Site: Live.com
Category: Search & Reference
Live Search is Microsoft's free Web search tool that plugs into various Microsoft Web properties as well as general indexing for pages all over the Internet. Users can search for news stories, photos, videos, as well as Microsoft's other Web services like Live Maps and MSN.
Besides Web searches, Microsoft has a few search tools built into Live.com that let you search books, XML feeds, and the company's questions and answers service.
One thing that separates it from competitors is the Cashback service, which offers users cash back on certain items purchased from retailers that have been linked in its results. Microsoft does this by percentage, which means users can get back large sums of money on high-value products.
(Credit:
CNET)
Site: Maps.live.com
Category: Location-based services
Live Search Maps is Microsoft's online mapping service. Users can look up a location by address and get directions, complete with recent traffic reports that can change its estimation of how long it will take. It also uses a technology called ClearFlow that anticipates traffic based on past history of backups at specific times and dates.
Live Search maps was one of the first services to offer 3D views of certain buildings, and now has close to 70 of them. To see these maps in the browser, users must install a special plug-in. The service was also the first to offer a second set of aerial imagery at an oblique angle instead of from directly above. This lets users see certain topography, especially hilly cities a whole new way.
(Credit:
CNET)
Microsoft's Live Search is Microsoft's free Web search tool that plugs into various Microsoft Web properties as well as general indexing for pages all over the Internet.
Users can search for news stories, photos, videos, as well as Microsoft's other Web services like Live Maps and MSN. One thing that separates it from competitors is the Search and Give service, which takes 10 of your searches a day and converts it into charitable contributions to the nonprofit of your choice.
Besides Web searches, Microsoft has a few search tools built into Live.com that let you search books, XML feeds, and the company's questions and answers service.
Winner: Live Search (Live.com)
Category: Search
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- Windows Live Search
- Yahoo! Search
- YouSendIt
Category: Data
Windows Live Search is Microsoft's Web search engine. It gives users the tools to search through Web sites, images, videos, news, and a number of other categories. Microsoft has built-in some interesting search technologies with Live Search. One of them is the Scratchpad, which lets users save an assortment of pictures they like from the image search results. It uses a drag-and-drop interface that's really simple to pick up.
Search enthusiasts won't be let down by Microsoft's offering. Its advanced options are pretty powerful, giving users a choice of search localization by country and sliders to adjust which results come to the top based either on popularity or on how recently the sites were updated.
Web site: www.Live.com
Webware coverage: Microsoft's new search, maps come to life
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