Tech

Microsoft Rewards (Bing Rewards) To Pay You For Searching – How It Works?

(CTN NEWS) – You pull out your latest 5G phone, open your browser, and type your question when conducting a quick search. And you pretty much immediately know the response.

Although you may not see it, a search engine in the background retrieves the results you see and arranges them in the way you see them.

Google and Microsoft Bing are the most widely used search engines out of this group. But when compared to Bing, Google holds the lion’s share of the market.

You can learn everything you need to know about Microsoft Rewards (formerly known as Bing Rewards) in this post. Microsoft has been attempting to reclaim some of that lucrative traffic from Google.

Bing Rewards Program?

In order to reward customers for regular Bing searches and particular campaigns, Microsoft introduced Bing Rewards in September 2010.

These credits might then be exchanged for a variety of benefits. Before being made compatible with all desktop browsers, the programme was initially only open to participants who downloaded and utilised the Bing Bar for Internet Explorer.

In 2016, the programme underwent a name change to Microsoft Rewards with some modifications. After a quick review of the program’s history, let’s look at how you might profit from it.

How Can You Make Money With Microsoft Rewards?

With Microsoft Rewards, there are various methods to make money. Here are a few examples.

1. Search with Bing

With a stunning 80% market share, Google is the most popular search engine worldwide. Its nearest rival, Bing.com, holds only 15% of the market.

It’s likely that Microsoft would desire to take some of Google’s market share. Offering customers incentives for using the Bing search engine while surfing is one method it intends to utilise to achieve this.

For level 1 users, you can earn 50 points per day, while level 2 users can earn 250 points per day by performing searches.

Additionally, if you conduct a search using Edge, you will receive an additional 5 points daily for level 1 and 20 points daily for level 2.

As long as you do your search using the Bing search engine, you will get points whether you use Chrome or another browser.

Your searches will not be credited unless you are logged into your Microsoft account. Make use of Bing on the Microsoft Edge browser to level up more quickly.

Additionally, you’ll profit from queries conducted using Cortana’s Windows 10 Search Box that use the Bing search engine.

You must browse the web on both desktop and mobile platforms in order to get the greatest number of points for Bing browsing.

You can make money on mobile devices via the Bing app, Microsoft Edge app, or the Microsoft Launcher app for Android.

It’s interesting to see that mobile awards are less common than desktop prizes. You do not receive points for mobile searches if you happen to be in an area where mobile rewards are not supported.

For instance, level 1 entitles you to up to 50 daily search points, of which 20 are given to mobile and 30 are given to desktop. If you are in an area that is not supported, you just receive the 30 for desktop searches.

The Microsoft Edge incentive is also impacted by this. Therefore, instead of the customary five points every day, you only receive three for utilising the company’s default browser.

2. Complete fun offers

You can earn more points by completing easy pre-defined tasks on Microsoft’s Earn website. You can get money by completing puzzles, answering trivia questions, taking quizzes, polls, and surveys, and more.

Each activity awards you 5 or 10 points, and finishing them all nets you more than 100 points. Since the offers are changed every day, you can quickly accumulate the points.

Daily sets are a pleasant activity you may perform. These are groups of tasks where you can gain access to more perks.

Daily offerings’ tasks can be completed to start streaks that award more points the longer you play without pausing.

For instance, a three-day streak awards you 45 points, and the points keep rising until day 10, at which time you start receiving 150 points every ten days. If you miss a day, your streak is broken, and you have to start over.

Completing fun offers is distinct from other activities you already engage in because it requires you to make an effort to carry out actions you might not ordinarily complete.

The benefit is that they are frequently enjoyable and simple to finish. You’ll finish them all quickly, whether you’re setting a goal, on a Microsoft Rewards tour, or participating in an activity hunt to uncover hidden objects.

In addition, it helps you unwind after a stressful day.

3. Shop on the Microsoft Store

When using your Xbox, Windows PC, or the internet to shop at the Microsoft Store while connected into your Microsoft account, you can get points.

For level one spending, you earn one point, and for level two spending, you earn ten points.

With a current Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or Xbox Live Gold subscription, you receive 20 points for every dollar spent if you are on level two.

You can earn points by purchasing full games, Xbox One on-demand games, independent and arcade games, game expansion packs and season passes, apps, TV shows, and more.

Additionally, you can earn by buying devices like Microsoft Surface PCs, however no matter what tier you are in, the rewards are just 1 point for every dollar spent.

For hardware purchases, point rewards are also restricted. It’s important to remember that if you return or cancel a purchase, your points will be forfeited.

4. Earn points on Xbox

You can increase your point total if you have an Xbox by completing a number of tasks. Playing free-to-play games, choosing recent releases, renting TV shows, and installing new apps are just a few ways to earn points.

If you have a Game Pass subscription, completing exclusive library missions will earn you points. In your Rewards account on the console’s Game Pass membership section, you can find quests.

Another way to get points on Xbox is by purchasing games. For each dollar bought on eligible digital goods from the Microsoft Store, you can earn up to 20 points.

Whether a purchase is made directly on the Xbox console, via Xbox.com, or via Microsoft.com, points are still awarded.

On the Xbox, Microsoft also has monthly surveys that you can complete to earn points. On the Xbox, you also get daily sets.

This isn’t a good enough reason to get an Xbox if you don’t already have one. However, if you frequently use the console to play games, you might as well take advantage of the complimentary incentives.

What about the Microsoft Rewards status levels?

Level 1 and Level 2 are the two main tiers of Microsoft Rewards. Here is all the information you require about them.

Level 1

Anyone registering for Microsoft Rewards for the first time will start at this level. Searches can earn you up to 50 points each day (30 on desktop and 20 on mobile), plus an extra 5 points for using Microsoft Edge.

Additionally, the Microsoft Store only awards 1 point for every $1 bought. It’s true that you don’t think it’s much. Fortunately, level 2 is nearby and is simple to access.

Level 2

A minimum of 500 points must be earned in one month in order to reach level 2. You ought to be able to accomplish so in a few days if you’re committed to the programme.

Level 2 offers up to 250 points per day for Bing searches (150 on desktop and 100 on mobile), plus 20 extra points for using Edge.

Additionally, you receive 10 points for every dollar you spend in the Microsoft Store, as well as savings when you exchange points for cash and other special offers. If you perform 100 or more monthly searches, you’ll stay in level 2.

How To Redeem Microsoft Rewards Points

If you aren’t intending to use your Microsoft Rewards points, there is no purpose in registering or earning them. On the Microsoft Rewards page’s Redeem tab, you can convert your points for valuables.

It’s important to keep in mind that points can only be used to redeem rewards in the nation in which they were earned.

The programme offers a variety of prizes, which are primarily divided into gift cards, entries into sweepstakes, and donations.

If you have enough points, you can enter sweepstakes for a chance to win expensive prizes or exchange them for gift cards from a number of businesses and services, such as Amazon, Burger King, and Starbucks.

You may contribute points to a good cause if you’re in the mood to do so. Microsoft converts your points into donations of money for the cause of your choice instantly.

However, you are limited to choose an organisation from the available possibilities. The Nature Conservancy, Teach for America, and the Trevor Project are notable organizations.

How Much Can You Make With Microsoft Rewards?

Microsoft Rewards won’t assist you if your objective is to earn enough money to cover your expenses, quit your career, and take weekend getaways to Hawaii.

Keep reading if you want to earn some free money while doing what you currently do, though.

A $5 gift card may be redeemed with around 5,000 points, or approximately $0.001 per point. But how soon can you accumulate 5,000 points? If you’re level 2, you can gain 250 points per day just by doing searches.

In total, that comes out to 7,500 points every month and 90,000 points annually. In a year, this equates to $90 in incentives.

You’ll receive incentives worth more than $100 every year once daily sets, extra activities, shopping points, and Xbox earnings are taken into account.

Once more, you won’t become financially independent, but you will be able to sometimes treat yourself to something nice from a featured retailer.

Does Google Have Something Like Microsoft Rewards?

Microsoft Rewards’ equivalent in Google does not exist, nor is it required to. The program’s fundamental goal is to increase user appeal for Microsoft’s services and products, particularly Bing and Edge.

According to the data we provided previously in the article, Google Search holds a commanding 80% of the market for searches, compared to 15% for Microsoft.

If anything, Google’s search engine is already so widely used. If Microsoft is successful in capturing a sizable portion of the market, Google might think about adopting a similar strategy.

Is it Worth Using Bing Over Google Search?

Only Microsoft provides opportunities to make money utilizing its browser and search engine, thus the corporation wins this round. But what about the services themselves?

Is Bing sufficient to tempt you to switch? After all, the primary goal of browsing is to obtain useful search engine result page (SERP) results. Rewards come in second.

With generic searches, Microsoft Bing has advanced significantly and is now competitive with Google. Most questions you ask it are easily answered.

Both engines feature straightforward user interfaces that let you concentrate on what matters. When you leave searches and user interfaces, things appear quite differently.

In terms of picture searches, Bing is in the lead. It provides chips at the top of the page to further customise queries. The chips can be found in video searches as well.

The grid-style results, in contrast to Google’s list view, which displays video descriptions, only display thumbnails and titles.

The short version is that Bing is decent and provides a reliable experience for the majority of users. In light of the recent combination of ChatGPT and Microsoft Rewards, switching from Google to Bing might be worthwhile.

Should You Switch From Microsoft Rewards?

The Microsoft rewards program’s main selling point is that you can earn money for doing things you already do, but only if you use Microsoft’s products.

Giving up Google would be the biggest obstacle. You should consider making the transition if you can get past that.

Old habits, as they say, are hard to break. If you’re still a fervent supporter of Google, use our instructions to set it as your default search engine on any browser.

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Tech

US: A Judge Mandates that Google Allow Competing App Stores to Access Android

(VOR News) – The ruling is that Google, the greatest technology firm in the world, is required to make its Android smartphone operating system available to merchants that supply applications that are in direct rivalry with Google’s. This decision was reached by a judge in the United States of America.

The Android Play store, which is owned and operated by Google, was found to be an example of an illegal monopoly arrangement by a jury in the state of California on Monday. The finding was reached by a jury. Monday is the day that this decision was come to.

An earlier federal judge ruled Google’s search engine illegal.

This finding, which came after that decision, has forced the company to suffer yet another setback. As a result of the corporation having already encountered its initial obstacle, this decision has been established. This particular decision was made by the judge during the month of August, when the month was in progress.

In light of the fact that the decision was made, what exactly does it mean that the choice was accepted?

In accordance with the verdict, Google is obligated to make it possible for users to download Android app stores that are offered by third-party competitors. For a period of three years, the corporation is prohibited from imposing restrictions on the usage of payment mechanisms that are integrated into the application.

In addition, it is important to keep in mind that Google does not possess the right to impose restrictions on the utilization of ways to make payments online.

Additionally, the verdict makes it unlawful for Google to give money to manufacturers of smartphones in order to preinstall its app store. Smartphone manufacturers are prohibited from doing so.

Furthermore, it prevents Google from the possibility of sharing the revenue that is generated by the Play store with other companies that are in the industry of delivering mobile applications.

In addition to this, the court has mandated the establishment of a technical committee that will be made up of three different people chosen at random.

The committee will be responsible for monitoring the implementation of the reforms and finding solutions to any disagreements that may occur as a consequence of the implementation of the reforms while they are being implemented. This task will fall under the committee’s purview so that it may fulfill its duties.

However, certain components were allowed to be put into action until July 1st, despite the fact that the judge’s statement suggested that the ruling would take effect on November 1st. The statement was the basis for the ruling, which ultimately became effective.

Particularly, I wanted to know what Google’s reaction would be.

There is a fact that Google does not adhere to this directive, which has been brought to their attention. This document argued that the alterations that the judge had ordered to be made would “cause a range of unintended consequences that will harm American consumers, developers, and device makers.”

The judge had ordered the modifications to be implemented. The alterations were to be carried out as indicated by the judge’s ruling. The judge made it clear that he expected these revisions to be carried out in accordance with his guidance.

The company’s regulatory affairs vice president, Lee-Anne Mulholland, provided the following statement: “We look forward to continuing to make our case on appeal, and we will continue to advocate for what is best for developers, device manufacturers, and the billions of Android users around the world.”

On average, over seventy percent of the total market for smartphones and other mobile devices is comprised of mobile devices that are powered by the Android operating system. Both smartphones and other small mobile devices are included in this category.

In the event that the Play app store continues to be shown on the home page and that other Google applications are pre-installed prior to the installation of the Android application, smartphone manufacturers are entitled to install the Android application at no cost at their discretion.

Additionally, the Android application can be installed on devices that are manufactured for smartphones.

SOURCE: DWN

Tech

WhatsApp Now Features a “Mention” Tool for Status Updates and Stories.

(VOR News) – Those who use WhatsApp now have the ability to mention other people in their stories or status updates as a consequence of a feature that was only recently enabled on the platform.

Previous to this point, this capability was not available. It wasn’t until quite recently that this capability became available to the public.

According to the information that was provided by the company, users now have the opportunity to tag close friends in their stories, and the person who is mentioned will have the option to go back and re-share an earlier version of that story. This information was provided by the company. The corporation was kind enough to reveal this information to us.

Because of a new feature that has been added to the WhatsApp app, users now have the opportunity to like individual stories and status updates.

This capability was previously unavailable to WhatsApp users.

A significant amount of progress has been made in this context. Alternative readers now have the chance to “like” a work, which is comparable to liking a post on Facebook. This feature was introduced in recent years. When compared to the past, this is a tremendous shift.

At one point in time, viewers were only permitted to observe the total number of views that a particular story had gotten. These restrictions were eliminated in later versions of the software.

Additionally, it is essential that the likes and reactions to a story be kept anonymous during the entire process. One of the factors that contributes to the general mystery that surrounds this characteristic is the fact that this is one of the elements.

The person who brought it to the attention of others is the only person who will be able to judge who enjoyed it and who did not care about it. These individuals will be able to make this determination.

A notification will be issued to the individual who was referenced earlier in the sentence and who was named in the story or status update that was discussed. A notification of this nature will be sent to the individual via WhatsApp.

This message will be sent to the user in question whenever that person makes a reference to another person while they are in the process of elaborating on a narrative or updating their status. You will receive a notification alerting you that you have been tagged in the narrative.

This notification will be delivered to the person who receives this message. In addition, students will be provided with the opportunity to re-share the tale for themselves.

It is important to note that if the names of individuals who have been referenced in a narrative or a status update are included in any of these, then the names of those individuals will not be accessible to any third party through any of these. In light of the fact that the identities of those individuals will be concealed from public disclosure, this is the condition that will be required.

While WhatsApp recently made the announcement that it will be incorporating this functionality, it is highly likely that not all users will have access to it at the same time.

This is despite the fact that WhatsApp recently made this announcement.

Despite the fact that WhatsApp has only recently made a public announcement that it will move forward with the deployment, this is the situation that has presented itself.

As soon as a short period of time has elapsed, access will be made available to each and every person on the entire world.

Additionally, WhatsApp has hinted that new functionalities might be introduced to the status and updates tab in the future months.

The purpose of these capabilities is to provide users with assistance in maintaining healthy connections with the individuals who play a vital role in their living experiences. This is done in order to give users with support in maintaining close relationships with the folks who are the subject of the inquiry.

It is with the purpose of supporting users in successfully keeping close ties with the individuals in question that this step is taken.

SOURCE: DN

Tech

Over The Planned “Link Tax” Bill, Google Threatens to Remove NZ News Links.

(VOR News) – Google has sent a strong message to the New Zealand government, threatening to stop boosting local news content should the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill become law.

The law, put up by the Labour government and backed by the coalition in power at the moment, mandates that digital companies such as Google pay back news organizations for links to their material.

News publishers, on the other hand, charge the tech giant with “corporate bullying.”

Google says this measure may have unanticipated effects.

Google New Zealand’s country director, Caroline Rainsford, voiced her worries that the law, which is being referred to as a “link tax,” is not doing enough to support the media industry in New Zealand right now.

She underlined that Google would have to make major adjustments if the previously mentioned law were to pass, including cutting off links to news articles from its Search, News, and Discover platforms and cutting off financial ties with regional publications.

According to Rainsford, similar legislation has been proposed and approved in other nations including Australia and Canada, but it has not been proven to be effective there and breaches the principles of the open web.

She drew attention to the fact that smaller media outlets will be most negatively impacted, which will limit their capacity to reach prospective audiences.

Google says its alternative options will protect smaller, local media from negative effects.

Conversely, it conveys apprehension regarding the possible fiscal obligations and vagueness of the legislation, which it feels generates an intolerable level of ambiguity for enterprises functioning within New Zealand.

The New Zealand News Publishers Association (NPA) has reacted to Google’s warnings by alleging that the internet behemoth is using coercive tactics.

They specifically contend that the need for regulation stems from the market distortion that Google and other tech giants have created, which has fueled their expansion into some of the most significant corporations in global history.

The legislation aims to create a more equal framework that media businesses can use to negotiate commercial relationships with technological platforms that profit from their content.

New Zealand Media Editors CEO Michael Boggs stated that he was in favor of the bill, citing the fact that Google now makes a substantial profit from material created by regional publications.

He also emphasized that the use of artificial intelligence by Google—which frequently makes references to news articles without giving credit to the original sources—highlights the significance of enacting legislation.

Paul Goldsmith, the Minister of Media and Communications, has stated that the government is now evaluating various viewpoints and is still in the consultation phase.

He stated that the government and Google have been having continuous talks and will keep up these ongoing discussions.

However, not all political parties accept the validity of the Act.

The ACT Party’s leader, David Seymour, has voiced his displeasure of the proposal, saying that Google is a game the government is “playing chicken” with. He threatened the smaller media companies, saying that they would suffer from worse search engine rankings if the internet giant followed through on its promises.

Seymour contended that it is not the government’s responsibility to shield companies from shifts in the market brought about by consumer preferences.

The things that have happened in other nations are similar to what has happened in New Zealand.

Google has agreements with a number of Australian media firms that are in compliance with its News Media Bargaining Code. These agreements contain provisions that permit an annual cancellation of these agreements.

Due to the government’s decision to exempt Google from the Online News Act, the company has committed to supporting news dissemination by contributing annually to the Canadian journalistic community.

The New Zealand measure is consistent with global approaches aimed at regulating the relationships that exist between technology corporations and media organizations.

It’s hard to say what will happen with the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill as the discussion goes on. Google and the New Zealand media landscape are preparing for what might be a protracted legal battle.

SOURCE: TET