Digital organization - Part I (Desktop Search)
In theory, it's easier to organize digital data than paper files. Digital is certainly more space efficient, for a 3.5" hard drive can hold millions of pages filed in thousands of folders. However, finding and retrieving data has been much more challenging. One approach is to methodically systematically name and organize files in folders and subfolders, but this requires both self-discipline and adherence to a rigid hierarchy.
Alas, Newton's Second Law of Thermodynamics seems to apply here, for entropy increases over time. Despite the best intentions, the steady influx of new data often leads to a proliferation of unfiled items. To locate an important document, the only option may be a full text search. Windows has a built-in search feature, but its full-text search can be timed in minutes, not seconds.
AltaVista gets no respect these days, but it was a pioneer both in full-text web searching and, perhaps more importantly, nearly instantaneous searches of one's own PC (remember AltaVista Personal eXtension 97?). Aside from the funky capitalization, Personal eXtension was a direct precursor to Yahoo Desktop Search, Google Desktop, and the Lookout plugin. While these are extremely useful products, the biggest question the latest crop of utilities raises in my mind is why it took us eight years to get here from AltaVista PX.
The next big change in local search will likely come at the operating system level. Microsoft's long-awaiting Longhorn OS was supposed to include WinFS, an object-based file system that would dramatically enhance search capabilities. However, we now have the following disclaimer from Microsoft:
UPDATE: In spite of what may be stated in this content, WinFS is not a feature that will come with the Longhorn Operating System. However, WinFS will be available on the Windows platform at some future date, which is why this content continues to be provided for your information.
Nonetheless, Longhorn will still offer advanced search features to rival Yahoo and Google's offerings (Microsoft acquired Lookout back in 2004). These incremental improvements make it ever easier to search gigabytes of data to find particular words. What they won't provide, however, is a new way to organize the ever-growing complexity of modern data. For that, a new paradigm is needed.
Coming soon: metadata and tagging to the rescue