RSSMSN Desktop Search Moves Out of Beta
By Ed Oswald | Published May 16, 2005, 1:05 AM
Microsoft's MSN division on Monday launched its Toolbar and Windows Desktop Search product after five months of beta testing. The new toolbar promises to give a taste what search experience Longhorn is expected to bring. Noticeably missing from the final release, however, was a tabbed browsing feature that appeared in early betas.
Microsoft planned to bring a tabbed experience to Internet Explorer 6 through the toolbar, but pulled the feature shortly before release, sources told BetaNews. Microsoft plans to add tabbed browsing to the product in a future release, but fully integrated tabs will only come in Internet Explorer 7, the company said.
"IE 7, which will be delivered in beta this summer, will have tabs,
providing end users with a unique tabbed browsing experience separate from MSN's new Toolbar," an MSN spokesperson told BetaNews.
The suite includes three toolbars, one for Microsoft Outlook, a toolbar for Windows and Internet Explorer, and a toolbar for the Windows taskbar.
During periods of inactivity, or on laptops when they are plugged in, the software will index files on the user's computer allowing for near-instantaneous results when the search is used.
"By offering the most integrated desktop search capabilities for Windows, now people can search their PC as fast as they can search the Web," MSN vice president Yusuf Mehdi said in the announcement. "The new MSN Search Toolbar makes it easy for customers to find precisely what they’re looking for, no matter where it resides."
The toolbar also includes a pop-up blocker and form fill functions to enhance the browsing experience. Users of MSN's line of services, such as Hotmail, Messenger and Spaces, will find one-click access within the product.
Apple recently added a desktop search feature of its own within the latest version of its operating system, Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. Called Spotlight, the feature works much like MSN's, which has caused some consternation internally within Microsoft.
Some within have claimed that Apple lifted the idea straight out of early builds of Longhorn. Apple, on the other hand, said publicly that the idea for Spotlight had been in the works for several years -- long before any inklings of improved search capabilities within Windows came out of Redmond.
MSN Search Toolbar with Windows Desktop Search is available for users in the United States running Windows XP and Windows 2000. International versions will be released later this year.
Microsoft also said that it expects to have a corporate version of Windows Desktop Search in beta form by the end of the year.
More MicroSoft bunk. It's on Tiger NOW, not promised in a year and a half, MAYBE. Wonder if Gates and crew realize how stupid this kind of rubbish makes them look. Spotlight doesn't work like MSN's search feature, its built-in to OSX, not a patch like MSN. If Microsoft has this feature available why not release it to its long suffering users?
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|"Spotlight works "much like" MSN's?
Not a chance ... Apple has had an integrated search system that indexed local hard drives, server volumes, and the internet itself since 1998 with Sherlock in Mac OS 8.5.
"Apple's new Spotlight, built-into Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger isn't some bolted on hack like MSN and the other search hacks. With Spotlight, when you make a change, such as adding a new file, receiving an email or entering a new contact, Spotlight updates its index automatically, so search results are always up-to-the-moment accurate. Changes don't have to wait to be indexed in order to show up in search results correctly."
I've worked with Windows from 95's release and Macs from the 512/Mac Plus. The competition / rivalry is good for driving software/hardware development. MS is behind the power curve and their qwest to get back on will only benefit the industry if we tell it like it is and force all these companies to deliver better solutions and stop making excuses.
To feign "consternation internally within Microsoft" is one thing, to spread it through the press, in addition to being in denial about being behind, is to do us all a disservice. Market share does not guarantee innovation. Next they will say that apple stole their malware resistant OS design from Redmond!!!
To top it all off, they (MS) plan to market a anti-malware sub$cription for Windows - to profit from the plethora of security holes in their OS. I wasn't sleeping for the past two years. I've had to install all those patches for the 6000+ malware that "are" a clear and present danger to Windows. Zero for the Mac. No OS is immune but those numbers speak volumes. No pun intended.
http://macdailynews.com/...e_lifted_spotlight_idea/
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|First, Ed Oswald does some seriously sloppy reporting when he leaves this line unattributed: "Some within have claimed that Apple lifted the idea straight out of early builds of Longhorn." BetaNews needs an editor, or one with better judgment.
Between the Firefoxers and the Mac folks, I'm surprised that all their problems are Microsoft's fault. If Apple was so perfect and so great, then it would have 90% marketshare. And if you're so happy with Apple's overpriced wares, why are you still trashing Microsoft? After 20 years of hearing the Apple folks complain and whine, that argument is so very, very tired, and so are we. Give it up.
MSN Desktop Search is great because you can program it to behave any way you want, and because it indexes your files in less than half the time as any other search. When XP was released in 2001, 20-40Gb HDs were the norm and desktop search wasn't really needed. So of course it wasn't part of the OS.
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|"MSN Desktop Search is great because you can program it to behave any way you want, and because it indexes your files in less than half the time as any other search."
Well, there you have the difference. MSN Desktop Search use indexing. Spotlight doesn't. Spotlight's database is updated on the fly, and is NEVER out of sync. I repeat: It indexes in real-time! It's something completely diiferent than MSN Desktop Search (and far, far better). Still, Microsoft manages to blame Apple for stealing their ideas?!
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|SO I can search my corporate LAN.
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|Apples Spotlight is linked with the kernel in Mac OS X, so that indexing is only required the very first time you start OS X Tiger. After that, when you add or remove files, the OS will know and update the database on the fly. Read more about Spotlight (which is a far more powerful technology than Microsoft's new desktop search) here: http://arstechnica.com/r...ws/os/macosx-10.4.ars/9
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|I find it interesting that Microsoft accuses Apple of stealing their ideas...Apple had a search tool since MacOS 8.5 (released in 1998) called Sherlock.
Sherlock is comparable to today's MSN Search Toolbar in functionality, but also had other web services included, such as stock quotes, travel information, etc.
Apple's new Spotlight in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger is fully integrated into the OS, unlike the MSN toolbar that is an app that sits atop the OS. Spotlight indexes files on the fly, is very speedy, supports Smart Folders on the desktop, and searches within the document content. From a GUI standpoint, Spotlight mimics the metaphor Apple intruced in iTunes for searching (and now uses in other apps)...not anything Microsoft did.
Although, Everybody Loves Raymond is going off the air tonight, I'll always have Microsoft to give me a hearty laugh...
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|I feel that it is a timly attempt by the Microsoft to release the desktop search. It will be of great help for thouse who is handling with enormous number of files in the system..
Santhosh Thomas K
http://geocities.com/santoms_k
http://san.bizhat.com
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|How does this differ from the indexing service thats built into windows (ignoring extra sources as I don't need them)???
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|The windows one is poorly designed and is really more for a database or server.
MSN Desktop Search is intended more for consumers.
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|But in terms of speed. if its meant for a server it should be quick surely? I'm quite happy searching how i currently search in windows so don't see why i need something new to do it.
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|The indexing service built into Windows does not search within other file formats such as word documents or emails etc. Also it is pretty inefficient and slow and was never designed for end-user file searching.
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|Personally, I use the search engine integrated into the filemanager Total-Commander. It has many options such as RegEx searching, filetime and filesize search, you can also search for duplicate files on your computer. To top it off, you can search in every file for text, even *.exe. So I am pretty satisfied, although I will try the msn search and will see what it looks like and if it is significantly faster than Total Commander.
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