Wow, sounds like MSN is working on some really kickin' features. Todd Friesen (oilman) is live blogging the MSN Searchification event, and he's pretty impressed with some of what he's seeing. Some of the highlights from his post:
- MSN has grown there index to over 20B docs
- san jose weather - results in page. Dont need to click away.
- 1 click directions. You click the link in the email and it shows you the destination and then gives you a handful of pre computed directions. you then click the route that is the direction youll be coming from. Its pretty cool. Most users really dont need directions from their driveway.
- wow - hover over a video and and it plays inline on teh search page. sweeet. It doesnt just play the first portion but is actually does some super cool advanced rocket science analyis to find you the best most relevant portion of the clip.
- Webmaster Tools. Finally - MSN is launching a toolset.
- Private beta launches Monday. Bigger private beta on 10/22 and public beta on 11/15 launched at SMX in London.
Lots more info, so go check it out. Oh, and yes, there's a URL at the bottom of his post, so you can actually see a preview right now. I'm not going to spoil it though, so you'll have to go see for yourself.
Wait, wait, there's more. Vanessa Fox is also reporting in with many similar details. Finally, MSN themselves are giving details over on their own blog, and they include lots of links to check out the new details. Nice!