Microsoft to start testing 'Kumo' search service
Microsoft plans later this week to begin internal testing of Kumo, a long-anticipated update to its Live Search product, CNET News has learned.
Ultimately, Kumo is designed to be both a rebranding and an update for Live Search, although at this point Microsoft is describing it as "an internal test environment." "Kumo is the name of an internal test environment we are launching to a small sampling of employees...this week," a Microsoft representative told CNET. Kumo had been long rumored to be a possible name for the Live Search rebranding.
Word that Microsoft was close to launching the new search tool began with a Twitter posting by Powerset co-founder Barney Pell, who now serves as a "search strategist and evangelist" for Microsoft. In the posting, reported by enthusiast site LiveSide, Pell did not mention the Kumo name, but said that the site was getting an updated user interface and new brand.
