Microsoft Good money after the bad

If you bribe them, they will come. This seems to be Microsoft’s thinking on the subject of search engine competition. In a presentation last week, the firm’s founder, Bill Gates, said the company is considering offering users cash or free «software things» for using its MSN Search engine. That won’t work. Here’s why. Say Microsoft is paying cash. Assume it would pay a fraction of a cent for each search done on its engine, or for each click on an advertiser’s link. (The company won’t release exa...