Desktop Search - coming to your PC soon

Whether you like it or not, desktop search (DS) will be landing on a PC near you in the very near future. It will play a central role in Microsoft's new operating system, Vista, and will enable users to quickly locate files and search the content of documents stored on their computers.

Combined with web search it offers Microsoft the opportunity to give Google a run for its money in the search engine stakes. No wonder, then, that the other major players in this market have already entered the fray with their own versions of Desktop Search. The serious contenders are Google, Yahoo, Ask, Copernic, Exalead, Blinkx, ISYS and of course Microsoft. Most of them are free and they are all pitching for access to your desktop.

All have strengths and weaknesses, but it may not be Google or MSN that win the day. Copernic's free DS and the priced option from ISYS are well established and have a loyal following. Yahoo's document support is unsurpassed - important as so many people are switching to Open Source software and Microsoft alternatives - and Exalead has unique search features such as proximity, phonetic and approximate spelling options. Blinkx and Ask are also strong players and continually developing and improving their products.

As information professionals, we must understand and be aware of what is happening in this arena. It is no longer just about web search with an option to install and use desktop search for those of us who are geekishly inclined. The two, by default, will become inextricably entwined and we need to know who is doing what and understand the implications for both our users and ourselves.

UKeiG is running a one day event on Desktop Search - managing the flight deck on June 14 in London. It promises to be an interesting day with speakers from Copernic, Microsoft and ISYS, and Karen Blakeman will be presenting the users point of view with a session on "Desktop search tools compared: the good, the bad and the ugly". The day will be chaired by UKeiG's Gary Horrocks, so here's your chance to meet the man behind the IWR interview and stay ahead of the game.

Further information and a booking form are on the UKeiG web site.