What is Tafiti?

  • Article

Well, Tafiti in Swahili means 'Do Research'! But at Microsoft, it's just another code name for the new Silverlight web search portal that is powered by Live Search! It's still an experimental web site and ties in two new trends: Specialization of Search & Richer User Experience.

I think it's pretty cool for a first shot, I like the fact that it can be used to store your search results on a dashboard and use the same search query to find all types of results in one query (eg, To see related blogs, or RSS feeds, or Pics, or News items etc you can just click on the categories)

It's mainly used for research projects etc...my best use: I am right now in the market for a Camera, and Tafiti is pretty cool...for it! Be sure to check out the podcast about Tafiti on Channel 9 and a video on on10.net

Get to know Tafiti following these simple steps:

· Go to https://www.tafiti.com

· Enter a search query

· Drag interesting results to the shelf on the right. Each box on the shelf can be used to save a related set of results. Shelf contents can be saved and shared. 

· Use the carousel at the bottom left to do different types of searches (image, blog, etc.)

· Visualize your results using the Tafiti Tree View. (Very Coool!!)

While you are at it, add a Silverlight Streaming Video Player to your page in 3 easy steps (Tafiti Walkthrough Eg):

1) Add the following script references to the page header section

<script type="text/javascript" src="https://agappdom.net/h/silverlight.js"></script>

<script type="text/javascript" src="CreateSilverlight.js" mce_src="CreateSilverlight.js"></script>

2) Insert the following HTML where you want the application to appear in the body of the page

<div id="Wrapper_TafitiWalkthru" style="width:500px; height:400px; overflow:hidden;"></div>

<script type="text/javascript">

var Wrapper_TafitiWalkthru = document.getElementById("Wrapper_TafitiWalkthru");

CreateSilverlight();

</script>

Note: This will display the player at a size of 500x400. If you would like the video player to be larger size, change the width and height values, for example, to show the player at 1024x768

<divid="Wrapper_TafitiWalkthru"style="width:1024px; height:768px; overflow:hidden;"></div>

3. Save the following script in a new file named "CreateSilverlight.js" and place it in the same directory on the server as the page.

function CreateSilverlight(){

Silverlight.createHostedObjectEx({

source: "streaming:/23180/TafitiWalkthru",parentElement: Wrapper_TafitiWalkthru});

}

Happy Searching!

-Mithun Dhar

Technorati tags: Microsoft research, Developer evangelism, Tafiti, search