Microsoft Officially Updates Desktop Search - Why it matters
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Typically, a user isn’t going to download a bunch of different desktop search tools, try them all out, and then go with whichever one works best. Gartner analyst Allen Weiner observed that trying out desktop search tools requires considerably more effort than trying out online services. To use a tool, consumers must download and install the software, and spend some time learning how to use it. Each tool also takes a certain amount of time to index the user’s hard drive.
Even if a user wanted to do this kind of shopping around (for free software, mind you), it might not be possible. Not all desktop tools work and play well with their competitors. According to Weiner, “It’s not a market consumers will fiddle around with. People will select one and live with it.”
Why does this matter? Keep in mind that the desktop search tools all come from companies with Internet search engines. All of the desktop search tools also have the capability to search the Web. So a user’s desktop search preference will dictate what engine they use for Web searches –- and Web searching has proven to be a surprisingly lucrative field over the years.
Let’s take this one step further. Remember that Yahoo is beginning to include the ability to do server-side searching with its tool, so users can, for instance, search their Yahoo!Mail accounts. Microsoft tried to bundle the desktop and the Internet together by bundling its browser with its operating system –- but search engines might have a better chance to do that now, because they offer so many services that go beyond search. Even Google, stretching the “search everything” theme, offers Gmail, its own email accounts. As many communications companies have found, the more items you can bundle together (such as, in that case, phone, cable TV, and Internet service), the more likely you are to keep a customer tied to your services.
It’s hard to say how lucrative that model might be when all of the services being bundled together are actually free. But you can be certain that Microsoft has taken this into consideration, as well as Yahoo. Google already offers Gmail users the ability to search their email; it’s an integral part of the service. If this is not yet integrated into Google’s desktop tool, I would not be surprised to see that happen sometime within the next year.
In short, this matters because it’s part of the battle to be all things to all computer and Internet users –- and it’s still anybody’s guess who will win.
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