Microsoft looks to fix bugs with desktop search
Microsoft has slipped out a new version of its Windows desktop search engine for its Vista operating system to fix bugs with the previous version. The release appeared more than a week after service pack one (SP1) hit the firm’s Windows Update site as a manual download for some Vista peeps. Microsoft said on its Vista team blog …
"index encrypted files and online delegate mailboxes"
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!
Jesus - there's already problems with the system leaking passwords to anyone with a can of compressed air (Yes, I know it's not that simple) so now they want to store the encrypted stuff in an unencrypted index as well????
In XP and all before it I could right-click any directory, on any drive (fixed, removable or network) and click search. The search would then trawl through the files and return any matching patterns. That was useful - I DON'T want to index the whole of our 200Gb network drive, sometimes I just want to search one part of a tree - and in that case I'm prepared to wait.
Another gripe is where the hell is the "Up a directory" in explorer - BACK is not the same .... grrr.....
"Up a directory" in Vista can be done by clicking on the bar above the window where the path is shown as something like "HDD -> Users -> FredBloggs -> Documents" or whatever - you can click at any point in the chain. I think it's called a breadcrumb or something (presumably a Hansel and Gretel reference)
They are done making software better, they are now just fiddling with it. If they add one more dialog box between me and TCP/IP properties, I am switching to Linux.
It would be nice if they just made it so EVERY search I did, didn't require "advanced". I have NEVER YET found anything I needed first time with the basic search. Often you can have a folder open which contains an older duplicate of a file and it doesn't even find that one, never mind the copy you want.
@ Brent Gardner
the direct path to the most flexible TCP/IP config in Linux, is protected by something FAR more fearsome than multiple dialog boxes...it is like the Rabbit in Python's Holy Grail...it is...
a command prompt. it will sometimes sound very violent, like "bash" and "kill", and some of the commands are suggestive (mount, spawn), or mysterious (ifconfig, ls, ps, du, grep, sed, awk...). the editors are alien (vi, emacs, pico, etc.), and repeated use will mutate your hands into misshapen, elongated, hideous claws with 8 to 16 fingers!!...
or, you can use the GUI.
yeah, some call me Tim. good luck with that.
While it's always nice to see Microsoft fix bugs and add a few features. I have to say that X1 Professional Desktop Search Client has had most of these features for years.
The X1 Professional Client is lightning fast, supports more than 400 file types for indexing, preview, and action, as well as federates with Enterprise repositories like SharePoint and email archiving systems like Symantec Enterprise Vault.
Check it out for yourself.
http://www.x1.com/
One word. Grep. It's available for WinDoze in many incarnations and hey — its fast and its accurate.
Outlook search is absolute garbage, or I am really missing something. I can be LOOKING at the email with the term, word, or partial email address I am looking for and "Advanced" Find will NOT find it. Disgusting.
Paris, because she's looking right at it and can't find it.
@ Joel, Brent, & JassMan:
Thought it was just me. Vista search drives me insane. Spent so long trying to get it to find some .ini files I knew existed, in the end, it was faster to switch my dual boot laptop into XP, do the search, then reboot. And that bloody network & Sharing centre is f'ing useless - Network Connections did a great job, so why hide it an extra two layers in?
@ Alan
Are you using Outlook 2007? I've always had problems with outlook searching, but since I switched to Outlook 2007 with Windows Desktop search installed, but only indexing the pst/ost files, it's been a dream - It's so good at searching, I don't even bother to file email anymore, as it's quicker to leave it unorganised, then type in a few key words to find it.
KarlTh,
My problem is that I used to use the backspace key to just rattle up through the directory tree but now it's a spazzy back button which is different. The breadcrumbs are an innovation, and certainly save editing the path by hand - however if I want to go up one dir, then up another, then up another I have to keep using the mouse and I'm a keyboard kinda guy.
Another gripe, you used to be able to drag a file or folder from explorer on to a command prompt and it would populate the path and filename - can't do that anymore either - WHY!?!?
Whatever changes Microsoft make now, it will be far too late. Their technology has been overtaken by SpectateSwamp Desktop Search - the only search engine you'll ever need, in fact the only program you'll ever need, full stop! It even plays random videos!
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/stonedan/pict_exe.htm
Now with magic rocks, too! And it's not just open source, you can even download the flowcharts!
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/stonedan/pict01.htm
In the words of Forest Gimp... STUPID IS AS STUPID.....
Joel Mansford:
Use Alt-UpKey to go up a directory using the keyboard.
