There may be no new news about the Microsoft-Yahoo front,
Microsoft Office Pro 2007, but that doesn;t imply there;s absolutely nothing taking place in the Microsoft search room.On June three, Microsoft launched the final, downloadable version of Windows Lookup 4.0 through Microsoft Download Middle. Microsoft made obtainable to testers in March a preview version of the up-to-date Windows Lookup technologies. When installed on Vista Support Pack (SP) one programs,
Office Professional 2007, Windows Lookup 4.0 updates and replaces the current serach files. On XP and Windows Server 2003,
Office 2010 Pro Key, Windows Search extends the existing search functionality.Based on enterprise officials, amongst the new features Microsoft additional to Windows Lookup 4.0 given that March: Quicker querying and indexing (”how much quicker depends on the machine and the data,” according to business officials)Improved reliability (”system failures won;t get within the way of the indexer and all data will be scanned and accessible for searches,
Office Home And Business,” according to a spokesperson)Broader PC-to-PC searches (a k a “Remote index discovery”)More Group Policy controls over aspects of search performance On June 4, Microsoft Research unveiled “SearchTogether,” an Internet Explorer 7 plug-in that allows users to do group search. Those connected can chat, comment on results, make recommendations and perform other group search tasks as a unit.Microsoft also announced a new and more intuitive edition of its “Search and Give” campaign on June 4. Schools, charities and other groups use Search and Give to fundraise; every time a user employs Live Search to perform a query, Microsoft donates money to a offered cause.Earlier this week,
Office Professional 2010 Key, Microsoft also announced a new toolkit for customizing 404 error pages that users receive when their searches turn up no results. The Web Page Error Toolkit allows users to create 404 pages with customized error messages, plus lookup results containing specific keywords.On the Web lookup side with the Microsoft house, one of Microsoft;s biggest problems remains the branding. When I ask users whether they;ve tried Microsoft;s Live Search, the majority don;t realize that Microsoft;s destination search site is “www.live.com.” They know Microsoft has a lookup engine around the MSN.com page, but that;s it.Microsoft continues to make noise about fixing its Live branding. No doubt the Redmondians; on-again/off-again dealings with Yahoo have put any planned rebranding effort on hold.