Adult Web and other Microsoft Internet Explorer surfers can now just "mouse over" Internet search listings to see the content instantly instead of waiting for a full page to download, with the help of a new free plug-in released July 13.
The plug-in is the brainchild of Browster, a San Francisco company that uses a technology known as “pre-fetching”: instant page rendering of copies of Web pages in new windows on top of the original search page.
"The product is a browser plug-in client and a set of innovative server components that are tightly linked. It is a networked application that communicates with Browster’s servers to retrieve the most relevant content at any given time," according to a company statement about the program. "Browster’s server technologies include pay-for-performance marketing management servers, comparative shopping engine, and algorithms to select the best content for the ad frame based on relevance and user intent."
The company said that a user can even click on links and information in the new window and download data from the website in question, exiting by moving the mouse back to the main search page or clicking an icon in the new window to see the prior or next search item in the results list.
“Browsing the Internet today can be a slow and tedious process—and Browster is fixing it," said Browster chief executive Scott Milener, announcing the plug-in release. "Browster 1.0 enables users to search the Web quicker and more productively than ever before."
Browster now works with search engines Google and Yahoo, e-commerce sites eBay and Amazon, and certain other search-capable sites like Craigslist and Bloglines, the company said, touting the plug-in's speed and functionability without a user having to leave the search page.
Milener said other browsers and search-capable sites will be able to respond to Browster in the near future, though he didn't suggest how soon that would be.
"Browster is giving consumers what they want and need—an easier, quicker way to search the Web plus advertising that is useful rather than intrusive. Browster is safe and spyware free," he said. "Browster offers a truly unique business model that promises to deliver value to retailers, advertisers, and consumers."
Browster began beta-testing in February. The company said they chose to use IE for the first release because they believed IE users to make up about 85 percent of the world's active Netizens.
