We had to know that Yahoo was going to enter the desktop search space, what piques at least my curiosity is their choice of partnering with X1 in this venture.

Yahoo announced plans to release a preview version of its desktop search program, a free tool for searching computer hard drives, in early January. Yahoo’s program, based on technology from hard-drive search company X1 Technologies, will compete with an existing desktop search program launched by Google in October.

I tried X1 over a year ago when the buzz was on and it didn’t last long on my hard drive and at that time the product was free; now it’s not. Being that it is still around over a year later and now they have this sweet partnership with Yahoo! I wonder if this is a precursor to being bought out by Yahoo? I’d like to find the answer why I should spend $74.95 just to be able to search PDF files (which I can’t do with Google Desktop search)? What other features does X1 offer that Google Desktop doesn’t and the Yahoo! Desktop won’t? So if one waits for Yahoo! desktop search I’ll get these features for free (or so it seems)?

Lastly, in the comparison pictured above, I like the fact that Google Desktop is HTML rendered as part of my daily Google searches; it’s convenient. In a world of so many different programs, many of which require user/pass info and different user interaces (UI), why is it so important to have separate UIs as opposed to integrating with existing products? I applaud Google’s move on this front. If Google wants to offer an optional separate UI then fine, do it, but I like integration better and hope they don’t axe that to compete. I don’t see a ”rich native user-interface” as a compelling feature. As a user, companies should be focused on making my life easier, not forcing me to learn new things. Hopefully Yahoo will find some way to integrate their product with their searches too. And if they do, I sure as hell hope Google doesn’t sue them. I don’t think that concept is a patentable idea!

Did this post make you go hmm?

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