Bing

Yahoo is introducing a new browser this week: Axis, a bold attempt at simplifying search for mobile devices and desktops. Its streamlined approach drops all those annoying links you don't want -- even though that's where most search engines make their money.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using travel portals, but you still can't assume that any given site is offering you the best possible deal. Let's go over a few things that Priceline, Travelocity, Expedia and Orbitz would probably prefer that you don't know.

If you think 2011 was a wild year for technology, just wait until you see what 2012 has in store for you. Here are three tech trends that will undoubtedly grow in relevance -- and investor profitability -- in the year ahead.

Microsoft's next quarterly report arrives Thursday, and it's hard to get too excited. It's still the world's largest software company, and it's growing. It just happens to be as sexy as Abe Vigoda. But Microsoft could still innovate its way out of its slump. Here are four things we'd love to hear Microsoft say on Thursday.

As box makers struggled with the low-margin business of selling hardware at cutthroat prices, Microsoft was there to cash in on the high-margin software end. Eleven years ago, the company's stock closed at $27.43; it's trading just shy of that mark right now, making Microsoft the poster child for what some investors are calling "the lost decade."

Google's shares have fallen 15% in the last three months while the S&P 500 has traded flat. This share price decline seems odd when contrasted with the spectacular success Google has been experiencing with its Android mobile OS. But there are good reasons Wall Street isn't impressed.

The trouble lies in the quality of information -- a thorny problem due to the subjectivity of "quality" in general. Google keeps tweaking its algorithms, but the junk content keeps rising to the top. In the arms race against spammers, the next few years are crucial.

Microsoft has definitively denied that its Bing search engine takes its cues from its rival. Nonetheless, the Google allegations highlights the challenges Microsoft faces in addressing the "long tail" market in search, or the obscure searches that collectively account for a huge portion of search traffic.

In the latest battle between tech giants Google and Microsoft, Google has accused Microsoft of "cheating" by using Google's search results to improve Bing's. Microsoft says there's nothing wrong with that.

Can 700 more layoffs really solve Yahoo's problems?