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Microsoft Finalizes Its Desktop Search Software

Posted by Zonk on from the nope-no-influences-here-none-at-all dept.

Smelly Toejam writes "After a five month testing phase, Microsoft has released a final version of its much hyped desktop-search software. Major updates cited include the ability to pick and choose which files to index, and how often." From the article: "Microsoft is vying for new credibility in the multibillion-dollar Web search market dominated by Google and Yahoo--and central to its campaign is the desktop. With its Longhorn launch slated for next year, Microsoft is developing enhanced search software that combines navigation for Web and desktop files straight from the operating system. The toolbar is a step toward that goal."

2 of 244 comments (clear)

  1. Privacy Issue by bhadreshl · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I have tried the Google Desktop Search and I was not impressed with the lack of options. I know google tries to simplify things, but this was way too simple. The main problem is the lack of Access Control Options. I don't trust anything indexing all my files. It just a privacy issue I have.

  2. WARNING Sticky Software by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I installed it, let it index overnight, tried it, and not satisfied I then tried to uninstall it. Add/Remove said it couldn't uninstall because the installer was still running. Restart stalled and the Task Manager could not be invoked, so a forced powerdown was necessary. After rebooting, Add/Remove would let me uninstall, but the uninstall progress stuck at 100% for 30 minutes with no disk activity. Task Manager could be accessed this time, though, and the "running" MSN Toolbar was killed. What a pain!

    I'm sticking with Copernic Desktop, which indexes at least as well, doesn't require IE (I use Firefox), and has a fast, integrated document viewer.