Microsoft launches Tafiti – Search and Silverlight experiment
Tafiti, an experimental demonstration site that combines Live Search with Silverlight has just been launched. It’s described as follows:
Tafiti, which means “do research” in Swahili, is an experimental search front-end from Microsoft, designed to help people use the Web for research projects that span multiple search queries and sessions by helping visualize, store, and share research results. Tafiti uses both Microsoft Silverlight and Live Search to explore the intersection of richer experiences on the Web and the increasing specialization of search.
Search results are presented in the central column, with the right hand “shelf” available to save result you are interested in via drag and drop. The carousel on the left hand side allows you to cycle through the search results you wish to view (Web, Images, RSS etc) and these too can be saved if you wish. The results you have favourited can then be shared via Windows Live Spaces.
Tafiti also features a tree view, allowing users to visualise the search results in a more “Web 2.0 / tags” kind of way. The tree can be thinned as required by dragging the slider across the bottom. Definitely a neat feature but how useful it is I’m not quite sure.
Go give Tafiti a try and let us know what you think. Do you see any features you’d like Microsoft to integrate in its Search 2.0 offering?
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