Yahoo! Search – Instant Search.
“Instant Search gives you answers as you type — no more waiting!”

This beta application from
Yahoo next uses
Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) programming to deliver immediately, as you type, a best match
for your search. This is certainly an interesting and flashy application
that may be useful in some search situations.

It is also interesting to look at the technology behind the application and how such technology might be of use to libraries. Ajax applications “look almost as if they reside on the user’s machine, rather than across the Internet on a server. The reason: pages get updated, not entirely refreshed.” (Ajax wikipedia article).

But this technology also has privacy implications:
Using the XMLHttpRequest Object and AJAX to Spy On You by Earle Castledine, devX.com, August 9, 2005.

Related posts:

1. Yahoo Creative Commons Search
2. How Search Engines Re-write the Past
3. Yahoo.licio.us?
4. YAHOO INC. a partnership with the University
5. study of how consumers understand search engines