Dave Watanabe's Inquisitor plugin for Safari has been the source of some controversy for affiliate linking shenanigans, and underwent some changes following the public outcry. None of that seems to have deterred Yahoo! from taking an interest in the search plugin. Yahoo! revealed today in a blog post that they would be acquiring the rights to Inquisitor.

The new version (which is a free download) removes affiliate links (completely, I assume) and updates the preferences interface. There is a reference in the Yahoo! post to a simplification of the process of selecting a search provider but I'm failing to remember what was complex about it in the previous version. Obviously, the top choice on the dropdown is now Yahoo!, but you can still choose to use Google and all of the other secondary search options appear to be intact.

I'll give Yahoo! credit for recognizing a beautiful interface and what many -- myself included -- agree is an extremely useful plugin. Whether Dave Watanabe's existing reputation will affect Yahoo! in any way is debatable, so I'm withholding speculation. Dave has made it clear that he remains an independent developer and is not joining the ranks of Yahoo!, remaining focused on his existing projects.

Thanks, Ross!

Inquisitor, Dave Watanabe's search tool for Safari, was the cause of a recent debate regarding disclosure of affiliate links. In response to public criticism, Watanabe has released a new version that both marks sponsored links and even allows you to disable the affiliate links entirely. He offers his response in a recent blog post.

You'll notice an update to the download page as well, offering a statement regarding the affiliate links that Inquisitor (now, optionally) inserts into search results. I commend him for this response and I think a lot of people will be relieved that they won't need to give up one of the tools that makes Safari great, even if just on principle.

On a tip from a reader I started up a packet sniffer before I ran a search for "Nintendo" in Dave Watanabe's Inquisitor plugin for Safari. Sure enough, the first link presented was an Amazon link, with an affiliate redirect (associate tag: exoscience).

I'm not shouting anything about the sky falling. I actually think it's great when software developers find ways to provide amazing products to users for free. This case simply raises a question of transparency. Most of us who spend any time on the 'net already know that if we click a link to a retailer from a blog or reviewer's website, there's a good chance they'll be getting a cut of any conversions. It's when those links are directly promoted by the owner and the affiliate urls are masked that it becomes a question of ethics for some.

It's certainly not required of Amazon associates that they reveal their affiliate links. But when you're providing a search service, especially when it's touted as using Google results, sticking an affiliate link in as the highest ranked result does raise some questions. Sure, we use Inquisitor of our own free will (and for free), but transparency on the part of the author would make the choice to do so a more legitimate one.

Thanks Allan!

Well slap my Safari and call me Susan-- it seems that the rumors of Inquisitor's demise (like so many things nowadays) were greatly exaggerated. Apple Reporter points out that Inquisitor, the Safari search plugin that everyone likes so much, has been "repackaged" for Leopard. Originally, we were told that the fact that InputManagers were being discontinued in the new OS would kill off Inquisitor and other Safari plugins that used them, but Inquisitor works.

Of course, as we've already noted, noone knows for how long. But it seems that instead of deleting them whole hog, Apple just reined InputManagers in, and Inquisitor was able to stay in business. Good news.

Inquisitor, a bee-you-tiful Safari plugin that allows you to get instant, Spotlight-esque search results, has updated to 3.0 v43, adding "aesthetic tweaks" (always nice) and slightly better output from Google. The new version is available for free download right now.

And unfortunately, it may be the last version-- Dave Watanabe, the creator, writes on his blog that the rumors say Input Manager, which is the construct that Inquisitor uses to work the way it does, may be eliminated in Leopard. And that would leave a lot of plugins, including Inquisitor, out in the cold. It's not guaranteed yet-- some say that while Input Manager may be disabled by default, it'll still be allowed to be enabled when a plugin tries to use them-- but Watanabe says that if Apple ditches it completely, it would mean the end of Inquisitor.

Supposedly Apple claims Input Managers are a security risk, but Watanabe is asking Inquisitor fans to send them feedback asking to keep the construct in Leopard. Then again, Apple isn't really a company that takes advice on how to update its software, but losing plugins like Inquisitor would definitely be a shame.

Thanks, Space Taker!

When it comes to 'lickable' interface design, there's no question that indie Mac developer David Watanabe is a top practitioner. His latest projects, the BitTorrent client Xtorrent (discussed here in beta form) and Safari search extender Inquisitor v3 are both debuting as full-fledged, bye-bye-beta products today. Inquisitor is free, and Xtorrent's Pro mode will set you back $20; the unregistered version has a download speed throttle among other limitations.

Xtorrent's journey through the beta process has resulted in some criticisms leveled: for the use of open-source code from the Transmission project that may cause problems with some torrent trackers, and for Mr. Watanabe's sometimes brusque approach to customer service. While I can't speak to the tracker issues (in general, if one torrent client doesn't work for you, try another), we have an example of good end-user experience handling with Xtorrent and a point raised by our own David Chartier about the rather harsh phrasing of the license entry dialog (over here on this Flickr thread, of all places). The developer responded to the criticism not only with a rephrased dialog (requiring a new build) but also with a license code recovery page on the Xtorrent website. Well played, sir.

Inquisitor bills itself as 'Spotlight for the web,' and while I'm not sure about that claim I do know one thing: it looks cool. The beta of the 3rd version of this Safari plugin has been released, and the developer has announced that Inquisitor is now free (it was previously €5).

Inquisitor only works with Safari, but you can choose between Google or Yahoo for results (and from a number of different localizations of the two).

Inquisitor, the Safari and Camino plug-in that brings Spotlight to searching the web, has been ported to a web-based search engine. Upon entering a search into its pleasantly minimal interface, you will be presented with a list of search recommendations and a variety of search engines to focus on, including digg, Amazon and their A9 search, Flickr, Google, Technorati and Yahoo!. Neat.

[via Daring Fireball Linked List]

I found this mentioned over at Pimp My Safari, which is a great resource for all you Safari fans out there who are looking to trick out everyone's favorite Mac-branded browser.

David Watanabe's Inquisitor X is an InputManager plugin that gives your search bar a live drop down menu of results that looks very similar to Spotlight's predictive searching. Unfortunately, unlike Spotlight, which searches through every nook and cranny of the drives connected to your computer, Inquisitor X only uses Google, and overrides any other search plugins or helpers you may have installed along with Safari.

As an avid user of Saft, I won't be installing this one, but it is free and pretty cool, so check it out.