Blinkx, Times Online UK Offer Desktop Search

The PC desktop search utility gets another entrant to the field, as video search company Blinkx has partnered with the Times Online to present the Desktop Smart Search service.

Not long after making MSN Search the default option for web searches from its Internet publication, the Times Online has announced a partnership with Blinkx for a desktop search tool.

The full version of the desktop-based Smart Search performs the same kind of indexing and searching seen in offerings from Google and Microsoft. In addition to finding content inside Microsoft Office documents and Outlook, Smart Search can search Lotus Notes and Eudora emails and attachments.

Blinkx also searches the web for relevant results for a query. Its technology lets it retrieve video and audio content along with text-based results. On the desktop and online, it can search through a variety of multimedia formats, including the AAC format used by iTunes.

Along with the full desktop search, the Times has made a lite version of the utility available as a downloadable toolbar. Another use of the Blinkx technology, Smart Folders, can be placed on the desktop to continually retrieve content from the Times Online based on topics chosen by the user.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.