Both Microsoft and Apple Computer are betting the answer is no. And as a result their newest operating systems bear uncannily like-minded search tools.
In the next version of Windows, still in its early stages of development, and in the soon-to-be released new version of Mac OS X, users won't have to know where a file is stored. Instead, both operating systems will have a search window in which people need only start typing what they remember -- who created the file, what it's called, or even words within the document itself. Results begin appearing instantly, and the early matches are ruled out as a user continues entering information.
"Clearly both companies understand that the classic desktop metaphor, which is 20 years old, really doesn't scale well when you have lots of information," Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg said.
And judging from other similarities, that's not the only understanding the companies share.
The Longhorn preview Microsoft gave reporters last week revealed that with the new OS, the software giant is introducing composited graphics for the desktop, something Apple has had since Mac OS X's debut. The result is that Longhorn's windows can be see-through, revealing the contents of other windows or the desktop below.
"You can imagine videos on top of videos and even translucency," said Jim Allchin, head of Microsoft's Windows unit.
In one application of the new technology, windows that are maximised or minimised spring to life in a way similar to the "genie effect" through which Mac OS X windows are sent down to the Dock.
Microsoft also plans to reshape icons within Longhorn. Instead of being a static graphic indicating the type of document a file is, an icon in Longhorn will be a smaller representation of the first page of a document. In its preview pane, today's Mac OS offers that for some document types, such as PDF files. However, its implementation is not as universal as what Microsoft is proposing.
Both Apple and Microsoft are responding to a clear need for more effective searching of the information on a computer's hard drive, a system that will simplify things in much the same way improved Web search has made it easy to find information on the Internet. So far that need for desktop search has been filled by programs that run on top of Windows, offered by companies including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft's own MSN unit.
Though search has been at the top of both companies' lists for a while, the similarity of the two approaches is remarkable. Both companies' OSes have a search window, identified by a magnifying glass icon, in the upper right-hand corner. Users of Tiger -- the new Mac OS -- can save a search query as a "smart folder," while Microsoft has its yet-to-be-finally-named "virtual folders" that offer a similar function.
Allchin said Microsoft plans to go further than Apple has with Tiger.
"Tiger is nice in that they've put search capability in a lot of places, but there's a lot more (in Longhorn)," Allchin said. "This is trying to slice and dice the data and let you visualise the data in a much richer way than what's in Tiger."
Both companies also say they want their search features to be a starting point, with developers able to add to them.
Continued ...
actually, most of the apple stuff is
copied from the GNOME desktop.
still, us linux people had better watch our
backs, with the DRM coming from microsoft
and the transparent videos coming from apple...