<s>
Desktop	B-Application
search	I-Application
tools	I-Application
search	O
within	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
own	O
computer	B-Operating_System
files	I-Operating_System
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
searching	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
tools	O
are	O
designed	O
to	O
find	O
information	O
on	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
PC	O
,	O
including	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
history	O
,	O
e-mail	O
archives	O
,	O
text	O
documents	O
,	O
sound	O
files	O
,	O
images	O
,	O
and	O
video	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
variety	O
of	O
desktop	B-Application
search	I-Application
programs	O
are	O
now	O
available	O
;	O
see	O
this	O
list	O
for	O
examples	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
desktop	B-Application
search	I-Application
programs	O
are	O
standalone	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Desktop	B-Application
search	I-Application
products	O
are	O
software	O
alternatives	O
to	O
the	O
search	B-Application
software	I-Application
included	O
in	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
helping	O
users	O
sift	O
through	O
desktop	O
files	O
,	O
emails	O
,	O
attachments	O
,	O
and	O
more	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Desktop	B-Application
search	I-Application
emerged	O
as	O
a	O
concern	O
for	O
large	O
firms	O
for	O
two	O
main	O
reasons	O
:	O
untapped	O
productivity	O
and	O
security	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
analyst	O
firm	O
Gartner	O
,	O
up	O
to	O
80%	O
of	O
some	O
companies	O
 '	O
data	O
is	O
locked	O
up	O
inside	O
unstructured	B-Application
data	I-Application
—	O
the	O
information	O
stored	O
on	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
PC	O
,	O
the	O
directories	O
(	O
folders	O
)	O
and	O
files	O
they	O
've	O
created	O
on	O
a	O
network	B-Architecture
,	O
documents	O
stored	O
in	O
repositories	O
such	O
as	O
corporate	O
intranets	B-General_Concept
and	O
a	O
multitude	O
of	O
other	O
locations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moreover	O
,	O
many	O
companies	O
have	O
structured	O
or	O
unstructured	B-Application
information	I-Application
stored	O
in	O
older	O
file	O
formats	O
to	O
which	O
they	O
do	O
n't	O
have	O
ready	O
access	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
sector	O
attracted	O
considerable	O
attention	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
2004	O
to	O
early	O
2005	O
period	O
from	O
the	O
struggle	O
between	O
Microsoft	O
and	O
Google	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
market	O
analysts	O
,	O
both	O
companies	O
were	O
attempting	O
to	O
leverage	O
their	O
monopolies	O
(	O
of	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
and	O
search	B-Application
engines	I-Application
,	O
respectively	O
)	O
to	O
strengthen	O
their	O
dominance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
Google	B-Application
's	I-Application
complaint	O
that	O
users	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
cannot	O
choose	O
any	O
competitor	O
's	O
desktop	B-Application
search	I-Application
program	O
over	O
the	O
built-in	O
one	O
,	O
an	O
agreement	O
was	O
reached	O
between	O
US	O
Justice	O
Department	O
and	O
Microsoft	O
that	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
Service	O
Pack	O
1	O
would	O
enable	O
users	O
to	O
choose	O
between	O
the	O
built-in	O
and	O
other	O
desktop	B-Application
search	I-Application
programs	O
,	O
and	O
select	O
which	O
one	O
is	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
default	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
September	O
2011	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
ended	O
life	O
for	O
Google	B-Application
Desktop	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
desktop	B-Application
search	I-Application
engines	I-Application
build	O
and	O
maintain	O
an	O
index	B-Application
database	I-Application
to	O
improve	O
performance	O
when	O
searching	O
large	O
amounts	O
of	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
notable	O
exceptions	O
,	O
however	O
:	O
Voidtools	B-Application
 '	I-Application
Everything	I-Application
Search	I-Application
Engine	I-Application
,	O
which	O
performs	O
searches	O
over	O
only	O
file	O
names	O
,	O
not	O
contents	O
,	O
is	O
able	O
to	O
build	O
its	O
index	O
from	O
scratch	O
in	O
just	O
a	O
few	O
seconds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
exception	O
is	O
Vegnos	O
Desktop	B-Application
Search	I-Application
Engine	I-Application
,	O
which	O
performs	O
searches	O
over	O
filenames	O
and	O
files	O
 '	O
contents	O
without	O
building	O
any	O
indices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Desktop	B-Application
search	I-Application
tools	I-Application
typically	O
collect	O
three	O
types	O
of	O
information	O
about	O
files	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Long-term	O
goals	O
for	O
desktop	B-Application
search	I-Application
include	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
search	O
the	O
contents	B-Application
of	I-Application
image	I-Application
files	I-Application
,	O
sound	O
files	O
and	O
video	O
by	O
context	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Indexing	B-Library
Service	I-Library
,	O
a	O
"	O
base	O
service	O
that	O
extracts	O
content	O
from	O
files	O
and	O
constructs	O
an	O
indexed	O
catalog	O
to	O
facilitate	O
efficient	O
and	O
rapid	O
searching	O
"	O
,	O
was	O
originally	O
released	O
in	O
August	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
built	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
speed	O
up	O
manually	O
searching	O
for	O
files	O
on	O
Personal	O
Desktops	O
and	O
Corporate	O
Computer	B-Architecture
Network	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Indexing	B-Library
service	I-Library
helped	O
by	O
using	O
Microsoft	O
web	O
servers	O
to	O
index	O
files	O
on	O
the	O
desired	O
hard	O
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
largest	O
issue	O
that	O
Indexing	B-Library
service	I-Library
faced	O
was	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
every	O
time	O
a	O
file	O
was	O
added	O
,	O
it	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
indexed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
coupled	O
with	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
the	O
indexing	O
cached	O
the	O
entire	O
index	O
in	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
made	O
the	O
hardware	O
a	O
huge	O
limitation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2003	O
,	O
Windows	O
Desktop	B-Application
Search	I-Application
(	O
WDS	O
)	O
replaced	O
Microsoft	O
Indexing	B-Library
Service	I-Library
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Application
Search	I-Application
apparently	O
used	O
up	O
a	O
lot	O
of	O
processing	O
power	O
,	O
as	O
Windows	O
Desktop	B-Application
Search	I-Application
would	O
only	O
run	O
if	O
it	O
was	O
directly	O
queried	O
or	O
while	O
the	O
PC	O
was	O
idle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
came	O
Windows	B-Application
Search	I-Application
3.1	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
its	O
predecessors	O
WDS	O
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Search	I-Application
3.0	O
,	O
3.1	O
could	O
search	O
through	O
both	O
indexed	O
and	O
non	O
indexed	O
locations	O
seamlessly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
the	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
CPU	B-Device
requirements	O
were	O
greatly	O
reduced	O
,	O
cutting	O
back	O
indexing	O
times	O
immensely	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Application
Search	I-Application
4.0	I-Application
is	O
currently	O
running	O
on	O
all	O
PCs	O
with	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
and	O
up	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1994	O
the	O
AppleSearch	B-Operating_System
search	B-Application
engine	I-Application
was	O
introduced	O
,	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
fully	O
search	O
all	O
documents	O
within	O
their	O
Macintosh	O
computer	O
,	O
including	O
file	O
format	O
types	O
,	O
meta-data	O
on	O
those	O
files	O
,	O
and	O
content	O
within	O
the	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AppleSearch	B-Operating_System
was	O
a	O
client/server	B-Operating_System
application	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
as	O
such	O
required	O
a	O
server	O
separate	O
from	O
the	O
main	O
device	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
function	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
biggest	O
issue	O
with	O
AppleSearch	B-Operating_System
were	O
its	O
large	O
resource	O
requirements	O
:	O
"	O
AppleSearch	B-Operating_System
requires	O
at	O
least	O
a	O
68040	O
processor	O
and	O
5MB	O
of	O
RAM.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1997	O
,	O
Sherlock	B-Operating_System
was	O
released	O
alongside	O
Mac	O
OS	O
8.5	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sherlock	B-Operating_System
(	O
named	O
after	O
the	O
famous	O
fictional	O
detective	O
Sherlock	B-Application
Holmes	I-Application
)	O
was	O
integrated	O
into	O
Mac	O
OS	O
's	O
file	O
browser	B-Application
–	O
Finder	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sherlock	B-Operating_System
extended	O
the	O
desktop	B-Application
search	I-Application
function	O
to	O
the	O
World	O
Wide	O
Web	O
,	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
search	O
both	O
locally	O
and	O
externally	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Adding	O
additional	O
functions	O
—	O
such	O
as	O
internet	O
access	O
—	O
to	O
Sherlock	B-Operating_System
was	O
relatively	O
simple	O
,	O
as	O
this	O
was	O
done	O
through	O
plugins	O
written	O
as	O
plain	O
text	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sherlock	B-Operating_System
was	O
included	O
in	O
every	O
release	O
of	O
Mac	O
OS	O
from	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
8	I-Operating_System
,	O
before	O
being	O
deprecated	O
and	O
replaced	O
by	O
Spotlight	B-Application
and	O
Dashboard	B-Application
in	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	I-Application
10.4	I-Application
Tiger	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spotlight	B-Application
was	O
released	O
in	O
2005	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	I-Application
10.4	I-Application
Tiger	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spotlight	B-Application
allows	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
search	O
the	O
Internet	O
for	O
more	O
information	O
about	O
any	O
keyword	O
or	O
phrase	O
contained	O
within	O
a	O
document	O
or	O
webpage	O
,	O
and	O
uses	O
a	O
built-in	O
calculator	O
and	O
Oxford	O
American	O
Dictionary	O
to	O
offer	O
quick	O
access	O
to	O
small	O
calculations	O
and	O
word	O
definitions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
Spotlight	B-Application
initially	O
has	O
a	O
long	O
startup	O
time	O
,	O
this	O
decreases	O
as	O
the	O
hard	O
disk	O
is	O
indexed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
files	O
are	O
added	O
by	O
the	O
user	O
,	O
the	O
index	O
is	O
constantly	O
updated	O
in	O
the	O
background	O
using	O
minimal	O
CPU	B-Device
&	O
RAM	B-Architecture
resources	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
desktop	B-Application
search	I-Application
options	O
for	O
Linux	O
users	O
,	O
depending	O
upon	O
the	O
skill	O
level	O
of	O
the	O
user	O
,	O
their	O
preference	O
to	O
use	O
desktop	O
tools	O
which	O
tightly	O
integrate	O
into	O
their	O
desktop	O
environment	O
,	O
command-shell	O
functionality	O
(	O
often	O
with	O
advanced	O
scripting	O
options	O
)	O
,	O
or	O
browser-based	O
users	O
interfaces	O
to	O
locally	O
running	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
one	O
which	O
does	O
extraction	O
and	O
indexing	O
of	O
PDF/DOC/DOCX/ODT	O
documents	O
well	O
,	O
another	O
search	B-Application
engine	I-Application
which	O
works	O
w/	O
vcard	O
,	O
LDAP	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
directory/contact	O
databases	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
conventional	O
find	O
and	O
locate	O
commands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
Linux	I-Operating_System
did	O
n't	O
have	O
desktop	B-Application
search	I-Application
until	O
release	O
Feisty	O
Fawn	O
7.04	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
Tracker	B-Application
desktop	B-Application
search	I-Application
,	O
the	O
desktop	B-Application
search	I-Application
feature	O
was	O
very	O
similar	O
to	O
Mac	O
OS	O
's	O
AppleSearch	B-Operating_System
and	O
Sherlock	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2014	O
Recoll	B-Language
was	O
added	O
to	O
Linux	O
distributions	O
,	O
working	O
with	O
other	O
search	O
programs	O
such	O
as	O
Tracker	B-Application
and	O
Beagle	B-Language
to	O
provide	O
efficient	O
full	O
text	O
search	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
greatly	O
increased	O
the	O
types	O
of	O
queries	O
and	O
file	O
types	O
that	O
Linux	O
desktop	B-Application
searches	I-Application
could	O
handle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
major	O
advantage	O
of	O
Recoll	B-Language
is	O
that	O
it	O
allows	O
for	O
greater	O
customization	O
of	O
what	O
is	O
indexed	O
;	O
Recoll	B-Language
will	O
index	O
the	O
entire	O
hard	O
disk	O
by	O
default	O
,	O
but	O
can	O
be	O
made	O
to	O
index	O
only	O
selected	O
directories	O
,	O
omitting	O
directories	O
that	O
will	O
never	O
need	O
to	O
be	O
searched	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
with	O
KDE4	B-Language
,	O
the	O
NEPOMUK	B-Language
was	O
introduced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Performance	O
improved	O
(	O
at	O
least	O
for	O
queries	O
)	O
by	O
switching	O
the	O
backend	O
to	O
a	O
stripped-down	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Virtuoso	B-Application
Open	O
Source	O
Edition	O
,	O
however	O
indexing	O
remained	O
a	O
common	O
user	O
complaint	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Based	O
on	O
user	O
feedback	O
,	O
the	O
Nepomuk	B-Language
indexing	O
and	O
search	O
has	O
been	O
replaced	O
with	O
the	O
Baloo	O
framework	O
based	O
on	O
Xapian	B-Application
.	O
</s>
