Microsoft talk about the search changes coming to Windows 8.1

Today Microsoft released details of what is included in Windows 8.1 which is the free update for Windows 8 due to preview next month. You can read about the changes in my post but on post on the Bing blog Microsoft have gone it to more details about the search improvements in the Windows update.

The new search features include search across personal data, apps and the web in one view. From the start page you can start typing and Windows will search using bing and then display the content in a modern style app.

It will be interesting to see how well the integration works, there will be a preview available June 26^th and you can read about the changes on the Bing blog.

To set the course, we looked hard how people have been interacting with the new user experience introduced in Windows 8.  Search has long been a part of Windows – especially powerful and useful in Windows 8 – where the Search Charm gives you a single place to find content in your apps. People told us they liked the ease of having fewer places to search.  In Windows 8, people could direct their question at an app (like Travel) and have Bing bring back a beautiful, multi-faceted set of information and tools to help them plan their summer trip. But Windows 8.1 takes an even bigger step – with its new search experience, you can find your own personal stuff as well as content from the open web and the creativity of the millions of authors and developers. Modern search needs to be complete and help you find what you’re looking for, whether it’s on your PC, in your top apps, or on the web.

At the same time, the web itself has become more vibrant, more capable, and unimaginably vast, encompassing tens of trillions of web pages housing pictures and videos and the digital footprints of billions of people spread across the world. Frankly, it can be a bit overwhelming. So we knew that completeness on its own wasn’t enough. Modern search needs to be finely crafted and well-organized so that you can not only find what you’re looking for, but you can find it quickly. Modern search is fast and fluid. Just as the best modern apps provide a natural, rich experience, we wanted to bring that same level of intuitive design to accomplishing a broader range of tasks. So we’ve designed an entirely modern search experience specifically for Windows that will begin to unify your online and offline worlds, so you can interact more naturally with the tools you use and the things you create.

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Imagine you’re planning a trip to Paris.  Simply type the name of the city and you’ll immediately see beautiful, full-bleed images, upcoming events in the city, and popular attractions.  But you can also check the current weather and book a hotel in the Bing Travel app, without having to open it up and type “Paris” again.  In the same way, your itinerary and budget, whether they are saved on your laptop or in the cloud, are right there. And of course, we’ll show you the great web results you’ve come to expect from Bing.  “Paris” isn’t just a single file or a search query in an app: it is a concept, full of both meaning and context, and we’ll bring its unique meaning to your digital life, all in one place.