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August 2, 2005
Faster Browsing: Browster and SNAP UltraSearch
I'm friends with two companies that have developed innovative new user experiences for accelerated browsing of search results: Browster and Snap.Browster
When you view a search results page (or any page with many links) with Browster (www.browster.com) you see a little icon beside each result. When you mouse-over that icon, Browster shows the corresonding page in a new window. If you like what you see, you can just start working in that new window. If not, the window goes away when you move the mouse. Because Browster pre-fetches the pages for each search result, you don't have to wait for them to load. The result is increased speed (no time waiting) and better ergonimics (no need to open and close new windows or click back if you don't like page). Walt Mossberg really liked Browster when he was given a sneak peak. Tom Foremski's recent post points out some substantial issues with the business model, and includes a response by Browster CEO Scott Milener.Snap Ultrasearch
SNAP (see my recent entry about Mayfield's investment in Snap) recently launched Ultrasearch, which they promote as "The most amazing, multi-tasking search tool ever". I must say I agree! The Ultrasearch Toolbar sits conveniently at the top of your screen in compressed form. When you click to expand it, you get multiple entry boxes. Most of the boxes let you choose a specific search engine (google, yahoo, ebay, amazon) to search from, so when you type in your query it directly opens that search in a new window (this is a bit like A9's OpenSearch feature). However, when you enter your query in the "Ultrasearch" box, you get a completely different experience from anything you've seen on the web. Ultrasearch launches as a new window. It feeds your search into your preferred search engine (right now I think it defaults to Snap). The titles of the results are listed on the left hand side. But the rest of the window contains a matrix (e.g., 2 by 2, or 3 by 4) of web browser windows already opened to the first set of results. So you can take in up to 12 results visually with no required mousing. You can even scroll all the windows in parallel. If you don't see the results you like, you can mouse down on the results list to open up the next set of windows (the next 4, or the next 12, in my example matrix settings above). Like Browster, Ultrasearch pre-fetches the next batch of results while you look at the current set, so when you move down the results are already fresh.One last aspect to note about Ultrasearch: Looking at the full pages of many results simultaneously is not just a faster way to browse search results. It gives you a wholistic experience of the results, as a collection. For example, if you ultrasearch for "Yogen Dalal", Managing Director at Mayfield, you can see all his portfolio companies on a single screen. I really like the 4x3 view on my high resolution 17" monitor. It is nice to have tools that finally take advantage of the increasing amount of pixels available on computers today.
I recommend anyone to try out both of these new tools. These are both exciting pointers to thinking "outside the search box".
Posted by barney at August 2, 2005 3:00 PM
This entry was posted in the following categories: Search
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