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By Martin LaMonica
Posted on ZDNet News: Jun 30, 2005 4:03:00 PM

Enlisting developers to help combat Google's search dominance, Microsoft has quietly released documentation to extend its desktop search tool beyond the browser.

Microsoft has published application programming interfaces (APIs) that allow programmers to display the results of a desktop search in their choice of programs.

The APIs, which were released earlier this week, are still in beta testing.

Microsoft's MSN division released Windows Desktop Search in May, a few months after Google launched its own, called Google Desktop. Windows Desktop Search already has a few features for customizing searches, such as the ability to speed up search results by creating indexes.

Google, too, has its own API and software developer kit that lets people link Google Desktop to different applications.

Microsoft scaled back some of its ambitions for search in Longhorn, the next desktop edition of Windows due out next year. But the company still intends to substantially improve the search capabilities of Windows. For example, search results in Longhorn can be saved as virtual folders that are automatically updated to include all items that fit a particular query.

Once these search capabilities are baked into Longhorn, Microsoft is expected to make APIs available to developers to build customized searches.

Apple Computer, meanwhile, already has an API available to allow developers to write plug-ins for the Spotlight search feature in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger.

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  • Most Recent of 14 Talkback(s)
Unfortunately
this 'improved' search capability wont be able to recover the 'last pennies spent on MS s/w'..... sorry.... (Read the rest)
Posted by: michael_t Posted on: 07/01/05 You are currently: a Guest | | Terms of Use
Perhaps the Claria thing is for....  Nigel Johnstone | 06/30/05
This week?  PB_z | 06/30/05
Yes, Longhorn Will Have Saveable Updatable Searches  itanalyst | 06/30/05
You are one of the few people  bjbrock | 06/30/05
Yes, And People Like No_Ax  itanalyst | 06/30/05
Saddam  dwest_z | 07/01/05
No, My PC belongs to  Real World | 06/30/05
I think you are over doing it again.  osreinstall | 06/30/05
Possible RSS Abuse In Longhorn  itanalyst | 06/30/05
It is simply sad  michael_t | 06/30/05
Open alright  Richard Flude | 06/30/05
Google is light years ahead of MS  Prognosticator | 07/01/05
With all that money ....  An_Axe_to_Grind | 07/01/05
Unfortunately  michael_t | 07/01/05

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