Newstocks

Microsoft search: you couldn't pay me to use it

I've yet to meet a Microsoft search tool that I like. Without exception, they're slow and ineffective, and I avoid them as much as I can. I use Copernic for desktop search instead of Vista's built-in facility, Google for searching the web, and GMail's web-based search when I need to find a message in my personal email accounts. The only time I rely on a Microsoft tool for is for searching my work email in Outlook 2007. Unfortunately that refuses to look in most of my mail folders due to some obscure indexing problem that, despite my best efforts, I have been unable to fix.

So the news that Microsoft is going to start effectively paying people who buy things they find through Microsoft's Live Search (but only in the US, natch) made me laugh. OK, so companies give cash incentives to use their products all the time, but when it's a Microsoft search product that's involved it's hard not to be scornful.

Going potty

Mummy and granny seem to have decided that it's time to start getting Aidan potty trained. Apparently he did his first poo on a potty yesterday, and everyone was very excited.

Ugh. When I think about all the sitting around we're now going to be doing while waiting for him to go, the clean-up operation required afterwards, and the reliance on finding a sanitary toilet when we're out, I wonder why the rush.

Really, diapers seem so much easier.

Another US-only music store

When I read this morning that Napster has launched an online music store selling DRM-free music for the same price as iTunes, I got pretty excited.

Then I discovered that, like Amazon's MP3 store, it's US only (and seems to be checking your IP address to determine this).

For frak's sake. How long will it take to dismantle the bureaucratic obstacles currently preventing the full potential of digital downloads from being realised? How long before all such services make all their content available worldwide?

"Uh Oh!"

Aidan has a new phrase.

Our next job is to teach him that, however cute he may be when he says it, it doesn't excuse him deliberately throwing stuff on the floor.

Yikes!

Bermuda is being invaded by millipedes!