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IE Gets Two New MSN Toolbar Add-Ins

By Ed Oswald | Published December 7, 2005, 2:36 PM

Microsoft on Wednesday released betas of two add-ins for its MSN Search Toolbar. One add-in allows users to store and access their Windows Live Favorites in a sidebar adjacent to the browser window, while the other offers thumbnail previews of search results before visiting the actual pages.

The Windows Live Favorites add-in enables users to import their current favorites from both Internet and MSN Explorer, and use them right away through the service. New sites can be added with a single click, and favorites can be searched by name, address or keyword.

Users who take advantage of the Windows Live Favorites service would be able to access their saved Web pages from any computer with an Internet connection, including machines based on operating systems other than Windows, Microsoft has said.

The preview add-in allows users of MSN Search to view thumbnails of Web sites beside the links in each search result. Mousing over the thumbnail will magnify the image for closer inspection. Microsoft said this would speed up the search process by eliminating the need to click on every result.

These two plug-ins join three other pre-existing ones for the MSN Search Toolbar, including weather, games and an anti-phishing add-in.

The Windows Live Favorites add-in requires MSN Search Toolbar with Windows Desktop Search and Microsoft Windows XP or Server 2003 with IE6. The search preview add-in will work on Windows 2000 and Internet Explorer 5.01 or later.

Comments

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PC_Tool
Dec 7, 2005 - 3:19 PM

"while the other offers thumbnail previews of search results before visiting the actual pages."

Pre-caching?

Nononononononon!!!!!!11111oneoneone

Hasn't this been done to death and proven inneffective in just about every respect?

I can easily see many sites checking for this toolbar and blocking access if it exists.

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Black-Wolf
Dec 7, 2005 - 3:14 PM

It's actually by you when you install it. :)
No one can actually touch you PC, remember?

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citizen420
Dec 7, 2005 - 3:10 PM

instead of loading ie with all this crap, just use FIREFOX. Its better.

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No Beer For You
Dec 7, 2005 - 2:55 PM

I just type my search in the address bar and it goes straight to the results page.

There's still no reason to use any of these search toolbars - they have nothing I need.
The same goes to desktop search too - what is the point?

I don't trust anyone but me with my hard-drive data. There will be no indexing of my computer by anyone!

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