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!

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!