Tim Howell’s Weblog

Much has been written - heck, volumes have been written - about Apple’s announcements this week. The blogosphere has focused on the new machines, in particular the Mac Mini and the iPod Shuffle. I tend to agree with the majority, and believe that both these products will be successful; the Mac Mini will open up markets, for both consumers and potentially businesses tired of the vagaries of Windows security; the iPod Shuffle will also be popular due to its style and price - people can now buy an Apple product for not much money. A great analysis of this, and Apple’s renewed focus on the mass market can be found here, where Paul Nixon explains (in words and graphics) how Apple has been able to address both mass market and high end customer needs.

MSN has quickly followed its rivals in releasing a beta version of its desktop search tool. Like other similar tools, the software lets people search the content of their hard drive, including email, calendar items, contacts and Office documents. The tool also enables users to directly navigate the web using MSN’s own search technology, released last month, from points within email and within Windows. Will have a look at this, but might use a virtual machine given the impact of Google’s beta Desktop Search tool.

Google has once again innovated, this time quietly introducing Google Suggest. The key innovation is adding the ability for the search query box to “guess” what your search is likely to be and provides suggestions to help you complete the search - kind of like Microsoft’s auto complete feature, but for the web. In addition to being a nice piece of coding, the tool does have its merits and aids with both query entry, and giving an indication of the number of results a particular search may result in.

What is also interesting is how Google positions the Suggest version against normal Google: “By suggesting more refined searches up front, Google Suggest can make your searches more convenient and efficient by keeping you from having to reformulate your query. Google Suggest might offer suggestions that you will find novel or intriguing.”

By assisting their audience with searches, Google could drive better results for its users, therefore increasing usage and driving ad revenues. From a usability perspective, looking further forward, this type of feature could greatly aid mobile entry, albeit in a smaller form factor. This is a classic example of something simple on the surface masking complexity behind the scenes, while also potentially driving significant benefit in the longer term.

I’ve always been a fan of Flash, even   back when Macromedia first purchased the company that created the concept. While the web has been an ideal vehicle to show of its capabilities, there has always been the potential for the technology to be used in non-PC devices. While there are no doubt other examples, it appears the use of Flash in devices such as “POS (point-of-sales/service) terminals, personal organizers, PC replacements, small-screen airline entertainment devices, real-time securities trading terminals, digital signs” is finally gathering momentum.

While not quite the last one to arrive, Yahoo has announced it too will release a desktop search application in early January. While this will be a beta release, the product will be based on technology from X1 Technologies, a specialist in this area. This announcement obviously follows the release of the Google Desktop Tool, and that MSN will also release a tool, with an announcement to come on Monday. All tools will look to integrate content from their respective owners’ other properties. What will be interesting is the degree to which they integrate with the Windows desktop, and the advantages they will provide the end user day-to-day.

iPods will be under a lot of Christmas trees this year; their popularity growing by the month. The iPod ads have a similar impact, and now you can create your own at ipodmyphoto. Upload an image, and the (not free) online service will convert the photo to something resembling an iPod advertisement.