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Randy Holloway at Microsoft

Blogging from the field.
Apples and Oranges
Great comments from Dare on the comparison of Google Desktop Search and WinFS. Among them, the following: "Tools like Lookout and Google Desktop Search are a crutch to get around the fact that the file navigation metaphor on most desktop systems is past its prime and is in dire need of improvement."
Posted: Tuesday, October 19, 2004 9:07 PM by RandyHolloway

Comments

Chris Donges said:

Link seems to be broken.
# October 19, 2004 9:24 PM

Jeff Davis said:

How would you compare Apple's Spotlight approach to searching? It seems to support an extensible, metadata model for describing different types of files. The main difference between their approach and WinFS seems to be that they require a secondary store for searching.

http://developer.apple.com/macosx/tiger/index.html
# October 20, 2004 10:28 AM

travis said:

part of me wanted to see something like this:
http://www.improb.com/airchives/paperair/volume1/v1i3/air-1-3-apples.html
# October 20, 2004 11:39 AM

John Kane said:

The only problem with comparing Google's Desktop Search with WinFS is that Google's Desktop Search is availble in beta form TODAY, while WinFS is will not be availble in beta from until 2007 - 3 YEARS from now - a year after the Longhorn client is available.

"Once again, Google makes Microsoft look out of date" - http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3321818

Still Google is not the first vendor into this desktop search marketplace, as there are many others, but they at least have an available product that combines (if you want) a hard disk search with an Internet search!

John
# October 23, 2004 10:38 PM

steve matlock said:

Totally agree with John - sure, WinFS MAY be the next loaf of sliced bread - but where is it?

Google is going to get entrenched on desktops. They have 3 years to perfect not just their algorithms, but also their marketing and their UI. MS may "borrow" and "learn" from this - but they will still be very late. And Google won't be standing still waiting for MS - they're going to have 3 years of leadtime as well for their own offerings.

It seems very likely that the Google boys have learned from Novell, Netscape, and Word Perfect that you don't stay still when MS is circling the market.
# October 25, 2004 11:26 PM
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