Metalink Search In Your Browser Search Box

This is an example of good news spreading fast...

Catching up on my research last night, I noticed an article at Steven Chan's blog about a new search browser plug-in for Oracle Metalink users. Steve's article pointed me to the Oracle AppsLab blog, where Jake Kuramoto has written about a nifty Metalink search plug-in for Firefox and IE.

Why do I think so highly of Jake's plug-in? Three reasons:

1. It's built on the OpenSearch standard, which means it will behave just like the other search tools in my browser's search box.
   
2. Because my browser is Firefox 2, I can perform context-sensitive searches in Metalink without disrupting my E-Business session.
   
3. Jake developed this plug-in and is freely sharing it just to make life better for the user community. The blog article actually includes pointers and instructions for installing and using the plug-in, including a path to a screencast demo. Folks, this is the spirit of Web 2.0 at its best.

This little plug-in is turning out to be a great productivity tool and the "cool" factor is pretty high - just today, I've had several people in my shop look over my shoulder and ask how they can get the plug-in for their own use. I'm grateful to Jake for building and sharing, and to Steven for bringing this plug-in to my attention. So, stop reading here and go get the plug-in yourself!