Search Wants to Be the Answer

Microsoft has added package tracking as an "instant answer" feature. You can type in a FedEx, DHL, UPS or Postal Service tracking number, and automatically receive the status of your package.

This is a handy time saver for people who receive many boxes, and it is encouraging that the search engines are delivering answers instead of results pages for common questions such as the weather, sports scores, or populations of countries. There's still lots of work to be done in this area, however.

MSN won't be the default search engine on all Vista PCs as Microsoft agreed to give computer makers the freedom to use any search engine. This is a big win for Google et al, who can now bid for placement on new computers and will promote competition.