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Microsoft Releases Toolbar Suite
Philipp Lenssen writes "Microsoft today released the MSN Toolbar Suite Beta. This brings true desktop search to Windows (for those who don't have Google Desktop Search or similar software running already) and also includes features like search term highlighting in web pages, auto-completing of forms, and a pop-up blocker."
Who wants to bet that this suite is going to be bundled in the next Windows? It's pretty easy for them to integrate this toolbar into any Windows-apps like IE, Outlook, calendar etc since they also happen to write the OS.
I always maintain that the majority of users don't know they have a choice, hence they're using/starting/opening whatever that's been thrown at them.
It's quite convenient for MS to sit and see what works, then create their own, and with their dominance in desktop OS, they can easily claim a huge chunk of the desktop-suite market share overnight.
It wouldn't be as easy for its online search service because that requires users to go there, thus opens up the "choice" perspective.
Rock that crushes, Paper & Scissors that don't matter.
The toolbar claims to block annoying popups, but the most annoying pop-up on my work computer (where I am forced to use Internet Exploder) is the one that says I have Active X disabled.
Doesn't XP SP2 come with a popup blocker? Why would they put another one in (besides bringing popup blocking to earlier versions of Windows)? It just seems like a waste to me.
US businesses that currently accept chip and PIN/signature
I told the google execs to patent all that, but would they listen? Noooooo!
Like what should have been in an OS from the start?
See, even Microsoft gets to say ME TOO sometimes.
Future predictions for Windows features:
Expose
Tabbed Browsing in IE out of box
Rendezvous
Dashboard
this sig limit is too small to put anything good h
May conflict with other pop-up blockers and cause you to not be able to click on anything at all.
The toolbar has to be on-screen for pop-up blocking to work.
Needs administrator privileges to install.
Includes a plugin to search PDF files.
Includes desktop search.
Currently supports U.S. English only. Don't try to install it on a non-U.S. English version of Windows.
How am I supposed to fit a pithy, relevant quote into 120 characters?
For the last time, Microsoft promised features found in Google Desktop and Spotlight, years ago as part of Longhorn. There are *plenty* of cases where MS steals ideas, but in this case Google and Apple got to the market first with a product MS promised about prior.
Yeah, I'm aware MS didn't invent the idea, but they certainly didn't steal it from Google or Apple.
Thats funny... isn't MSN Search a... beta? So "final version" = "beta"? Explains a lot!
I want clippy to pop up and point to my search strings in the rendered pages. I also want clippy to say, "I see you're searching with google. Would you like help using microsoft search? How about a hotmail account?"
Reality is nothing but a collective hunch.
Popup blocking? Uh, Firefox has had that for _ages_. There are currently 175 extension to Firefox 1.0 covering everything from web development to bookmark sync, games, you name it. Who would install _any_ Firefox toolbar from some .com site? It is just probably some tracking code.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land,
it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. -James Madison
I personally think that microsoft should take the content of the HDs and store them on their VerySecure (TM) servers, and do the indexing there.
Then you could search your hard drive from any computer.
Furthermore, you could retrieve any search result files off your hard drive via their FancyP2PProtocol (TM).
Finally, you could then, while browsing with Internet Explorer (TM), get your MSN (TM) news, entertainment, and Hotmail(TM).
But wait, there's more! For a low monthly fee, you'll be part of an Exciting Online Community (TM) and get Amazing and Incredible Offers (TM) from our Most Valued Partners (TM), including but nor restricted to Fantastic Deals (TM) on software, music, and DVDs!
So what are your waiting for? Join the Microsoft Revolution(TM)! Be All You Can Be(TM)! And answer that age old question "Where do you want to go Today(TM)?" with a resounding REDMOND!!!
[note, segue into "Developers developers(TM)" if more than 2 visual basic users are in attendance]
"Piter, too, is dead."
Durn. It sez, "Warning! Your browser does not meet the minimum system requirements. You are recommended to use the MSN Toolbar Suite with Internet Explorer 5.01 or later."
Guess I'll have to, ahem, "upgrade" to IE/Windows so I can get the neat toolbar. Heh heh heh...
Mark
Wow! I wish FireFox was that innovative !
:wq
So I decided to install this POS to test it out. The final straw for me was that it hid and disabled my google toolbar in IE. That is:
1) shady
2) annoying
3) typical Microsoft
Do not install this.
I don't say this as an anti-MS zealot or anything. It's just that I've noticed over the past two years Microsoft has gone from a market leader to an almost purely reactive organization. It's amazing to see a company go down hill that quickly.
The optimistic geek in me says "This is the desktop search engine you've been waiting for. It's been built by the same company that built the Windows operating system it'll be running under, so you know it'll be more optimized and stable than those other '3rd party' search engines".
While the techie part of me is screaming "It's Microsoft Maaaan! Are you fucking nuts considering this!?"
I can't believe there isn't a proper response to this. Only in Slashdot will people walk right past this silently.
I just downloaded and installed this thing. 4.some megs for what appears to be an IE plugin. There doesn't seem to be the option to make the 'search' bar integrate with the taskbar at all (which was what my initial pre-install impression was).
You know it's more than an IE plugin. Did you even attempt to look around? Right-click your taskbar, select toobars and you'll see MSN Deskbar there. It actually integrates very nicely with the OS.
I will say that I'd half expected for there to be a minimalist appearance. Nay, there's about 10 different buttons on the bar that gets installed in IE, and I was initially pestered with 2 desktop bar-specific nags. Additionally, the damn thing defaults to searching the web, not the desktop.
What are you smoking? The deskbar defaults to searching the desktop by default, and so does that IE page.
So I've been sitting here for about 10 minutes waiting for the thing to build an index. The Google Destop Search tool has about 40Mb of files on this machine, and I honestly don't think I've got much more than (if even) 1Gb of files on it. I've run a search for a couple files within the "My Documents" directory, and nothing turned up. There's no indication that the index is being built, or when it might be done, etc.
Actually I think there's too much indication. First when it starts off it says it's starting. Then when there's too much processor use, it says it's going to wait a while so you can get done what you want to get done. When it's actually indexing, you get a nice blinking maginfying glass. And finally when it's all done, it says it's done with a messenger like popup icon. All through this process, at any time when you hover over that icon, it tells you what the hell it's doing.
There also doesn't appear to be must customization ability for the actual search tool, either. Just build, or rebuild the index. No "exclude directory" type stuff. Come on man. Right-click that damn thing and select Internet Options...
Not impressed in the least.
You have an IQ of a peanut. I don't think they're going to care if you're impressed or not. Who modded you up +4?
Yea. I know.