Guess who's back?

Sorry for the off topic comment but i have to say this...

MSNSpoof...

its too cool...

cheers
Deep

What is MSN doing about searching audio/video? I'm not talking about indexing meta tags like artist and title, I mean the actual content, maybe via voice recognition.

Singingfish.com and blinkx.tv are doing this, but they are websites only. It would be really awesome to see this from a desktop search. Maybe I could finally get a handle on the podcasts I listen to by filter out the ones that don't have any interesting content.

I'd love to here your response.

Ryan

I would like to see support for IPTC / XMP ...will we?

...any news any time is good news...and it would not hurt to know what changes might be around the corner!

Nice post!

Here's what I'd like from you :-) :

1). More updates on Desktop Search. Doesn't have to be about MSN DS at all - just search in general. So have you checked out the AOL Browser that's in beta at the moment (build 94), with integrated desktop search licensed from Copernic? What do you think of that? Any advantages over Yahoo!, MSN DS, etc?

Throw out opinions on DS and where it's going, and what the most important aspects are. That way, if you're going in the right direction you'll get authority and praise, and if you're heading in the wrong direction people can "correct" you - because they'll be writing their opinions on their own blogs and tracking back here.

2). Point out nifty things you can do with the current release. A few days ago, somoene figured out that you can run javascript files from the MSN Deskbar with shortcuts. Very nifty.

So why not spend an hour or two writing your own javascripts, and then make a post about how cool it is and offer your scripts for download?

3). I'd love more informations on features in the next release. A roadmap would be perfect, really. You can even use it very well: draw attention to the roadmap, or problems with features.

Instead of having a "locked down" public roadmap with "locked down" features, make a "dynamic" roadmap that's subject to change - and then post about the features frequently, and see what people say. If they like the features and the ideas, you'll hear about it, and if they think they're a waste of time, you'll hear about it.

This requires a high degree of transparency, though, and is something that you'd really have to clear with all the way down the line.

___

Hopefully, you'll do some of those :-)

Thanks;
Michael Griffiths

Nice post!

Here's what I'd like from you :-) :

1). More updates on Desktop Search. Doesn't have to be about MSN DS at all - just search in general. So have you checked out the AOL Browser that's in beta at the moment (build 94), with integrated desktop search licensed from Copernic? What do you think of that? Any advantages over Yahoo!, MSN DS, etc?

Throw out opinions on DS and where it's going, and what the most important aspects are. That way, if you're going in the right direction you'll get authority and praise, and if you're heading in the wrong direction people can "correct" you - because they'll be writing their opinions on their own blogs and tracking back here.

2). Point out nifty things you can do with the current release. A few days ago, somoene figured out that you can run javascript files from the MSN Deskbar with shortcuts. Very nifty.

So why not spend an hour or two writing your own javascripts, and then make a post about how cool it is and offer your scripts for download?

3). I'd love more informations on features in the next release. A roadmap would be perfect, really. You can even use it very well: draw attention to the roadmap, or problems with features.

Instead of having a "locked down" public roadmap with "locked down" features, make a "dynamic" roadmap that's subject to change - and then post about the features frequently, and see what people say. If they like the features and the ideas, you'll hear about it, and if they think they're a waste of time, you'll hear about it.

This requires a high degree of transparency, though, and is something that you'd really have to clear with all the way down the line.

___

Hopefully, you'll do some of those :-)

Thanks;
Michael Griffiths

I just noticed that the Beta is now .1210, the previous version (yesterday) was .1203...am I correct?

cc

From the article: "The hacks are written in JavaScript. Calling them from the Deskbar causes them to be executed by the Windows Scripting Host, an XP-only, multilanguage script interpreter built into Windows by Microsoft."

FYI to the readers, the Windows Scripting Host is a Windows component that is available to several Windows platforms (dropping support for older platforms as time goes on) but the most recent web refresh does work on more than just XP, including ME, 2000, and 2003.

hey, bubba - happy birthday!

Firstly is there a site somewhere that we can post feature requests? (i'l post a few simple ones here first)

This is an interesting product/project for microsoft - you should be proud as project manager - when was the last time a beta product was recieved so warmly?. Run with this feeling, get some transparency for this project (msdn blogs in general are a good start). Get some community involvement. Small steps in a new direction for microsoft maybe..

Anyway, feature requests:
1) The outlook indexing works well, although doesnt removed deleted files from the index. I dont want to have to reindex to erase emails which i have deleted

2) Fix the windows key binding (i.e. doesnt work)

3) The app *seems* to hang sometimes when initiating reindexing, it always comes back to life though

4) Easier exclusion of folders in outlook from the index. There is a registry kludge way , just put it in the UI (http://www.slashstar.com/blogs/tim/archive/2004/12/17/1140.aspx)

5) Have you seen http://www.sycora.net/mds.html

Ths all for now, good work

cc - I see the same thing. However, every download I have attempted today is giving me 1203. :(

Welcome back & Happy Birthday BubbaM! It has been a long absence. Several of my friends have been pestering me asking for any new news of MDS/Toolbar.

Is this it for the current beta release cycle? Nothing outside of regular QFE releases?

Heh three posts and I didn't do this. Sorry :-)

Happy birthday Bubba!

Always a joyous occasion. Pity it didn't land on a Saturday - but hey, April Fool's is a damn nice birthday! (though I suppose it can backfire...)

Hey John -

I read http://www.sycora.net/mds.html ...

Apart from some of the things I disagree with - like "no deskbar" and "simplify UI" - it seems MSN Desktop Search can already do alot of this.

You can make searches favorites, and (naturally) make them shortcuts on your desktop. There's also a very, very rich advanced search functionality (which you can find in the help files).

You didn't write the article, and I'm not saying it's bad -

But anyone else notice that some of the cooler features for MSN Desktop Search aren't widely known?

Hey, can you tell us if MSN Desktop Search will support the x64 versions of Windows XP and Server 2003?

Currently, it can be "tricked" into installing on them the same as 32-bit versions of Server 2003.

However, on x64 builds, the DeskBar does not function, the Windows Explorer integration is gone, and the Outlook search box is non-functional.

The indexer does seem to work, and searching through the 32-bit Internet Explorer interface works fine.

Please let us know if this support is coming and how soon! It's the little things like this that may send me back to the depressing world of 32-bits :)

Hello World. I’ve been quiet for some time now, and I have no good excuses with so much going on in Desktop Search Space (well there was that month in the Bahamas…I wish!). Google went final with their Desktop Search and unveiled a nifty plug-in communit