Linux Users Avoiding Bing Like The Plague

Given the traditional cats-and-dogs relationship that Microsoft and the open source community have had over the years, it shouldn't come as a huge surprise that Linux users prefer to use Google over Microsoft's Bing "decision engine."

Still, the figures from a recent survey by the search advertising network Chitika are surprisingly tilted in Google's favor, and they suggest that Microsoft has plenty of chipping away left to do before it can start eroding Google's search dominance.

Chitika looked at operating and search engine data for more than 163 million searches that took place on its network from July 30 to Aug. 16 and found that 94.6 percent of Linux users searched with Google, while just 0.77 percent used Bing.

Mac OS users exhibit a similar level of Bing avoidance, with 93 percent using Google and just 1.13 percent using Bing during the data gathering period. Even Windows users turned to Google for 78.5 percent of their searches, compared to just 8 percent for Bing, according to the study.

Bing, of course, is still in its infancy as a re-branded entity, but there's plenty of other data that suggest it's not seeing extraordinarily strong uptake, despite the fact that Microsoft is flexing its massive marketing muscles in an effort to boost adoption.

According to the latest comScore figures, Google accounted for 64.7 percent of searches conducted in June, compared to 19.3 percent for Yahoo and 8.9 percent for Bing. While Bing usage rose 0.5 percent during the month, Microsoft clearly has its work cut out for it in this market.

Microsoft is trying to make the case that search engines are "broken" and in need of fixing, and although it's doing so with some clever television commercials, many folks think Google works just fine.

That's not to suggest these efforts will be in vain: Microsoft has deep pockets with which to finance its obsessive Google chasing, and it's obviously taking a long-term view when it comes to chasing down the search leader. Microsoft's recently inked 10-year search agreement with Yahoo, which will give Microsoft much needed search volume, and Microsoft executives have vowed to release two major updates to the search engine every year to improve its accuracy.

Bing may succeed in redefining search and making it easier for users to track down sought-after bits of information, but the open source community will probably always give it a wide berth -- no matter how well it works.