Home Interviews Developers Our View Blogs We Like The List

This Blog

Syndication

LiveSide - News blog

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?

Tafiti Homepage | On10 video

Comments

 

Alber1690 said:

Whoa...it's very cool! Integration looks like it might be key in the future. Stunning visuals...

August 21, 2007 11:14 PM
 

LosHavros said:

I love it!  It pools data from different searches (images, news, blogs etc) and presents them with a great visual style and stacking/tagging searches.  This product may make me switch from using Google, to using Live Search.

August 21, 2007 11:50 PM
 

SauronReaver said:

WOW, yet another Microsoft service that might just make me switch completely to MS online services. The name is also kind of catchy :)

August 22, 2007 1:36 AM
 

calum-r- said:

I'm liking this idea a lot, but I think if they implemented it into Live Search in the future they better make it consistent with the user interface of other Windows Live products at the time of release.

Also it will take me a while to get used to this "Tree" thing lol, but it;s looking good. I'm liking the fact that they are starting to research into including Silverlight in thier products (I hear WLMessenger 9 will have that)

August 22, 2007 2:37 AM
 

Chris said:

So far nobody at Microsoft is saying that Tafiti is anything more than an experimental site, so its unlikely we'll see them stick the WL Header on it and call it the new Live Search. How useful users find the stack, the carousel and other items is key, these are items they can port to Live Search.

Plus, remember that the new WL Header links to other WL Sites, whereas the current Search header links to other search results. So something will have to be done about that conflict.

Calum where did you hear about Messenger v9? :)

August 22, 2007 11:26 AM
 

yanverm said:

This is what I call:  innovation! Looking good, sympathic use and very nice layout / graphics. The tree is funny, but not so handy. Global, I like the idea and maybe in the near future I will use this site more than searh.live.com ;-)

August 22, 2007 12:23 PM
 

rb1385 said:

Awesome....now microsoft is getting somewhere....

August 22, 2007 5:07 PM
 

Vasudev said:

Yes its really cool. But being based on SIlverlight, I cant right click a URL to  save it, or launch a URL in new tab. It launhes in new window.

Does anyone remembers Ms. Dewey, http://www.msdewey.com/

a flash based search tool from Microsoft released few years ago?

August 22, 2007 5:34 PM
 

rb1385 said:

The more i play with this the more i think Microsoft has finally hit on an application to make others worry.  I especially like Silverlight and the integration of search sites....Maybe Windows Live has hope after all...

August 22, 2007 6:10 PM
 

chetblong said:

If you let the tree sit there for a while, the green leaves start changing colors and then when they turn brown they leave and a new search result comes up.

August 25, 2007 4:11 PM
 

calum-r- said:

Chris a guy called RebelSean who claims he has contacts with the Windows Live Messenger team and claims to be a Windows Live Expert said, on Neowin forums, that version 9 will implement Silverlight into its features and he asked for feature requests.

Do you know whether this is true??

August 27, 2007 10:47 AM
 

the andyman said:

@calum-r- If they do implement Silverlight it will probably be instead of or as well as Flash in things like winks (unofficial MS comment on Connect about this: "We're considering adding Silverlight support in a future version of Messenger.") or activities and games (unofficial MS comment on Connect: "We'll consider it for future releases. Even if Silverlight is used, it still requires a runtime download. Whether the P4 is implemented with Flash or Silverlight is irrelevant.").

August 27, 2007 10:42 PM

Trackbacks

About Chris

Chris has a regular day job, therefore needs to insert the standard blogger disclaimer:

Please note that the views expressed here at LiveSide.net reflect the views of the authors alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of any of their associated employers, companies or organizations.
You can contact Chris via email about anything regarding LiveSide or Windows Live - chris*at*liveside.net

LiveSide Latest Posts

Web Slice coming soon...
Copyright (c) 2006-2007-2008 Liveside
Listed on the Offical CS Listings Powered by Community Server, by Telligent Systems Themed By nb development Banner Logo By pxb Designed By Mark Sutherland