I found some speed blockers so finally the local search is in real time and even bookmarks from friends are retrieved within seconds. The new design is not final yet but more a proof of concept (and based on some blog posts I found). If you want the links, add me "jtheuer@jabber.ccc.de" to your list. Talking about accounts, the next release will allow you to use your existing jabber account even while you are using Pidgin/Kopete/whatever for chatting with your friends. XMPP is just a great piece of software (or a great standard).

Here is a screenshot from the new "Home" tab:

Enjoy!