Microsoft released a revamped search engine Wednesday, named Windows Live Search, with a new design and features such as search preview, scoping tools, a search "slider bar" that increases the level
of result information on the results page, and a "smart scroll" feature that lets users view search results without moving from page to page.
The service is available at
www.Live.com, the customizable home page that is the heart of Microsoft's "Live" initiative. It still is very much in beta, as Windows Live Search is being developed to eventually replace the MSN
Search service that debuted last year.
Microsoft also announced that it acquired Onfolio Inc., which offers a tool that lets people clip and save text and links from the Web. Financial terms were
not disclosed. Microsoft says it has incorporated the technology into a new version of its toolbar, Windows Live Toolbar, which was also released Wednesday.
The new Windows Live Search features
include a slider bar for increasing the number of results on a given page, and a smart scroll function for viewing results by continuously scrolling down a page, rather than clicking from one page of
results to the next.
In addition, Microsoft said Windows Live Search offers the ability to quickly conduct a search within a limited set of a person's favorite sites.