The New MSDN Web Site
I use the MSDN web site all the time to look up information. In fact I generally do not install a local version of the Visual Studio or .NET help files because I tend to be online 99% of the time and the MSDN site is always current.
Recently they did a complete site redesign and there are some great new features about the site. The #1 new feature in my opinion is the Auto Complete for the search box. This has become a staple of my life since they implemented it.
I like it because it provides a list of potential search terms for similar and related topics. This is important because I do not always know what I am looking for, that is why I am searching. Google was the first to implement this feature, but it is not on by default on any of the search engines. It should be.
The auto complete functionality is so important in my opinion for a normal web site, be it public or an intranet that every modern web site should implement it when there are more than a few pages of text.
I often try to explain to my clients the concept of the long tail, which basically refers to targeting the broader keyword market. For example I could have just searched for 'Provider' and it would have come up with some pages that would start leading down the right direction. But the suggestions let me know that I should be looking for 'Provider Model' and it lead me directly to the article I needed.
When you target the long tail you try to target all the rarely used terms that potential visitors will look for something related to your product or service. This is important when creating content on a site. In this case it is important because you are directing your users to the best content on your site as fast as possible. Look for me to start applying this technology to many of my upcoming projects and I hope you do too.