Yes, its true. it is harder than google because bing doesnt have exact algorithm to know how we are going to rank the websites. I haven't tried their webmaster tool though but now that it is merge with yahoo, i think it is more convenient.
I guess it varies. My site has always ranked higher in Bing (and Yahoo) than Google and I haven't done anything deliberate to make that happen.
Initial Ranking Factors Inbound Anchor Text Are Significant On-Page Factors Work Wonders Authority Of The Site Is Considered Supports Flash Websites Minor Ranking Factors Back Links Are Of Reduced Value Link Spamming Charms Fail PR Is Secondary Dropped Relevancy Of Fresh Content
A lot has been said about Google and although it is the internet search engine giant, a lot of attention has made it difficult for Google to keep its secrets hidden. Bing on the other hand was never the center of attention which is why very less is known about it. Therefore you can't rank on a search engine of which you know very less about. That is why it is much more harder to rank on Bing as compared to Google.