Microsoft’s desktop search toolbar has moved out of beta and is available for download. The competition for the desktop search market is heating up. Google and Yahoo already have a head start, but Microsoft has offering some interesting features. You can read the story here.
“MSN Desktop Search Toolbar enters Beta”
/joke
Well… It feels like a MS clone of Spotlight for Windows…
Searches PDF too… :/
no doubts this is a Spotlight Clone
I could care less about who copies who. I only worry about whether it works well or not.
And this’ll probably be another lock down to hold people from using Firefox or other 3rd party browser. (Unless they use Google Desktop, which I think lacks the integration that MSN Desktop Search has.)
I’ve been trying Google Search, but it doesn’t like to play nice with a few apps. (I don’t mean it doesn’t search some files, I mean it pops up errors randomly because I also happen to run NetLimiter, a QoS app, wtf?)
I’m tempted to try this out on my XP machine, I could care less who made it, honestly. If it works, it works.
Can you only search using iexplore?
And my last post, “Agreed” was in reference to “I could care less about who copies who. I only worry about whether it works well or not.”
Works well? Works as expected I can say.
But the lay out of the result window is not as usable as Spotlight, IMO. :[
Anyway, I’m happy that I can have something like Spotlight on my PeeCee.
Tho I seldom turn it on now as I have an iBook.
“the MSN Search Toolbar will allow users to preview files without opening them. This preview feature will work in a way that is familiar to users of Outlook and Outlook Express.”
Does this scream “security hole” to anyone else?
I’ve make a little (or you may consider it great) correction to my previous comment.
MSN Desktop Search does not necessarily cause a lock down to the browser.
I’m glad that it doesn’t work like MSN messenger which launches IE to open your hotmail inbox, instead, it launched Firefox to open my html files.
Nice work MS.
Obviously a futile attempt to differentiate their version from Google/Yahoo:
“Fast search is great, but people want to take better action on search results without having to open up a specific file,” product manager Dane Glasgow told News.com.
immediately followed by:
Microsoft provided the following information highlighting features for the new desktop search toolbar: Fast, precise retrieval of desktop files.
I find it funny that you people keep saying that MS is copying Apple, when spotlight is copying features that have been out in outlook 2003 for two years now.
msn desktop search is an extremely basic form of spotlight. msn and google do more or less the same thing. stuff like spotlight and beagle are far more robust, extensable, and downright revolutionary. expect spotlight-like technology to ship with longhorn.
if/when storage/winfs ever gets done, these will be more again, closer to a full datastore rather then metadata engine. to the end user though, the difference would be minimal at best.
as for who came up with the idea first, that would be neither. its been talked about in academic circles for years.
..this is nothing like Spotlight which integrates tightly with the OS and especially the filesystem.
Dude, don’t even bring Outlook to this discussion.
uh huh. actually, gmail is a hell of alot closer to the spotlight way of orginizing files then outlook. outlook search is closer to msn or google desktop search.
haha LOL oh yes good one that Luke…roflmao
its actually pretty decent. yes, its basically a copy of spotlight. until they have “proper” search built into the os, this will do the trick. its better than google desktop for 2 reasons that i can see so far. 1: it lists results as you go in a little window and 2: it searches the info you type into the properties of a document like author summary, etc. google does not do this.
why should i have a desktop search? all it is doing is open some other hole for someone to come on my computer. MS need to come original at the lest once…
its a copy of google, longhorn is gonna ship with something thats a copy of spotlight.
Easy solution, then don’t use one.
“why should i have a desktop search?”
This may come as a surprise for you, but how about searching something?
“all it is doing is open some other hole for someone to come on my computer.”
Nope, it also offer search capabilities. And why should it be a security problem when properly done?
“MS need to come original at the lest once…”
Why should they?
…to Copernic Desktop Search.
“TurdMan strikes again! What’s Sh*thorn gonna cost, again?”
I’m not sure actually but most likely less than an annual membership to .Mac ($99 year) and iLife (now up to $79 per year and version), which were formerly free components of OS X– branded iTools and the iApps.
If you want to see how expensive OS X is, read up on it here:
http://pcnmac.com/tco.htm
http://pcnmac.com/updates.htm
http://www.unsanity.org/archives/000377.php
http://pcnmac.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=293
Spotlight smart folder = outlook 2003 search folder
MSN toolbar = no upgrade (or extra money) required
It seems to me not being able to create system wide search folders on XP is the only feature missing. Do i really need that?
I am actually more pumped about the feature updates in 10.4.1 than the “feature” they call spotlight.
“I could care less” = “I do care”
“I could not care less” = “I do not care”
I could care less about your awful grammar, yet I do not. I therefore care more. I care about the use of language.
Using words as the opposite of what they mean, without even realising you are doing it shows poor linguistic skills.
If you need me to break this down into easily readable sections, you can contact me at my usual email address.
Niiice …
“the MSN Search Toolbar will allow users to preview files without opening them. This preview feature will work in a way that is familiar to users of Outlook and Outlook Express.”
Does this scream “security hole” to anyone else?
How long will it be until the first exploit is released?
Does anyone know of any security holes with the other search utils?