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Microsoft Testing Rival to Google's Start Page
aer0 writes "It looks like Microsoft has quietly put up their version of Google's start page. It's interesting in several ways. First, the layout and use of javascript is strikingly similar to Google's. Second, one of the few major differences is that there is no MS equivalent banner or other flashing indication that it is an MS site."
It hasn't been "quietly" put up on the internet - it has been there for a while. MS uses it for testing and research. If you do notice, it is WAY better than Google's start page too - you can actually drag the various sections on the page and place them anywhere on the page. By the way, I mentioned the page before : here
If you like Google's page then this is a typical anti-MS stance and you'll most likely get modded up for it. But there is very little difference between Google's page and MS's. It also is more customisable then Google's (three skins, all very much the same except for a little colour difference).
I hope you are joking. The design clearly imitates http://www.google.com/ig and it's not far from being an exact replica, sans coloring and placement modifcations. Why should an experimental site be limited to the generic style of previous sites produced by the same entity (in this case, Microsoft)? To say that its design sucks for that reason is hardly convincing.
Instead of thoughtful analysis, we get this thought process:
Come on guys. We can do better.
Have you ever seen a page that is all javascript ever PASS w3c??
Hello world! will fail w3c...
"Some things have to be believed to be seen." - Ralph Hodgson