There are a few visual search engines around at the moment, and SpaceTime 3D is a new one that I've just discovered. A visual search engine is one that displays results for you visually - usually as a series of thumbnail shots, although of course it there are other alternatives. SpaceTime 3D displays pages in an arc, and you can flick through them, clicking on any that interest you. Spacetime has search options for Google, Images, Wikipedia and YouTube. I have to guess at the selling point, since there's nothing on the page to tell me anything about these people, but it's the size of the thumbnail - it's very clear indeed. Perhaps too clear I'm afraid, since the thumbnail dominates the webpage, pushing out the other pages in the arc, and I found it rather too claustrophobic for my tastes. However, demonstrating or training could be another matter, and I can see how it would work there. My preference is still for RedZ in this area - it was the first of them and I still prefer it. Yes, the previews are smaller, but I like being able to see more of them, and that's surely what visual search is all about. RedZ doesn't have the Wikipedia option, but as well as Web and Images, it's got News and Video, which I'm happier with anyway.
Your mileage may vary however, so I've included a screenshot of both engines for you to take a look at.
I've used SpaceTime and it works amazingly well on larger screens where you can actually see 5 or more pages on each side of the center page. In addition, you can actually read what's on the pages which is time saving. SpaceTime also allows you to search Google's index. That's key as you are getting quality content from the web's #1 search engine. It also displays the title of the page and a description of the search result from Google.
Posted by: Jeff | September 02, 2010 at 09:52 PM