Friday, October 15, 2004

AOL Testing Desktop Search Waters

A CNET News.com report states that America Online has confirmed that it is testing a new search engine that scans for files on a PC's hard drive, mirroring Google's Desktop Search. The AOL desktop search is being developed by a third-party's technology, and it is not Google.



The desktop search tool is currently being offered as a feature within a test version of a standalone Web browser that AOL is developing. As reported earlier, AOL is readying a stand-alone browser that is being based on the Internet Explorer engine.



It was also reported that the new desktop search tool will match many features offered in Google's similar application. Both products can search for Microsoft Office files such as Word and Excel, photos, music, chat logs from AOL Instant Messenger and previously viewed IE pages.



This might explain why AIM files were included in the launch of Google's desktop search. Both products, however, cater only to Internet Explorer web page history and leave other browser technology out of the mix. As I just reported though, it is possible to hack Firefox to allow any tool to index visited web pages. It does leave you to wonder why both Companies are ignoring the other browsers.



VIA: InsideGoogle

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