When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Microsoft Scientists Pushing Keyboard Into the Past

How can you find information about Condoleezza Rice on the Internet? Type in "2*#7423".

That is if you have a copy of a prototype program from Microsoft Research currently named The Wild Thing. The application, for cell phones and handhelds, essentially lets consumers conduct queries with abbreviations and truncated spellings of words, said its developer Bo Thiesson.

The query TR SF turns up Thai restaurants in San Francisco, complete with search results grouped under a header for local Thai restaurants. It also turns up Tower Records and The Stinking Rose, a local restaurant, but punching in those four letters took less time on a handheld keyboard that the full formal query on a cell phone keypad.

News source: C|Net News.com

Report a problem with article
Next Article

Activision Acquires James Bond License

Previous Article

AMD Quad-Core Opteron, Athlon 64 Processors Details Leak