Searching Your Desktop: What Are The Options?

Posted by Sharon Hurley Hall on June 24th, 2009

This post has been submitted by Sharon Hurley Hall from Get Paid To Write Online.com.

When I got my Dell computer a few years ago, it came with Google Desktop Search pre-installed. I’m generally a big fan of Google products, so I had no objection, but recently I have become disenchanted with Google Desktop Search.

Google Desktop Search

Google Desktop Search is a good product in general, bringing the robust Google search features to your desktop. However, there have been a few occasions when it has failed to find something I know is there, and sometimes my poor old laptop grinds almost to a halt while it is doing its thing. I also find the quick search box annoying and it often pops up when I am trying to use the Ctrl key for another function. Since Google owns most of my online life already, I didn’t think it would be a problem if I defected for a single product, so I set off to find some alternative desktop search programs.

Yahoo’s X1 Desktop Search

The first one I looked for was Yahoo Desktop Search, which is now called X1 and is a paid service. That’s a shame, because I used it when it was in beta and liked the speed and the ease of finding several different types of documents. You can preview documents easily too and the professional X1 client has a raft of features that almost tempt me to shell out $50. Almost, but not quite, so I continued my search.

Windows Desktop Search

Since I don’t yet have Vista, I have not tried out the latest version of Windows Desktop Search for myself. Most people who have it seem to be happy with it, though, with some even favoring it over more popular desktop search tools. Here’s a list of some of the features so you can make your own mind up.

Copernic Desktop Search

Long, long, ago, when Google was only a gleam in its creators’ eye, I used Copernic Desktop Search to find files on my computer. It was quite impressive, so it’s no surprise that this desktop search tool still has a strong following. It is available in three versions, but the free version probably provides enough functionality for most people. If you want to search your Outlook email, though, you will have to pay. Other desktop search programs will search everything without charge.

Exalead Desktop

Exalead Desktop is the one I finally went for. Although it was slower than some of the others in building an initial index (I set it to do that only during idle time), it soon had about 15,000 documents indexed and I was able to search. What I liked about the search page was the large document type indicator, the tag cloud for finding similar documents and the search refinement links all on the same page. It’s too early to tell whether this is a keeper, but it looks good so far.

Which is your favorite desktop search program and why?

Sharon Hurley Hall
Get Paid To Write Online.com
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2 Responses to “Searching Your Desktop: What Are The Options?”

artv Says:
June 25th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Google Desktop is the best. The quick search box hotkey is configurable, so that’s not really a valid criticism, beyond the system performance issue. The free version of Exalead is slower (as you mentioned) and crippled. Just because they hide the pricing ($60 individual, $3k(!) for a server, and $50k(!!!!!) for enterprise, doesn’t hide the fact that you need to pay to play on the same level as the other free applications like Desktop and MS Search. Apples to Oranges.
Sharon Hurley Hall Says:
June 25th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
It’s true that Google Desktop is good, but I still feel the free version of Exalead offers some advantages.