Now, we know that when it comes to search, the last couple of years were all about Google gaining market share, and everyone else losing it or, at best, stalling. The only thing that seems like a real challenge to Google is real-time search, and none of the major competitors, including Microsoft, have done much about it.
So what do we know about Kumo? The Wall Street Journal claims it's designed to better organize search results. This can be seen from the screenshot, which shows search results on the right, and categories such as images, songs, lyrics, albums, videos on the left. Microsoft has confirmed it's been testing Kumo internally for a while, without giving much details about it.
Everything else about Kumo has so far been shrouded in a veil of secrecy, and it's hard to predict anything until we see it in action. Based on Microsoft's track record when it comes to search, however, I'd be surprised if Kumo causes a search revolution. What do you think? Can Microsoft do something significant with search? Is dividing attention between their other search product, Live Search, and another engine a good idea? Is good organization of search results something that Google lacks? Should Google be scared? Please speak your mind in the comments.