Bing Desktop updated with inline search, new news app and more

Microsoft has introduced a bunch of features to Bing Desktop, which incidentally has been installed by over 10 million people worldwide, as per the company’s statistics.

On the updated Bing Desktop, you can directly search from a webpage, word document or a PDF file by first highlighting the word or phrase and following it by by clicking the Bing icon. A preview of search results will show up on a window for you to see, without you having to leave what you’re doing. Microsoft further claims to have introduced a new weather app on Bing Desktop, in addition to enhancing the news and Facebook apps "from the ground up". There's also the real-weather snapshot that Microsoft claims to have customised to where you’re based.

The updated news app

On the updated news app, you'll be able to read news pieces across categories at a glance. The new cascading layout on the updated app allows you to view images and text summaries. A visual collection of the top trending items on the web will quickly let you know all that is happening. As for the update to the Facebook notifications as mentioned above, once you have updated to the new Bing Desktop, you will be able to spot a notification each time there's an update.

The updated Bing Desktop is available for users with PCs running Windows XP and higher. The inline search feature works with Microsoft Word 2007, 2010 and 2013, Outlook 2013, Notepad, Wordpad, Internet Explorer versions 6, 7, 8, 9 ,10, latest version of Firefox, Chrome and 360 Browsers and Adobe Reader 11. The update should reach existing users in the next few days. Alternatively, here’s where you can get it.