Windows Live Chronicles: Live Search

Fodor's Travel Guides Live Book Search

Tue, 06 May 2008 17:39:42 GMT

Thanks to the work of the Live Search Selection Team we now have full access to all the Fodor’s Travel Guides through our Book Search & new Travel Instant Answer.

Fodor’s books are now available in the Live Book Search. There are approximately 120 titles in the series, covering most high-interest destinations.

- Tx, Maggie, Product Manager, Windows Live

So, where are you heading next? :)

Live Search UI update

Tue, 06 May 2008 13:34:04 GMT

http://www.live.com

This update is mainly a UI change. Features are reorganized to enhance usability and at the same time, I notice a quite dramatic improvement in PLT1/2 load times.. maybe it's my perception :)?

I'll edit this post if I get more update from the search team,

Traffic information updated in Live Maps (Canada)

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:24:16 GMT

Guest post from our Live Maps PM.

I’m pleased to announced the traffic feature is updated on Live Maps today. It includes traffic flow and incident information for Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.

Also, please check out our latest Instant Answer additions launch recently on our core search experience, it includes Local Instant Answers and Celebrity Instant Answers (more to come later this month!).

Take a look and help us spead the words to your friends & family :)

Traffic for Toronto:

Update: to get the traffic information, just click on the "traffic" button on the toolbar:

Celebrity Instant Answer:

Local Instant Answer:

Live Search Maps Update in Canada!

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 01:00:42 GMT

Guest post from Mohit in the Maps team

Windows Live has made some exciting advancements to their latest Maps search engine, so view the world in a whole new way with Live Search Maps. Have you taken a trip recently, and want to mark all the places you visited? Did you want to show your friends and family all the places you went? Say no more, because you can do just that! Search for locations with Live Search Maps and add them to your scratch pad. Save the collection and come back to it anytime you want. What’s more, you can go to Collections.Live.com and upload your collection for all the world to see, and check out collections that other people have uploaded. Maybe you want to find costume shops across Canada, the new wonders of the world, or all the venues hosting the 2007 Rugby World Cup. It’s all there at Collections.Live.com, as will be every collection you can create!

With Live Search Maps you can experience the world in a whole new way!

My addendum:

I'm very glad to see this new version released in Canada. The control now is much more intuitive and easier to use. The over search experience is also MUCH improved over the last release. We've come a LONG way and I hope you guys will like this new release that our team has worked so hard on :)

Oh, and stay tuned. More announcements coming

New Live Search released

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 19:16:25 GMT

I'm probably very late in this blogging cycle. If you have already seen these kind of posts, feel free to ignore. But hey! It's always nice to hear the news from a Canadian isn't it!

I've attached a blog post from our Canadian Search PM, Farhan below.

If you want more details, here is our press release and here is the Live Search fact sheet.

So no doubt, you're going to see the press/blogs around the US (+ some other markets) as we launch the new Live Search 2.0 experience and you're wondering what about us canucks? Well I'm happy to say that this Friday we'll be launching our new search experience for us in Canada (and yes in English and French). So, what's coming?

Better Performance

4X the index size (boo-yah!)
Much better relevance and query intent
New results UI (fonts, colours, text, sizes, wording, etc.)
Better integration with Windows Live and Sympatico/MSN (via the standardized header)
Faster results
More images in our sick image search experience

On the horizon

New homepage for Canada
More kick-ass relevance improvements (like query refinement!)
Better integration with Windows Live Translator
Updated mapping experience

Are you excited? Try it out at www.live.ca after Friday, and send me your feedback.

Important: Make sure your browser language (in IE or Firefox) is set to EN-CA/FR-CA to ensure the most relevant and performant (is that even a word?) experience.

Live Search Maps new release

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 20:12:47 GMT

Live Search Maps has just released new 3D model data. Check it out! Explore and step into new 3D maps for Toronto, Quebec, Hamilton and Niagara Falls. Landmarks and office towers sprout off of the map, bringing cities to life. Maybe you can see your office building in 3D!

Check out maps with high quality satellite images for Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Quebec City and Montreal. I no longer have to wonder what my house looks like from space!

Visit Live Search Maps at maps.live.ca, and then see what you can create with the Virtual Earth API at http://dev.live.com/virtualearth/default.aspx?app=virtual_earth.