Yahoo Releases Search-Focused Axis Browser App

Yahoo has announced the release of Yahoo Axis, a desktop browser plug-in and standalone mobile application that “re-imagines how people search and browse on the Web.”

Axis promises to make search easier, more fluid, and connected across multiple devices, but a worrying security flaw has already been discovered in the Chrome version of the desktop plug-in.

Connected Search

The plug-in works with any HTML5-enabled browser, including Firefox Version 7 and above, Safari Version 5 and above, Internet Explorer 9 and all versions of Google Chrome. The iOS app for Apple devices works on both iPhone and iPad and is a full Web browser.

The browser is built on the Yahoo Cocktails mobile development platform, a blend of open standard Web technologies including HTML5, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and JavaScript.

Users see and interact with visual results without leaving the page they are currently viewing and can enjoy a seamless connection across multiple devices. Results from a desktop search can be viewed later on iPhone and content can be shared via email and Twitter among others. A personalised homepage keeps track of favourite sites, saved articles and bookmarks, tied to a Yahoo, Facebook or Google account.

“Our search strategy is predicated on two core beliefs — one, that people want answers, not links and two, that consumer-facing search is ripe for innovative disruption,” said Shashi Seth, senior vice president, Connections, Yahoo. “With Axis, we have re-defined and re-architected the search and browse experience from the ground up.”

Axis of evil possibilities

However the launch has witnessed two major embarrassments. Yahoo failed to publish the terms and conditions of the browser, a mistake it has since rectified. However, given that so few people read these conditions (a common oversight that allowed Gamestation to “purchase the immortal souls of 7,500 its customers“), it probably was not of grave concern for too many people

More seriously though, one blogger has found that the Chrome extension leaks its private key certificate, meaning that it is vulnerable to being forged and cloned into fake extensions that could track passwords and cookies.

The news is another setback for Yahoo which has struggled of late. Earlier this month , the company sacked its CEO over false claims made in his CV, while thousands of staff are to be made redundant.

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