Kartoo Adds New Interface Functions
July 9, 2009
Kartoo’s interface has added some features. If you have not visited the site for a while, you will want to navigate to the Kartoo main page. Set your preferences for this Flash based metasearch system. The interface has visual impact, but an addled goose like me wanted pop up explanation of the icons. The options page looks like this:
Now enter your query in the search box at the top of the page. Unlike the Kartoo interface of the past, you have a larger, cleaner presentation of the relevant hits. When you hover over an icon, Kartoo displays a relationship line. For the query “US financial crisis” the system displayed these results:
When you click on one of the thumbnail images, Kartoo sends you to the source site. If you hover, Kartoo displays a pop up with a text snippet.
On the left column of the interface are two buttons. You can select what supplementary content you want to see. I selected topics, allowing me quick access to only those hits about one of the identified categories. I also instructed the system to show me images. You can see the images, which are presented in low resolution, in the scrollable side bar below the topics.
Kartoo Technologies is based in Paris. The company has been one of the firms pushing the envelope in search interface designs and controls. Information about the company’s products and technologies may be found on the Kartoo corporate Web site. The company now has more than 200 customers who use the firm’s technologies for visualization and intelligence monitoring. The Kartoo teams are located in Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Stephen Arnold, July 9, 2009
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