The Online Search Party

. This is a bit of an oddity. Way back in April, Microsoft launched a thing called 'SearchTogether' which is a way that people can collaborate using a resource that looks remarkably like MSN Messenger (which already has a shared search option in it). There was a little bit of a flurry of interest - but not a great deal. Then all of a sudden, the New York Times publishes Novelties - The Online Search Party - A Way to Share the Load  I have to admit that even I winced at the 'Novelties' aspect of the thing.

Apart from the date aspect, there are a few things about this resource which are *so* Microsoft they're painful.
Firstly it's a download. Now, I really don't downloads very much these days - since I'm bouncing around between desktops and laptop and mobile what do I want to fuss around with downloading software for anyway?
Secondly it's a plugin for IE, and IE7 to be precise. So immediately we're into the proprietary territory which doesn't impress me either.
Third is the choice of search engine. Surprisingly, we're not limited to Live, but we can use Yahoo! or Google. But what amused me here is that the wording is "choices include". So Microsoft is actually saying that they're limiting my options, rather than simply saying 'use whatever engine you want'. And if I can't actually do that - why not?

Is it any wonder the MS is lagging so far behind in search?