Microsoft gets cosy with Firefox

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 30 Jan 2009 at 13:04

Microsoft has introduced a new add-on for Firefox that helps its Live Search service work better with the open-source browser.

The auto-suggest add-on does exactly what it says on the tin, helping to complete search queries in the browser while they're being typed. Enter the name Bruce, for example, and the auto-suggest will immediately brings up a list of famous Bruces you may be searching for.

The feature is nothing revolutionary, but Microsoft's willingness to work with its principal competitor shows it's serious about making headway in the search engine battle.

The company also says the add-on serves as a neat technical demonstration of its new Live Search API.

"This release, while relatively small in scope, takes advantage of the work we've done as part of our Live Search API 2 which enables the richest and most flexible search API offered by any major search provider," says Alessandro Catorcini, lead program manager.

"We listened a ton to developers as we built the API and the we think the feature set reflects that - multiple protocol support (in contrast to only AJAX from GOOG), unlimited queries for customer-facing sites and apps, and an awesome array of result presentation options."

The add on is available here.