Search Engine's
Posted by: Martin D on 05 November 2004
Been trying this with incredible results so far, I'm no computer bore so don’t understand it totally as yet but I’m learning fast.
http://www2.blinkx.com/overview.php
Any body else tried it or other search engines?
Martin
http://www2.blinkx.com/overview.php
Any body else tried it or other search engines?
Martin
Posted on: 07 November 2004 by Martin D
C'mom guys it cant only be me who's trying this, or maybe it is!
Martin
Martin
Posted on: 07 November 2004 by BigH47
OK where did my post from last night go?
As I said then this is impressivley quick. It got a bit confused when I did a search from an E-Bay page gave 5 searches all the same page. Certainly quicker than using the MS search facility on hard drive searches.
Howard
As I said then this is impressivley quick. It got a bit confused when I did a search from an E-Bay page gave 5 searches all the same page. Certainly quicker than using the MS search facility on hard drive searches.
Howard
Posted on: 07 November 2004 by Martin D
Howard didn't see your post either. I'm a relative beginner, but it does seem really good when its been installed and running for a few days. Tom ditto.
Martin
Martin
Posted on: 13 November 2004 by Roy T
Seen in another part of the net, while SearchEngineWatch is often worth a quick browse just to see what is making waves in the exciting world of SearchEngines while for those who must take their quest for knowledge just that little bit further their is always the information packed SearchEngineWatch Forum in which to pass a few hours . . . .
A set of fora also exist that hawk information, tips and ideas about how best to fool search engines (Search engine optimization) in an attempt to creep towards the top of the rankings so that your product or service stays above the page when punter pop a few words into the likes of Google or other engines. Seems a bit like cheating so now I don't visit that part of the net very often.
Although I have not tried Blinks I did give Autonomy a bit of stick when it was released during 1999? but it did not do too much for me so after a few months I binned it.
[This message was edited by Roy T on Sat 13 November 2004 at 21:18.]
A set of fora also exist that hawk information, tips and ideas about how best to fool search engines (Search engine optimization) in an attempt to creep towards the top of the rankings so that your product or service stays above the page when punter pop a few words into the likes of Google or other engines. Seems a bit like cheating so now I don't visit that part of the net very often.
Although I have not tried Blinks I did give Autonomy a bit of stick when it was released during 1999? but it did not do too much for me so after a few months I binned it.
[This message was edited by Roy T on Sat 13 November 2004 at 21:18.]
Posted on: 14 November 2004 by Martin D
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4003193.stm
Having a read of this at the mo
Having a read of this at the mo
Posted on: 17 November 2004 by Roy T
A review of desktop search engines in the FT.
Sometimes the FT link will work and sometimes not.
Search technology turns to the desktop
By Paul Taylor
Published: November 17 2004 02:00 | Last updated: November 17 2004 02:00
One of the great mysteries of personal computing is why, after more than two decades of supposed progress, the search features built into Microsoft's operating systems are so primitive and wimpy.
Google helped transform web search several years ago and now Microsoft, Yahoo and Amazon's A9 subsidiary (www.a9.com) are in hot pursuit (see page 14).
But only recently have Google and others turned to the challenge of sifting through data on a user's PC hard drive or local network and presenting it in a timely and organised fashion.
Like most other desktop search tools, the pre-release version of Google Desktop (www.google.com) begins by indexing Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and text documents together with Outlook and Outlook Express e-mail messages, AOL instant messenger threads, and Internet Explorer web browser history logs. The best thing about Google Desktop is that searching is just like using Google's super-simple web search service.
Google Desktop could pose a real challenge to Idealab's X1 (www.x1.com), one of my favourite desktop search tools in spite of its relatively hefty $74.95 price tag.
In use, X1 lives up to its reputation to be the fastest desktop search program available. Once it has indexed locally stored files, it delivers search results as fast as you can type the search term.
What is more, X1 is much more flexible than Google Desktop. For example, it supports "Boolean" search terms and a much wider range of file types and formats. It can also search inside e-mail attachments, Adobe PDF files and compressed "zip" files and enables users to view search results in a preview pane even if you do not have the software that created the file.
What most users want is an integrated yet simple way to find information wherever it resides - be it on a local hard drive, network or the web. Better still, the indexing should take place in the background automatically and be context sensitive.
Enter Blinkx (www.blinkx.com). This free downloadable program, developed by a small UK-based company with the same name, sets a new benchmark for intelligent search based on a concept that Blinkx calls "implicit query".
Version 2.0 of Blinkx was launched on Monday and while the program still represents something of a work-in-progress, this latest version includes some exciting new features that undoubtedly point the way forward for search tools.
Perhaps the most interesting new feature in Blinkx is "smart folders", which automatically update their content as new information becomes available, based on the ideas contained within the content of files already in the folder.
For example, if you write a letter about space travel to a friend and place the letter into a smart folder, Blinkx will automatically search for other relevant information contained in e-mails, web pages or other documents on your machine.
When you download the program from the Blinkx website it immediately begins to index all the local files on your PC in the background. Blinkx currently works with a wide range of Windows-based applications including Outlook, Outlook Express and Eudora and most browsers. The company is working on a version for the Apple Mac which is due in the next few months.
As you write an e-mail, compose a Word document or read a web page, Blinkx is scanning the PC hard drive, the web and other sources for relevant information. Click on one of the icons on the toolbar and Blinkx delivers a list of related documents on your local hard drive, results from news sources, the web, related products for sale, or video clips if they are available. Because Blinkx is working constantly in the background, the links it turns up change as the content on the main screen changes.
Users can also search for Mpeg images, MP3 digital music files and for files stored on peer-to-peer networks - or for video files from sources including the BBC, Bloomberg and CNN.
In use Blinkx generally worked well, though web searching is much slower and less complete than Google or other web search engines. It should therefore probably be seen as a complementary tool rather than a substitute. However, Blinkx shines when it comes to assembling sources for research or simply checking for related material as you write a document.
If, for example, you highlight a particular word or paragraph in a document, Blinkx will automatically return related material under each of its menu icons. Generally I found the information returned to be pertinent and useful.
Aside from the fact that some of its features are somewhat rough around the edges, my only real complaint is that Blinkx is not as intuitive to use as Google Desktop and can be a little confusing - perhaps because what it tries to do is much more ambitious.
paul.taylor@ft.com
Sometimes the FT link will work and sometimes not.
Search technology turns to the desktop
By Paul Taylor
Published: November 17 2004 02:00 | Last updated: November 17 2004 02:00
One of the great mysteries of personal computing is why, after more than two decades of supposed progress, the search features built into Microsoft's operating systems are so primitive and wimpy.
Google helped transform web search several years ago and now Microsoft, Yahoo and Amazon's A9 subsidiary (www.a9.com) are in hot pursuit (see page 14).
But only recently have Google and others turned to the challenge of sifting through data on a user's PC hard drive or local network and presenting it in a timely and organised fashion.
Like most other desktop search tools, the pre-release version of Google Desktop (www.google.com) begins by indexing Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and text documents together with Outlook and Outlook Express e-mail messages, AOL instant messenger threads, and Internet Explorer web browser history logs. The best thing about Google Desktop is that searching is just like using Google's super-simple web search service.
Google Desktop could pose a real challenge to Idealab's X1 (www.x1.com), one of my favourite desktop search tools in spite of its relatively hefty $74.95 price tag.
In use, X1 lives up to its reputation to be the fastest desktop search program available. Once it has indexed locally stored files, it delivers search results as fast as you can type the search term.
What is more, X1 is much more flexible than Google Desktop. For example, it supports "Boolean" search terms and a much wider range of file types and formats. It can also search inside e-mail attachments, Adobe PDF files and compressed "zip" files and enables users to view search results in a preview pane even if you do not have the software that created the file.
What most users want is an integrated yet simple way to find information wherever it resides - be it on a local hard drive, network or the web. Better still, the indexing should take place in the background automatically and be context sensitive.
Enter Blinkx (www.blinkx.com). This free downloadable program, developed by a small UK-based company with the same name, sets a new benchmark for intelligent search based on a concept that Blinkx calls "implicit query".
Version 2.0 of Blinkx was launched on Monday and while the program still represents something of a work-in-progress, this latest version includes some exciting new features that undoubtedly point the way forward for search tools.
Perhaps the most interesting new feature in Blinkx is "smart folders", which automatically update their content as new information becomes available, based on the ideas contained within the content of files already in the folder.
For example, if you write a letter about space travel to a friend and place the letter into a smart folder, Blinkx will automatically search for other relevant information contained in e-mails, web pages or other documents on your machine.
When you download the program from the Blinkx website it immediately begins to index all the local files on your PC in the background. Blinkx currently works with a wide range of Windows-based applications including Outlook, Outlook Express and Eudora and most browsers. The company is working on a version for the Apple Mac which is due in the next few months.
As you write an e-mail, compose a Word document or read a web page, Blinkx is scanning the PC hard drive, the web and other sources for relevant information. Click on one of the icons on the toolbar and Blinkx delivers a list of related documents on your local hard drive, results from news sources, the web, related products for sale, or video clips if they are available. Because Blinkx is working constantly in the background, the links it turns up change as the content on the main screen changes.
Users can also search for Mpeg images, MP3 digital music files and for files stored on peer-to-peer networks - or for video files from sources including the BBC, Bloomberg and CNN.
In use Blinkx generally worked well, though web searching is much slower and less complete than Google or other web search engines. It should therefore probably be seen as a complementary tool rather than a substitute. However, Blinkx shines when it comes to assembling sources for research or simply checking for related material as you write a document.
If, for example, you highlight a particular word or paragraph in a document, Blinkx will automatically return related material under each of its menu icons. Generally I found the information returned to be pertinent and useful.
Aside from the fact that some of its features are somewhat rough around the edges, my only real complaint is that Blinkx is not as intuitive to use as Google Desktop and can be a little confusing - perhaps because what it tries to do is much more ambitious.
paul.taylor@ft.com