In Search of A New Paradigm

The last year a new paradigm has come to the fore; Desktop search will change the way we work and interact with our computers. In the past it was advisable to set up a logical folder structure and use a clear file naming convention, as this was often the only way to find stuff long after it had been created and saved. The search function could help you find folders and files, but searching within documents was not supported. Enter desktop search tools. These tools can not only search folders and files, but also their contents, irrespective whether they are Word documents, PDF files or PowerPoint presentations. Furthermore, they can not only search in files saved on your hard disk but also in your e-mails, contacts, instant messages and bookmarks/ favorites. This way it is not only easy to find that one particular file or document, but all other documents that refer to it as well. Or all the music of a certain artist, or all the pictures you took during your last vacation (provided that you tagged them as such)...

One of the best desktop search tools available for the Windows platform is Copernic Desktop Search, which can be downloaded for free from www.copernic.com. Also Google, the icon in web search, offers a desktop search tool, namely Google Desktop Search.

Apple was (to my knowledge) the first to introduce desktop search (Spotlight) as an integral part of their operating system (Mac OS X (Tiger)). Microsoft will incorporate comparable functionality in Windows Vista, the successor of Windows XP, due out in 2006.

In the past, the Linux platform was often lagging behind the Windows and Macintosh platforms when it came to new functionality. This time around, however, Linux seems to be leading far ahead of Microsoft. With Beagle the Linux platform has its own, very powerful and potent desktop search tool. So, where Vista is expected to be a bit of a Mac OS X and Linux clone anyway, Spotlight and Beagle set the standard for Microsoft with respect to desktop search.