Eager to gain some ground in the battle to help people find their computer files, Microsoft Corp launched the final version of its desktop search software yesterday.
The free software is part of the MSN Search Toolbar Suite, which Microsoft introduced several months ago as a test version.
That version lets computer users search not only by file names but also by the contents of documents, e-mails, calendar entries, pictures and PowerPoint presentations.
The new version expands the types of files supported and lets users customize how the program sorts different files -- by date, size, author or sender, among other options.
"You can really slice and dice the results any way you want," said Justin Osmer, product manager for MSN Search.
Desktop-searching has become an incredibly competitive field. Yahoo Inc, Google Inc and America Online Inc, among others, have similar products already out or in testing.
The final version of the MSN Search software includes preview panes that offer a detailed glimpse at files as they're found on the computer. If you were looking for a picture, for example, you could see the image itself, instead of just an icon and a file name. It's a feature Yahoo Inc's desktop search product also offers.
Searching for PDF files based on keywords in the body of the document will require a separate plug-in that can be downloaded with the software.
Neither Microsoft's nor Yahoo's product records Web sites you've visited, while Google's program can retrieve such Web pages from your computer, even if you had never saved it.
The Microsoft and Yahoo programs, meanwhile, remove e-mail and other files you've deleted, while Google keeps them in its index unless you delete them there as well.
The Microsoft desktop search software will work only on machines running Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
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TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
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