Microsoft hits back at Google with Live Search News
link: original article - section: microsoft
Update: As a clarification, Microsoft previously had a Google News competitor, named MSN Newsbot, which no longer exists.
As a part of its Rome release, Microsoft's Live Search team has launched a new Live Search News, a direct competitor to Google News.
At this time, Live Search News looks like a simplified version of Google News. The layout and design are aesthetically pleasing and will be familiar to Techmeme readers.
The orange breaking-news bar on the top is a decent feature of the site and only appears when big news is happening. The breaking-news information, unfortunately, appears only to be provided by MSNBC and not automatically generated by trends. Even considering this, it is still a good way to call attention to important stories.
One feature that I really like is the local-news sidebar on the right. It appears that the site automatically detects your IP address and feeds you news from the state that you're in without you needing to register an account. This local focus is a nice touch.
Live Search News also lets you refine news results based on categories that are relevant to the story you're viewing. To access this functionality, just click "More on this story" for any article and you'll see relevant stories, along with these filters.
