Axis Internet Explorer

Computer users who rely on Microsoft for their internet search needs will certainly find this interesting. Yahoo! rolled out a new product called Axis, product that provides a good looking interface for a bit of functionality that is already provided by Microsoft.

Axis is a plugin for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer that acts as a search engine. As you type in a query, you are presented with search results in real time; and you’re also presented with visual previews for those results. As you may already know, Microsoft and Yahoo! signed an agreement back in 2009, agreement that said Microsoft would power Yahoo! search for the next decade. So with Axis you get Bing functionality wrapped in a Yahoo!-developed interface.

This is not to say that you shouldn’t try it. Getting the Axis plugin and installing it on Internet Explorer 9 (not IE8, because IE8 does not support HTML5, and you need HTML5 to run Axis) will take but a small portion of your time. Reading the tutorial will also take little of your time; you will be presented with a Quick Tour once the installation completes and you run Axis for the first time.

Axis’ interface is quite a treat, especially if you’re a fan of the color black. When you don’t need Axis, it presents a small search box in the bottom left hand corner. When you click on it, indicating that you need it, Axis will expand and take up the bottom part of Internet Explorer’s interface. By default it will present you with Trending Searches and with visual results for the aforementioned Trending Searches. Click the Home button and Axis will take up the whole IE window with its customizable homepage.

As mentioned above, the main bit of functionality Axis has to offer is real time search and visual previews for the search results. There is something else Axis can do: it lets you bookmark webpages (but you have to sign into your Yahoo! account first). By clicking the Star button you can add webpages to My Favorites or to Read Later; you can also create a new category and add the webpage to that category. My Favorites and Read Later are displayed in the customizable Axis homepage I mentioned above.

Axis is available as a plug-in for other browsers that support HTML5, mainly Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. It is also available as a standalone app for iOS-powered devices (iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch). During our tests we found that Axis performed the poorest on Internet Explorer. The day following the Axis release (the application was rolled out to the public on the 23rd of May, 2012), Microsoft announced that the Axis plug-in slowed down IE9'S start-up by 0.07 seconds. It’s not much, but it is noticeable.

From a visual point of view, Axis is a treat: on its dark-themed interface you’re presented with visual previews for your search results; and the search results show up as you type along.