First Look at Ask Jeeves Desktop Search

[Chris]

The following is an article written by Andy Beal of SearchEngineLowdown.com:

Ask Jeeves will launch their new Ask Jeeves Desktop Search (AJDS) application on Wednesday, but we caught-up with Senior Vice President, Jim Lanzone, and have some exclusive details of the newest entry to the desktop search race.

Lightweight and powerful

The lightweight AJDS is just 750k and is able to index a whole host of documents including; Microsoft Office files (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), simple text files, Microsoft Outlook email messages, and image, music, and video files. Ask Jeeves decided to go with the “standalone” interface, inherited from their acquisition of Tukaroo, but ensured that users are able to get to offline and online information. Lanzone also indicated that the tool could be integrated with MyJeeves in the future.

Privacy protection

AJDS users can narrow their searches by selecting categories like Office Documents, Music, Pictures, MyJeeves, News and others, or they can sort results by a variety of parameters. Meanwhile, controls are also provided for users to define how much of their computer hard-drive they want Ask Jeeves Desktop Search to index, as well as the speed (and thus the amount of bandwidth devoted) with which they want it indexed. According to Lanzone, this flexibility “gives the user complete control” and even allows them to decide if they want cached web pages to be indexed or not - with the default being not to index the cache - something that will please many critics of Google desktop.

Intuitive interface

AJDS goes beyond the “blue links” of search, by returning results in a two-panel interface where previews are displayed for easy review, (you can even preview your MP3 files). Users will also find a search box conveniently added to common Windows dialog boxes, such as Insert Attachment or File/Open, where the process of finding files is frequently required. This according to Lanzone is the “number one most useful thing” about AJDS and something Ask is particularly proud of.

Not your normal "Beta"

Ask Jeeves expects to add new functionality prior to the formal launch of the product in 2005. Some of these features include expanded support for Outlook, integration of desktop and Web search results, and PDF support. A Feedback menu is provided directly on the application interface to make it easy for users to submit comments and requests for new features. According to Lanzone, Ask Jeeves has no intentions of following Google’s lead and letting a product languish in the world of “Beta”. “We don’t do 3-year Beta’s,” said Lanzone, with tongue firmly in cheek!

Enhancing user relationships

So why the launch of a desktop search tool by Ask Jeeves? Lanzone states that AJDS will “not be directly monetized” and that the desktop search application is “not a business itself, but a feature of a world class search engine.” Indeed, Jeeves is not looking at ways to make money from their desktop offering, but sees this as a way to chip away at the market share of Google and Yahoo. He believes that desktop search causes many search engine users to increase their relationship with their favorite search engine and a “one to two percent marketing swing for Ask Jeeves is an exponential increase.”

Leading the pack

Some might say that they are simply following the heard, but with their acquisition of Tukaroo earlier this year, Jeeves is probably the catalyst for recent desktop launches by Google, MSN and forthcoming launch by Yahoo. The company continues to innovate and looks to add value to loyal Ask Jeeves users, while at the same time attracting new blood.

Tech Notes: Ask Jeeves Desktop Search works with Windows 2000 or XP, Office 2000 or higher, and Outlook 2003. The program requires a minimum of a Pentium III computer running at 400MHz with 128 MB RAM (1 GHz and 256 MB RAM recommended). Sorry, not Mozilla or Mac compatibility.

[globalhostinggroup]

The war of the desktop search is at a foot
At least all of this competition can land end users with better results sooner than later

[solohelp]

So wheres the info on the search tool. Is it locked into Microsquish? Will it search firefox visited pages or just IE? Will it search Thunderbird emails? If not who cares about another search tool that doesnt really search?

I checked out asks personalized search. Kind of a cool tool so I would be interested in knowing more about the desktop search.

[triniwebdiva]

I used google desktop search for a while - it was great EXCEPT - there was no way to tell it what drive to use for its index. It assumes C, and if one (like me) has a small C partition and huge data drives, it kills the system drive. THey said when I emailed, that they weren't working on that right now.
SO... I uninstalled it.
I hope the ask.com tool is more flexible!

[PastorRick]

I haven't used any of these desktop searches yet primarily because I have not yet seen anything that tells me that the information will not be stored by the Desktop search by people like Ask Jeeves.

I would hate to think that they are getting access to all my private and proprietary information which could make its way public.

I also am concerned about the ability of hackers to expolit this.

Thoughts?

[ldyguique]

I installed Google Search tool briefly, and then uninstalled it due to the caveats that "non-personal" information could be used by Google. While I read the privacy statements, etc., I didn't feel entirely comfortable and so uninstalled the program. It's the same reason that I don't run their toolbar, too.

It's not that I don't generally trust Google, it's that too many PCs are being highjacked by 3rd parties, and I've gotten leery of installing programs that I know report on me (whether spyware or legitimate).

I'll consider AskJeeves, once I can read their Terms and Conditions or EULA.

I know that I'd like a simpler desktop search that would coordinate my online searching history with stuff that is saved on my machine.