 "Top 4 Desktop Search Suites")
Desktop search has certainly come a long way. From merely indexing your files and documents, today’s desktop suites are far more capable. They can easily index images, office documents, email, searches, maintain a list of searches, keep a timeline of your PC, and more.
Seeing this list of features, one may conclude that these are paid products. However, this could not be further from the truth. Some of the best desktop suites are free. Not only do they continue to evolve, they get timely updates and are in many ways now essential for a power user. Here’s a list of four of the best.
Google Desktop Search
Google search for the desktop. Nothing needs to be said beyond those five words. This application offering from the company that put search on the map is a polished performer that has a huge list of usable features. Apart from your files, it can index your office documents, outlook email, and surfing history.
In its latest incarnation (version 5) Google Desktop is closely integrated with its online services. While this may bother a few people, it’s a welcome move as it allows you to pull up documents from across various PCs (at home or work). Tracking that pesky document you wrote a year ago was never easier.
You can download Google Desktop here.
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**Yahoo Desktop Search
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Yahoo is the world’s largest portal. It should therefore come as no surprise that the company would try to translate its strength in Internet space on to the desktop. Yes, Yahoo has its own version of a desktop suite that’s powered by X1 technologies. This well-known application boasts an excellent display interface, and has the capability to index over 370 file formats, Outlook mail, Microsoft Office documents.
Check it out here.
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Windows Desktop Search
Microsoft’s Windows Desktop Search had originally faced a lot of flak for being a system hog, bad document indexing, and for being too spartan. It has now evolved into a fine application suite that offers great functionality with support for an ever-increasing number of file formats, alongside email and AV support.
It now offers real-time completion of names, and allows you to share search index across a network for finding files that do not reside on your PC (similar to Google Desktop). This is the same version that’s been built into Windows Vista, and with the recent service pack it’s gotten a much-needed UI boost.
You can download it here.
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Copernic Desktop Search
Copernic easily finds itself a place on this list. One of the oldest desktop search utilities in existence, its market share has suffered of late thanks to the dominance of Google Desktop. However, that hasn’t stopped the company from offering one of the most seamless experiences in file search and email indexing.
Copernic has can index email from Outlook/Outlook Express, Thunderbird and Eudora, numerous audio and video formats, as well as bookmarks from Netscape, Mozilla and IE. It also handles all the standard file formats: .doc, .pdf, .txt, rtf, .ppt etc., comes with a handy AV previewer, and recently got a substantial update in version 3.
To download it, head over here.
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