Microsoft revamps Bing social sidebar

Microsoft recently revamped the Bing social sidebar in an attempt to make it easier to find people relevant to a user's search based on all that they've shared, publically blogged or tweeted about. The sidebar will remain off to the right of the search results; this way users can decide the way they want to interact with it. Microsoft has, however, made changes to the sidebar's design. Users no longer have to hover over a friend or expert to view additional content; they can see content front and center now, clearly marked as "social results." Results have been left-justified, so there is less blank space on the page. if you want to see additional social results, you can do so using the "+see all" icon. The redesigned sidebar, shows users what friends and experts have shared.  Chris Rayner, Principal Group Program Manager, Bing Social, stated in a blog post that the new streamlined design for the social sidebar feature lets users see friends, experts and enthusiasts from different networks at a glance. Rayner said the changes will be rolling out over the next few days.  Bing social sidebar refreshed Microsoft recently rolled out Bing Translate for Windows Phone 8 devices. As per the announcement on the Windows Phone Blog, the app makes it easy to quickly translate street signs, posters, train or bus schedules, and restaurant menus by pointing your phone’s camera at them. The app supports Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish, and travellers can download languages and phrase books to their phones to save roaming charges and to access the app offline. In a related post by the Bing Team, Vikram Dendi, Director of Product Management, Microsoft/Bing Translator, stated that the free Bing Translator app for Windows Phone continues to be one of the most popular and best reviewed applications for Windows Phone—surpassing a million downloads and garnering average ratings between 4 and 5 stars since release. Combining Augmented Reality Translation using your camera, speech and text translation, word-of-the-day live tiles, and a travel-optimised offline mode, the app has received rave reviews. It has been highlighted as one of the most innovative translation apps on any platform. In June this year, Microsoft gave Bing a facelift. The all new Bing design shows off the three column design, which includes social and snapshot features.