Desktop Search Review Roundup

[ May 6th, 2005 @ 9:29 pm ] ... [ Vic DaSilva ] ... [ 1,718 views]

Desktop Search Review Roundup

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If you have been searching for desktop search reviews, you can call your search off because we already did the work for you. I remember in the good old days if you wanted to find something on your computer you clicked start then click search, entered in some terms that you felt were in the file and then clicked enter. By the time something popped up you could have painted a room and washed your car. The worst part was after all the waiting there would be “no results found”. Oh yes, the good old days. Fast-forward to present day and it appears almost everyone wants to help you search your PC. So who are the winners and the losers? Continue reading, that answer will come to you soon enough. Enjoy

University of Wisconsin-Madison’s e-Business Consortium if you only look at one review, make sure it’s this one. This is the “mother of all desktop search reviews”. They look at 12, yes 12, desktop search tools(I bet you didn’t even know that there was 12 desktop search tools). The review is ultra unbiased and ultra thorough. They ran benchmark testing on 6 different categories which are broken up into 35 different sub-categories. I think you can tell by now this is the true uber-review.
Final verdict of their review:

#1 Copernic with a score of 4.11 out of 5
“Copernic is the most well-balanced desktop search tool among those evaluated.
The tool is intuitive and easy to use. The new beta version supports FireFox for
Web history search, and Thunderbird and Eudora for e-mail (as well as IE, Outlook
and Outlook Express) Search as you type and dynamic indexing, which
detects new and modified files/e-mails on the fly, are useful features. ”
#2 Yahoo with a score of 3.66 out of 5
#3 Wizetech Archivarius 3000 with a score of 3.62 out of 5

PC Mag looks at 8 different tools and they put the editors choice stamp of approval on Yahoo
“Its clean interface, wealth of indexing optionsâ€”in terms of scheduling, file types, and file locationsâ€”and competent results presentation add up to the best free desktop search we’ve yet encountered.”
Score: 4.5 out of 5

Second Place: was a tie between Copernic and MSN both with a score of 4/5

ZDNet
also looks a 8 different desktop search tools, giving the nod to Copernic Desktop Search
“It may not search the Internet, but Copernic Desktop Search locates all file types on your hard drive and offers a pleasing interface. ”
Score: 8.3 out of 10; Editors choice

Washington Post
looks at six desktop search tools (Google, MSN, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves, Copernic and Blinkx)
“Google is the best of this bunch, but it’s not as easy to access as MSN and misses some important types of data, such as contacts.”

Slate
they look at 5 different search tools Google,Copernic, Ask Jeeves, HotBot, and MSN giving top score to Copernic. If you want to check out the various screen shots check out this review
“Copernic has almost as many configuration options as the rest put together but lacks some of the best features of the lesser tools: Jeeves’ all-categories-at-once search and tabbed results, Google’s live AIM indexing and Web page thumbnails, MSN’s advanced search syntax and index of Outlook info, and HotBot’s RSS search. Still, Copernic finds more than any other desktop search and gives you control over how it indexes your computer. ”
Score: A

Sceen Shot of Copernic

AP via Globe Technology They looked at the three name brand desktop search tools(Google, MSN and Yahoo)

All three programs handle the basics well, so your choice may ultimately come down to what e-mail and IM programs you use and whether you care about Google’s retention of deleted files. If you’re indifferent, Yahoo’s preview feature may help tip the scales.

Ars technica.com (looked at 5 different desktop search items (Google, MSN, Ask Jeeves, Yahoo and Copernic)
“My personal favorite among this collection was MSN Desktop Search (yes, I was also surprised with the polish exhibited by the first version of a Microsoft product). It will remain on my hard drive for the foreseeable future. Anyone whose need for this software centers around their web history would do well with Google Desktop. If you not only remember what Harvard Graphics is, but still have some old files sitting on your computer, Yahoo! Desktop may quickly become an essential tool. “
but when it came to scoring: MSN 9/10 tied with Copernic 9/10

Conclusion
Three of these reviews give the highest marks to Copernic and another has it tied for the top score. So one can only assume that Copernic is doing something right. Therefore the Uber-Review Top Choice goes to Copernic. The #2 and #3 go to Yahoo and MSN respectively based on the number of times they finished in the top 3 in the reviews covered. You have to remember none of these are perfect. In fact, I think in the age of high powered computers and with operating systems sleeker than ever that desktop search should never have been required in the first place.

Here are the links to all the free desktop search tools covered in this review

Top Three Picks
1. Copernic Desktop Search
2. Yahoo Desktop Search
3. MSN Desktop

Popular Choices
Google Desktop
Ask Jeeves Desktop