Live Launches out of Beta

Live Search, Microsoft's upgrade to MSN Search, has now officiallly launched out of beta. Introduced back in March, the version then included the ability to scrol through the first 200 or more results. That option is gone (except in the Image and Academic databases), but the whole interface does work more quickly and smoothly. Other significant changes as Live moves out of beta includes the addition of the advanced search form from MSN Search, where it was called Search Builder. The default list of other databases below the search box are Web, Images, News, Local, and QnA. The QnA, or Questions and Answers, is a new, free, public question and answer service. After running a search, these databases are listed in tabs near the top along with a "More" link that includes various additional databases that are still in beta, including Windows Live Search Academic, Video, Feeds, and Products. The Macros link or creating specialized search subsets is also under this More tab. The Image search now has a scratch pad for creating personal collections of images. Suggested related searches show up on the right above the ads.

One major absence from Live Search that was one of the great benefits of MSN Search is the link to the Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia. On MSN Search, Encarta was one of the tabs at the top. Encarta makes some articles available free on the Web while others are only available for those who paid for a subscription. When an article is found on MSN Search that is part of Encarta, users get a two-hour free pass for viewing even the fee-based content. In addition, every time a new search from MSN Search leads to another Encarta article, another free pass (with a full two hours) is available.

So is the free access to Encarta gone? With a little search ingenuity, the free pass is still available via Live Search. Just search for encarta plus some subject terms or site:encarta.msn.com plus the query terms. Go to any of the links and note the yellow bar on the top that shows the free pass still works on searches from Live.