To hell with unpacking. As we cast a reflective glance at SXSW and MIX09 in the rearview mirror, Live Search is revving up for Search Engine Strategies in NYC next week. Members from both sides of the Search house — Live Search and Microsoft Advertising — will speak on a range of topics, including: blended...

Today at MIX09 , our friends on the Internet Explorer team announced the general availability of Internet Explorer 8. In IE8, Web users will see a number of Live Search accelerators that make surfing the Web faster and easier. Here’s a look at what you’ll see. Live Search Products Accelerator Most of...

I was coming out of a doze on the plane from Dallas to Las Vegas and the man next to me with a perfect good ol’ boy Texas drawl said to his friend: “My money has a better time in Vegas than I do; it stays and I have to leave!” Las Vegas, despite its hotels’ mimicry of Paris, New York, and Venice, is...

10 a.m.-ish Texas time, 4 coffees later, Betsynote: I had intended to finish this post after breakfast, but it looks like Community Server had other plans while I was eating. :) Saturday and Sunday of SxSW were quite full for me - I caught snippets of two sessions before booth duty in the morning, where...

This is not the Texas weather we are used to; in fact it looks a bit like Seattle today mixed with Chicago style winds. The wet air does not smell of smoke, beer, or bbq; there are no bats. But the Internet works and the energy is getting to that crackling melting pot. We began our Friday by meeting...

We get asked it a lot. “How do I get more coverage for my site?” Over the past couple of weeks on the Webmaster Center blog , we have been sharing strategies for large sites to help them optimize their sites for search. The series, called “Optimizing your very large site for search,” covered four important...

February is upon us, and for many of us snow addicts, this is one of the most exciting times of the year. And what great luck we have this year! From the Pacific Northwest to Colorado to the Northeast, snow is dumping from above. While others are out ripping up the fresh powder, we’ve been working...

Grab a baguette, a little cheese, a bottle of wine, and head to Paris. It’s a click away with the new bird’s-eye images of Paris (and a long list of other locales). These new imagery updates are brought to you by the Virtual Earth team. The Digital Globe satellite imagery and the new bird’s-eye photos...

Search is increasingly becoming a tool to help people accomplish certain tasks. We took a look at some data from 2008 and want to share our findings. Last year people in the U.S. were learning to cook turkeys and to brine them. To argue with their spouses (maybe about whether to cook or brine the turkey...

We're happy to report that we've officially integrated Live Search into Firefox by popular demand. The Live Search add-on for Firefox gives you auto-suggestions from Live Search right in the browser while you're typing your query. For example, start to type "Bruce Springsteen" into the Live Search box...

Admit it... You made a few resolution this year, just like the last. In fact, you may have even stuck to a few of them. Year after year, you commit to make changes. Stop doing this... start doing that... and you know what? You're not alone! The following are some of the most popular New Year's Resolution...

It may not be quite as dramatic as Sunday’s NFL playoff games, but fashionistas and especially designers are eagerly awaiting Michelle’s choice of outfits for tomorrow’s Presidential Inauguration. A look back at Election Night tells us why. Queries for designer Narciso Rodriguez were...

I want to follow up on some of the search news that Steve Ballmer announced in his keynote at CES this evening. First, beginning in February Dell will distribute Live Search on a majority of consumer and small business PCs that it ships globally . Live Search will be the default search engine in the...

For those of you using Windows Mobile phones, we have great news. This week we're releasing an update to our Live Search Mobile app for Windows Mobile. With this release, we've added some features that make it easier to find local businesses and to get maps and directions on your mobile phone. For starters...

One sure bet in Vegas this time of year is the gadget geekdom that is CES (Consumer Electronics Show). Live Search is proud to be part of the excitement, as we’ll be demoing all our latest features in the Microsoft booth at the center of this tech typhoon (located in the Central Hall, C2, Booth 7144...