When pundits speculate about the future of Internet technologies and the evolution of search, RSS is often mentioned. The ability to syndicate and “broadcast” original content is catching on at quite the pace; with both content producers and content consumers.
So it usually comes with little surprise when any of the major companies involved in the shaping of the Internet introduces a service or utility that furthers the adoption of the RSS wave (except for Google whose integration of RSS technology has been at a much slower rate). Continuing with their embrace of RSS, MSN has announced they will be launching a screensaver that allows the user to integrate RSS feeds, while giving the user the ability to search directly from the utility’s interface.
The MSN Search blog has detailed information about their new screensaver. Their post reveals the functionality of the new screensaver does not stop at RSS and search. Other capabilities include:
MSN Spaces Integration: display blogs and photos from your friend’s Space.
Personal Photos: choose a local directory and the screensaver displays the images as background photos. Move back/fwd/pause w/ buttons or using the left & right arrow keys and the P key.
Weather: see current weather and 4-day forecast for your location (US only)
Messenger & Hotmail integration: see count of unread emails and # of current Messenger conversation windows open. Hide Hotmail/Messenger info if your computer is in a public area.
The RSS portion of the new screensaver works in the same manner as an RSS reader does. The user selects which feeds they want to appear on the tool while it returns a display of the current headlines from the feeds that have been integrated. The user then has the option to expand the headline and read more, if they so choose.
MSN’s multi-function screensaver is available here. The developers, by way of their blog post, also encourage users to leave comments and feedback about the utility. If you would like to do so, go here.
There is one stipulation however: in order to use the screensaver, you must have the MSN Toolbar installed as well.
Chris Richardson is a search engine writer and editor for murdok. Visit murdok for the latest search news.
