Microsoft
today announced the beta release of its
Windows Live Academic Search
service in seven countries. The new search service is designed to help students,
researchers and university faculty conduct research across a spectrum of
academic journals. The program is a cooperative effort between Windows Live
Search, industry association CrossRef and more than 10 leading publishers. The
initial beta release will target the subjects of computer science, electrical
engineering and physics, and the company is working with multiple organizations
to bring new subjects online in the near future.
In totaly unrelated news, Google has officially taken the wraps off its
Calendar service
(
overview),
and it is now freely available as a public beta. The Calendar uses an
asynchronous XML and JavaScript interface with a layout and color scheme quite
similar to Gmail's. It allows users to share their calendar with other people,
as well as set up multiple calendars, send invitations, quickly add events, and
search through one or more calendars. The service also integrates with Gmail,
which Google claims now automatically recognizes "events mentioned in emails."<
