14 DAY TRIAL // There's a new Windows Live Platform Quick Application in town, and available for download via CodePlex. But, do not confuse a Windows Live Platform Quick Application with an actual application. What Microsoft is delivering through CodePlex is the source code for the experimental Tafiti search front-end. As the company manages to describe their own product. Now, I don't know if it rings any bells, but Tafiti has been around for quite a while.
It is, as Microsoft itself has put it, an experiment involving various technologies that intially debuted in August. Now, Tafiti is not a Microsoft exclusive project. The truth is that the Redmond company got a little help from Jackson Fish Market.
"Tafiti, which means 'do research' in Swahili, is an experimental search front-end from Microsoft, designed to help people use the Web for research projects that span multiple search queries and sessions by helping visualize, store, and share research results. Tafiti uses both Microsoft Silverlight and Live Search to explore the intersection of richer experiences on the Web and the increasing specialization of search. You can get the codebase from CodePlex", revealed Angus Logan, Technical Product Manager for Windows Live Platform.
The reason why I said not to mistake Windows Live Quick Applications for actual applications is the fact that under that umbrella Microsoft is offering free source code making up web-based solutions. The catch is the fact that the Redmond company has tailored each solution to fit a specific Windows Live service. In the case of Tafiti, that service is none other than Live Search.
Because it is on CodePlex, the source code of Tafiti can be grabbed by any developer, modified and distributed with no problems. Microsoft is imposing no restrictions with its search visualization website, as it is directly interested in the spreading of websites featuring such a close integration with Live Search.