image via The Verge)

The Verge suggests that Microsoft may be planning to offer an invite-only beta soon. When asked to confirm that, a Microsoft spokesperson gave us this statement:

Microsoft’s FUSE Labs is an internal research group working on a number of forward-looking projects related to future possibilities around social search. Socl is one of the projects that we are exploring. We’ll let you know as soon as we have more to share.

There are a number of other aspects to Socl.com that The Verge touches on in its overview.

It appears that Microsoft is planning a new project called Tulalip and could be positioning it as a hybrid search/social networking service.

First reported by Fusible, Tulalip currently sits on the SOCL.com domain, which is owned by Microsoft. You can see the socl.com WHOIS record on DomainTools to confirm.

Tulalip currently only offers a “welcome” message that explains itself this way:

With Tulalip you can Find what you need and Share what you know easier than ever.

There’s a non-functioning search box at the top of the page, preceded (mysteriously) by the word “OPEN.”

There are non-working links on the page that say “See how it works,” along with “terms of service” and “Privacy Statement” links. There are also Facebook and Twitter sign-in buttons. In fact, the Twitter sign-in/authorization page confirms further that Tulalip is an “experimental app” from Microsoft Research.

The Twitter authorization screen says that Tulalip will be able to “update your profile” and “post tweets for you,” among other things — which sounds like the service may offer some kind of social networking management tools. The Facebook connect button is currently not working, so I can’t see what Tulalip would access in a Facebook account.

It’s far too soon to speculate if this some kind of Microsoft response to Google+, but as Fusible points out in a different article, Microsoft’s domain activity — which may include a purchase of social.com, too — has all happened in the past two weeks, after Google+ launched on June 28th.

We’ve reached out to Microsoft for comment and will update this story if/when we get more information.

Postscript: A Microsoft spokesperson tells us that Socl.com is “an internal design project from one of Microsoft’s research teams which was mistakenly published to the web.” The website shown in the screenshots above has been removed and a message on socl.com now echoes the statement we received.

(Thanks to JB for the tip on this story. If you have a tip for us about this story or something else, please contact us.)

Sinofsky, along with corporate vice president Julie Larson-Green, opened the Windows 8 kimono at the D9 Conference yesterday. You’ll find plenty of coverage over at Techmeme about the news. Perhaps most interesting was the idea that Windows 8 would work on tablets and laptops alike.

The Tabtop Operating System

Even tabtops run Windows 8! What are those? I made the name up, but the hardware is real and was shown, laptops with touchscreens. Want to use touch to control something? Reach out and interact through your laptop screen. Or use your keyboard and mouse. Both work.

As the Microsoft press release puts it:

A Windows 8-based PC is really a new kind of device, one that scales from touch-only small screens through to large screens, with or without a keyboard and mouse.

Well, a phone is a small screen touch device. Will Windows 8 run on that? If so, that might be huge.

The Dual OS Duel

Consider that Apple, Google and Microsoft all have the “dual OS problem,” where each supports both a mobile OS and a desktop OS:

• Apple: MacOS for Macs; iOS for iPhone, iPad, iTouch
• Google: ChromeOS for Chromebooks; Android for Android phones & devices (including Google TV)
• Microsoft: Windows 7 for PCs; Windows Phone 7 for Windows Phone

While “Windows Phone 7″ might sound like Windows 7, it’s really a completely different operating system. You’re not going to run a Windows 7 application on a Windows Phone 7 device, any more than you’ll run an iOS app from your iPhone on your MacBook.

Is It A Problem?

I called this the “dual OS problem” even though I really don’t know if it’s that big of an issue, in reality. Google especially gets hammered over the “why are you doing both Android and ChromeOS” even though I rarely see this as an issue raised for Apple (though since I don’t watch Apple closely, maybe it also comes up, and I’ve missed it).

There has been some anticipation that I’ve read in the past about MacOS and iOS merging. But that’s doesn’t seem likely to be announced at next week’s Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Mac OS “Lion” and iOS 5 are still listed as separate products. Maybe we’ll get a surprise.

Google certainly hasn’t said to expect a ChromeOS and Android OS merger any time soon. Indeed, Android itself has split into Android 2.0 for phones and Android 3.0, which is pretty much exclusively for tablets. The company said at its recent Google I/O conference that the split will be maintained until Android 4 is out, which will again be for both devices.

As I said, are these splits between desktop and mobile operating systems that much of a problem? They certainly haven’t slowed either Apple or Google down. Plus, with more apps and data being cloud based, the browser itself continues to morph into the ultimate universal operating system.

The Single Device

Still, having an actual phone that doubles as a real computer would be pretty interesting. Imagine it having an HDMI output to a display and a USB input for a keyboard, mouse and other devices. Plug it in, and you’ve got a “real” computer.

It’s kind of intriguing. Indeed, it’s already here in the form of the Android-powered Motorola Atrix, which can dock into a laptop shell, turning it into a computer. Except, not really — you’re not going to run your normal “laptop” style apps that way.

But a real Windows 8 phone that might have a laptop-docking feature? There’s your all-in-one device. Grab your “laptop” from your desk, and you’re ready for that business trip as usual. But pull your phone out of the laptop after the meetings, and you’ve still got everything — cloud data, cloud apps, local data, local apps — should you need it.

No Comment, Just A Smile

It’s possible, but will it happen? I caught Sinofsky after his D9 talk and asked — would Windows 8, the full-blown operating system, be running on future phones?

Sinofsky smiled, and smiled big, but he only said that’s not something Microsoft has announced yet. So, we wait to see.

What if it happens? Getting to that unification “first” doesn’t necessarily mean that Microsoft somehow “wins” in doing so. For one, would it really run that well on phone-sized devices? That remains to be seen.

For another, it also means that Windows 7 Phone users would be upgrade-orphaned. The apps they have for that platform probably wouldn’t run on Windows 8 devices.

If you use a laptop, chances are you’ve already realized that fast, small computers tend to run hot. This may change as more efficient technologies are developed such as quantuum computers, but currently computers require considerable cooling to keep from overheating. Hobbyists tinkering in their garages play with “overclocking” their computers by doing things like circulating liquid nitrogen through them so that they can safely speed up the processors.

Large data centers, with their ranks of racks upon racks of servers, must typically use more traditional methods for keeping the computers cool and functioning optimally. Racks must be constructed to allow for air fans and conduits for air circulating. Ducts must connect up to distribute from giant air cooling units – huge enterprise-sized air conditioners which use cold water towers and compressors.

Naturally, servers and computers also use electricity for operating their processors, monitor screens, network switches, etc. But, most laymen are unaware of the air cooling needs which comprise a significant component of data center power usage.

Greenpeace is aware of the data center power usage needs, as their report and news statements outline. Greenpeace’s headquarters are in the Netherlands, and Europe in general is perhaps more aware of the energy usage implications of data centers. For instance, the European Union has been developing guidelines, recommendations, and a code of conduct for data center operators which highlights the importance of energy conservation.

Since data centers use large volumes of energy, constructing them efficiently can reduce energy needs. For instance, using water from nearby cool lakes or building in cooler climates can help. Also, the energy sources can make a large difference – if a data center uses energy from coal plants it then contributes to carbon dioxide emissions and global warming.

Greenpeace’s report includes a chart, “Case Studies of cloud-based expansion”:

The report appears to be intentionally mixed between examples showing data centers using various mixes of energy sources and major internet service companies, Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Yahoo!.

In press statements, Greenpeace highlights one Yahoo! data center as an example of a responsible construction choice – Yahoo! has planned to build in Buffalo, New York, where they will be supplied by a utility that derives most of its electricity from hydroelectric.

Yet, the report card shows a couple of Yahoo!’s other data centers which are supplied by large percentages of coal and nuclear power.

The company that Greenpeace specifically beats up in the publicity is Facebook. Greenpeace highlights how Facebook has chosen to build a new data center in Oregon, with energy supplied by PacificCorp, which uses primarily coal-burning plants.

Google and other search engines have energy efficiency and conservation initiatives in place (see Going Green at Google, Microsoft Environment, Yahoo! for Good: Going Green). But, these efforts may not go far enough to satisfy environmental groups, considering the large issues involved in building cleaner data centers. It’s a difficult issue, considering these companies need to keep costs low while providing service, and energy efficiency often comes with heftier price tags or upfront costs. There are companies such as Digital Realty Trust, which specialize in constructing energy-efficient data centers on behalf of large corporations such as the search engines and social media giants.

Ultimately, these companies will likely not push for greener data centers without lower costs or greater consumer demand and other incentives such as government requirements or underwriting.

The Greenpeace report will likely go unnoticed by many consumers in the U.S., but it could be the opening salvo in increased criticism from environmental groups. If consumers were to begin selecting online services based upon environmental report cards more, the companies may make more dramatic adjustments to stay competitive. There are a number of different sites and articles promoting green alternative search engines such as this, and this.

Bob Visse, GM for MSN at Microsoft, told me that over the course of the beta period, the company had tweaked the Bing search box and its presentation at the top of the page — the blue outline; the subtle blue gradient at the top of the page — to make it more prominent, with good results.

Microsoft previously told me in November that globally MSN has approximately 600 million users. In the US it falls between Yahoo and AOL  in terms of traffic.

It’s a tremendous asset, driving, according to Visse, almost 50 percent of Bing’s search query volume. It offers a way for Microsoft to expose Bing over time and get people comfortable with the brand and with trying it. To that end, Visse told me that Microsoft was going to launch a major online ad campaign for MSN (which is also indirectly a campaign for Bing) in the next few months.

Among the many things I discussed with Visse was the degree to which search queries coming from MSN were influenced by display ads on the portal and/or the content on the MSN pages from which the searches were launched. He didn’t have any specific numbers to share with me but said that there was a definite correlation and influence that they observed.

He said, humorously, that there’s often a Bing tile ad on the MSN homepage and that you see the query “Bing” in the Bing search box. But he quickly added that these were probably navigational queries — consumers trying to get to Bing.

MSN, which Microsoft says now has 600 million users globally (which would make it larger than Yahoo), is a huge asset for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it drives roughly 45% of Bing’s queries. Even a cursory look at the old and new MSN homepages reveals the superiority of the new design:

After users log in and grant access to their Twitter and Facebook accounts, the activity streams of both sites appear in the lower right of the MSN homepage (the blank area above):

The new local edition does a nice job of aggregating a range of local content (e.g., restaurants and entertainment, news, film, traffic, gas prices, etc.) and presenting it in a direct and accessible manner, with maps and local search functionality as well.

Microsoft told me that the redesign was prompted by user feedback and a growing internal sense that the old design was cluttered and had grown stale. When I met with Microsoft we also discussed and compared the Yahoo homepage redesign of several months ago. The most prominent feature of the Yahoo homepage redesign is the left column of widgets or apps, which ask users to select and personalize the page accordingly.

Microsoft expressed skepticism that lots of people will in fact get involved with a high degree of explicit personalization like this. There will, however, be personalization on MSN but it will not be as obvious to end users as the personalization elements on the Yahoo site. Microsoft will be offering “smart headlines” based on user location, behavior and demographic segment.

The new MSN will roll out globally over the next several months. Interestingly the look of the MSN portal may be slightly different country to country, depending on variables unique to each local market. Microsoft also says that it will bring the new MSN experience to mobile devices as well.

I haven’t systematically gone through every link and page in the new MSN site but from what I’ve been able to look at, it’s a big improvement over the former design.

If Microsoft enjoys success with the new MSN site it’s likely to directly benefit Bing. Previously many users were reportedly abandoning MSN for Google to conduct search queries. That’s probably less likely to happen now. But we’ll see what transpires over the next month or two. Regardless the new design makes MSN a much better place to visit.

Here’s a review of MSN designs over the past several years. See also related discussion on Techmeme.

The new low-cost computers will ship in the third quarter of this year. This does not mean Acer will stop shipping computers with Windows, it just gives Acer an alternative low-cost option for their Netbooks.

We knew this was coming when Greg wrote, Report: Android OS Coming To Netbooks. There are also rumors that Dell’s netbooks will run Android in the future.

At this time, we are closing the QnA site, but the experience of running QnA and gathering all of the great feedback you’ve shared with us will certainly influence future product direction.

QnA initially launched as a beta in August 2006 and we even rated it fairly well in December 2006. QnA had a major upgrade about a year ago today.

Google had their own Questions and Answers which they closed down in 2006. Yahoo Answers is still very dominate in this area.

Despite a range of efforts so far Redmond has not been able to boost its market share in search. Speaking yesterday at Stanford University, where he attended business school, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said:

“We are going to have to be more disruptive” in search.

Cashback is part of that equation for Microsoft — as in disruption of the traditional advertising model. But Ballmer also said that Microsoft will be taking more “risks” in search going forward. He opined that because Google is the market leader it has to be more conservative than Microsoft, almost by definition, because Google is protecting more revenue in search. While that’s true as a matter of abstract logic, Google probably has “risk taking” or “experimentation” more deeply engrained in its corporate culture than Microsoft does.

Microsoft in fact could do some radical things in search and see what took hold. But from all appearances, radical change in search doesn’t seem to be the company’s path at this point.

I’ve argued in the past that Microsoft should attempt to buy Twitter and forget about Facebook. However that’s becoming more and more challenging as time passes. But there are other services that the company could build or buy that might take search in new directions along the lines of Twitter and beyond.

It would be great to see Microsoft really, truly experiment and place multiple search bets rather than one big bet. (Maybe the company would argue that it’s already doing this but I would disagree.) This is what nature does, in fact, with evolution. Some experiments succeed and some fail. But experimentation is key.