Says Microsoft: it’s crap, but… ‘hey, there’s a new version coming soon’. No, they’re not talking about the Windows 8.1 KB2919355 debacle and Windows 10, but rather about MS Academic Search…

Asked about the collapse [in the current version], a spokesperson for Microsoft Research declined to address the problem directly, writing in an e-mail:

“Microsoft Academic Search [has] a next-generation version of MAS, which focuses on enhancing the user experience and evolving it from a research project to an integrated offering within Microsoft’s services portfolio. During this transition, Microsoft has maintained the features, functionality, and the ability for third parties to enter new and updated content into the existing search engine, but the majority of our focus has now shifted to this new initiative.”