Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Both Microsoft and Apple Computer's ... newest operating systems bear uncannily like-minded search tools.

In the next version of Windows, still in its early stages of development, and in the soon-to-be released new version of Mac OS X, users won't have to know where a file is stored. Instead, both operating systems will have a search window in which people need only start typing what they remember--who created the file, what it's called, or even words within the document itself. Results begin appearing instantly, and the early matches are ruled out as a user continues entering information.

Both Apple and Microsoft are responding to a clear need for more effective searching of the information on a computer's hard drive, a system that will simplify things in much the same way improved Web search has made it easy to find information on the Internet.

Allchin said Microsoft plans to go further than Apple has with Tiger.

"Tiger is nice in that they've put search capability in a lot of places, but there's a lot more (in Longhorn)," Allchin said. "This is trying to slice and dice the data and let you visualize the data in a much richer way than what's in Tiger."

Allchin rejects the notion that Microsoft is a Tiger copycat, noting that the company demonstrated some of the virtual folder concepts in its Fall 2003 preview of Longhorn.

"They just might have copied us," Allchin said.

But Apple loyalists will certainly note that the search technology that powers the Spotlight search feature has been a staple of Mac applications for some time, beginning with iTunes, which debuted in January 2001.

"That was the spark of inspiration that led us to say, What if we brought that to the entire system?" said Bereskin.

Allchin does give Apple credit.

"Ever since (CEO) Steve (Jobs) has come back to Apple, they've been on my radar screen," Allchin said. "I think it's just good competition."

At the same time, he noted that the Mac's growth pales in comparison to the number of Windows users added each year. "Our growth this year in PCs is bigger than the entire Mac install base," Allchin said. And he added that much of the growth Apple has seen has come on the music side. The Mac, he said, "is now a peripheral to the iPod."