“Search has become an integral part of Windows, particularly in later versions. While the major search improvements began with Windows Vista and were backported to Windows XP, it’s really only with Windows 7 that the larger majority of users are discovering the search bar all over in the operating system. Search is built into every aspect of Windows 7 to help users cope with the increasingly rapidly growing number of files, be they work documents and e-mails, personal photos and videos, or music collections. Many users perform searches without thinking nowadays: it’s an ingrained habit of using the operating system. Like many habits, this one is worth breaking in order to to develop an even better one. Here we take a quick look at a few basic search techniques and a few more advanced ones. Force yourself to use them and you’ll soon become a master of Windows Search. A bit of extra time now will save you loads of effort in the long run.”
I can’t help but feel that, in certain parts of Windows, Microsoft is pushing search so they do not have to redesign the UI. The control panel, in both Vista and 7 (without classic mode in Vista obviously) is a mess and it is difficult to find what you’re looking for without search. If we start using search *that* much, maybe we should’ve just stayed in the CLI and reserved GUI only for apps that needed it. It almost seems like we’re going in reverse, or maybe sort of an odd backward spiral.
Funny enough I was going to make a comment about how the UIs seem to have come full circle
Edited 2010-03-28 19:21 UTC
I agree – it trying to fix a sympton – not the cause. The root being that the control panel is not logically organised. Even back in XP or win2k days, what was in Admin Tools and what was in control panel, and what was hidden is som obsure msc applet or could only be called up by some powertool.
crazy. and not a fix but an admission of failure.
what next? malware trying to SEO their way up the windows search results so you get malware masquerading as admin tools to grab your admin password?
i thought Microsoft employed the brightest and best, did none of them pipe up and protest this madness?
I have enough trouble trying to convince friends of the need for AV because windows doesn’t “just work”. Trying to convince them not to belive the ads and malware in their search results will be even more fun.
Holy crap, I didn’t even think of that. Ouch, that is seriously brilliant, and could be very effective too. If they find a way to do it we could have a whole new generation of malware even nastier than what we’ve got now.
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That problem exists on every platform from phones to desktop OS. I still have nightmares on Suse settings. Keep mind that search is always option! Microsoft or any other isn’t forcing to use just search! Search is wonderful solution when you are not familiar with system, hardcore users find stuff easily.
BTW I don’t find control panel mess in Windows 7 nor Vista but it is huge mess in XP, there is tons of icons without any description and every time I ask novice user to click something it takes half a minute before they find it.
Another great example is Sharepoint 2007 settings, they are insane mess for novice user but still many veteran user was complaining that it’s hard to find stuff in Sharepoint 2010 because Microsoft redesigned settings view. Habits die hard! When people say stuff is confusing person next to him should ask is because it really is or because they are just used to something else.
1) In the list in xp, user must know something about the name of the cpl.
2) Similarly in the multiclick, sub-windows in vista, must guess in which subwindow/panel you might want to open.
So search is another way to try guessing where things are. (also, vista allows toggling to classic (list) view.)
Some apps install stuff into control panel, though, so xp’s list gets long. I wonder if this 3rd party stuff create new subpanels, or must dump themselves into a single subpanel?
(in arstechnica link:)
1) looking at the huge list, those searches require too much typ(o|)ing! Some kind of customizable flyout/pulldown should be faster (I’ll rarely search for cameramodel:DoIRecallWhetherTheModelNameContainsHyphen?) Kind: looks useful.
2) I’ve become accustomed to regex in agentransack… vista/7’s boolean looks wordy.
3) Where in xp, have vista’s “major search improvements” been “backported”?
I can’t stand the search interface in Windows 7 so I now use FileSearchEX, looks like Windows XP search… simple.