Microsoft Research seeks better search

C|Net | at | by Mike

Microsoft Research is plugging away at one of the growing dilemmas in computing: so much data, so little time. Scientists in the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant's labs are experimenting with new types of search and user interface technology that will let individuals and businesses tap into the vast amounts of data on the Internet, or inside their own computers, that increasingly will be impractical or impossible to find.

A prototype application called "Stuff I've Seen," for instance, will store every screen that has popped up on a given computer monitor for a year. Another prototype called "Ask MSR" allows users to pose queries using the natural flow of language, asking "Where is Saddam Hussein?" for example.