Monday, July 12, 2004
N J Wong
9 July 04
Ever since I tried Google (www.google.com) in 1999, I stopped using other
search engines such as Yahoo or Alta Vista because Google always returned
more relevant search results than the other engines. I also liked Google's
spartan interface which was a breath of fresh air as compared to the
extremely "busy" interfaces on the other search engines.
I read a news article that Microsoft is revamping its search engine to be
more like Google. I was thus extremely surprised to see that Microsoft has
actually copied Google's interface:
http://www.msnsearch.com/
However, Microsoft is not the only company that has copied the Google
interface apparently. Alta Vista has done exactly the same thing too:
http://www.altavista.com/
And others:
http://www.search.com/
http://www.ask.com/
****
However, the joke is, I can find things faster on the Internet than I can
find files that I have on my own hard disk. The Windows XP Search program
(accessed from "Start | Search") takes a long time to search my 160 GB hard
disk (searches running more than 2 minutes is not uncommon).
There is actually a shareware software that improves on files searches on
your hard disk. AVAFind can locate any file on my 160 GB hard disk in less
than 5 seconds! It achieves its magic by using index files that are
intelligently updated in the background whenever you create, delete, or
rename a file. Of course, this index files takes space. On my 160 GB disk,
it takes up 120 MB (or 0.12 GB). This is a inconsequential considering that
it allows me to get search results within 5 seconds.
If you are frustrated with the slow performance of Windows Search, I
suggest you try AVAFind. Because this is Shareware, if you don't register
the software (ie. purchase it) after 30 days, the "premium" facilities will
be disabled. However, the search engine functionality is not crippled, so
it is still usable even after the 30 days trial period is over. This is
sufficient if you are only need to occasionally use this utility to quickly
find long forgotten files that are lurking somewhere in the darkest reaches
of the directories in your hard disk:
http://www.think-less-do-more.com/avafind/
***
However, AVAFind only allows you to rapidly find files using their file
names. It doesn't find files using their contents.
You can search for files by their contents with the slow performing Windows
Search. However, there is a bug in Windows XP. In Windows XP Search, you
will not be able to find files using their contents in a consistent manner
if Windows XP doesn't like the file extension.
If you are running Windows XP, you can test this bug yourself. Create a
text file in your C:\ drive and give it a filename like "xpbug.txt". In
this file, add the text "This is a test" and save the file.
Now, make copies of this file to new files with names like "xpbug.bas",
"xpbug.doc", "xpbug.sql", and finally "xpbug.htm". Call up Windows XP
Search, and specify the following:
1. All of part of the file name : xpbug
2. A word or phrase in the file : This is a test
3. Look in :
If you run the "Search" button, you will find that only the files
"xpbug.txt" and "xpbug.htm" will be shown. The files with the "doc", "bas",
"sql" extensions cannot be found.
Because I do a lot of programming in Visual Basic and SQL, I am unable to
use Windows XP Search to help me find my program files that are named with
these extensions when I need to search by content. Note that Windows Search
does not have this bug when running on Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows
2000. This flaw is very specific to Windows XP, which Microsoft never
bothered to fix (even though there had been complaints about it since 2001
when Windows XP was launched).
Luckily, there is a freeware program called Agent Ransack that resolves
this Windows XP flaw. Agent Ransack does not index your files, so it is as
slow as Windows Search. However, when searching by file contents, Agent
Ransack don't have the bugs afflicting Windows XP. Agent Ransack also has
another useful feature: it has a preview window that shows you where in the
file that the search phrase is located.
http://www.agentransack.com
Windows XP users should definitely download this as Windows XP Search is
buggy.
9 July 04
Ever since I tried Google (www.google.com) in 1999, I stopped using other
search engines such as Yahoo or Alta Vista because Google always returned
more relevant search results than the other engines. I also liked Google's
spartan interface which was a breath of fresh air as compared to the
extremely "busy" interfaces on the other search engines.
I read a news article that Microsoft is revamping its search engine to be
more like Google. I was thus extremely surprised to see that Microsoft has
actually copied Google's interface:
http://www.msnsearch.com/
However, Microsoft is not the only company that has copied the Google
interface apparently. Alta Vista has done exactly the same thing too:
http://www.altavista.com/
And others:
http://www.search.com/
http://www.ask.com/
****
However, the joke is, I can find things faster on the Internet than I can
find files that I have on my own hard disk. The Windows XP Search program
(accessed from "Start | Search") takes a long time to search my 160 GB hard
disk (searches running more than 2 minutes is not uncommon).
There is actually a shareware software that improves on files searches on
your hard disk. AVAFind can locate any file on my 160 GB hard disk in less
than 5 seconds! It achieves its magic by using index files that are
intelligently updated in the background whenever you create, delete, or
rename a file. Of course, this index files takes space. On my 160 GB disk,
it takes up 120 MB (or 0.12 GB). This is a inconsequential considering that
it allows me to get search results within 5 seconds.
If you are frustrated with the slow performance of Windows Search, I
suggest you try AVAFind. Because this is Shareware, if you don't register
the software (ie. purchase it) after 30 days, the "premium" facilities will
be disabled. However, the search engine functionality is not crippled, so
it is still usable even after the 30 days trial period is over. This is
sufficient if you are only need to occasionally use this utility to quickly
find long forgotten files that are lurking somewhere in the darkest reaches
of the directories in your hard disk:
http://www.think-less-do-more.com/avafind/
***
However, AVAFind only allows you to rapidly find files using their file
names. It doesn't find files using their contents.
You can search for files by their contents with the slow performing Windows
Search. However, there is a bug in Windows XP. In Windows XP Search, you
will not be able to find files using their contents in a consistent manner
if Windows XP doesn't like the file extension.
If you are running Windows XP, you can test this bug yourself. Create a
text file in your C:\ drive and give it a filename like "xpbug.txt". In
this file, add the text "This is a test" and save the file.
Now, make copies of this file to new files with names like "xpbug.bas",
"xpbug.doc", "xpbug.sql", and finally "xpbug.htm". Call up Windows XP
Search, and specify the following:
1. All of part of the file name : xpbug
2. A word or phrase in the file : This is a test
3. Look in :
If you run the "Search" button, you will find that only the files
"xpbug.txt" and "xpbug.htm" will be shown. The files with the "doc", "bas",
"sql" extensions cannot be found.
Because I do a lot of programming in Visual Basic and SQL, I am unable to
use Windows XP Search to help me find my program files that are named with
these extensions when I need to search by content. Note that Windows Search
does not have this bug when running on Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows
2000. This flaw is very specific to Windows XP, which Microsoft never
bothered to fix (even though there had been complaints about it since 2001
when Windows XP was launched).
Luckily, there is a freeware program called Agent Ransack that resolves
this Windows XP flaw. Agent Ransack does not index your files, so it is as
slow as Windows Search. However, when searching by file contents, Agent
Ransack don't have the bugs afflicting Windows XP. Agent Ransack also has
another useful feature: it has a preview window that shows you where in the
file that the search phrase is located.
http://www.agentransack.com
Windows XP users should definitely download this as Windows XP Search is
buggy.
Wired News: Searching for the Perfect OS: "'We all have a million file folders and you can't find anything,' Jobs said during his keynote speech introducing Tiger, the next iteration of Mac OS X, due next year.
'It's easier to find something from among a billion Web pages with Google than it is to find something on your hard disk,' he added.
The solution, Jobs said, is a system-wide search engine, Spotlight, which can find information across files and applications, whether it be an e-mail message or a copyright notice attached to a movie clip. 'We think it's going to revolutionize the way you use your system,' Jobs declared. "
'It's easier to find something from among a billion Web pages with Google than it is to find something on your hard disk,' he added.
The solution, Jobs said, is a system-wide search engine, Spotlight, which can find information across files and applications, whether it be an e-mail message or a copyright notice attached to a movie clip. 'We think it's going to revolutionize the way you use your system,' Jobs declared. "
