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July 13, 2004
Blinkx Review
BLINKX -- This little search utility quickly downloads, installs, and watches. Although its results lack the authority of a more comprehensive Google search, its results provide more reach than Google because you can see local documents, weblogs and content not normally among the top 20 results in a Google search. When you visit a page related to a news item or a web reference, a small icon in the upper right hand corner of your screen glows red or blue respectively. But I did not get the same effective response from the local (hard drive) search icon since I store most of my stash on removeable media.
When Blinkx scouts for information, it uses an algorithm unlike the PageRank Algo in Google. Consequently, the results are purely link-based and that serves up some offering from the C-List of credibility.
The local search option is neutered as well. It cannot find data on external hard drives or networked locations. In fact, it did not find related information on my primary hard drive until I set it up folder by folder. But it's only in beta.
Later editions promise search into 200 media types, such as Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents, attachments to e-mails, Acrobat PDF files and even rich media clips.
For the moment, it's interesting to use Blinkx as a "related links" viewpoint. But if you're serious about following extended conversations across the Internet, you need to ocntinue memorising Google syntax to get the job done right. It can quickly search your files when you highlight a phrase. For someone who does not operate with a search program (like askSam) running all the time, it's fast but without a commercial imperative. That's because Blinkx does not return consistent results for searches related to highlighted words. Its web search and news search entertains more than informs. You might get more results for the time spent with this search strategy:
- Use Simpy to trawl your bookmarks.
- If no results are found, execute searches with Google, Vivisimo, AllTheWeb, Yahoo, and Teoma.
- Search local stash with askSam.
Blinkx -- free download that promises it's not spyware.
Om Malik -- "blinkx blinkx"
Slashdot -- "Blinkx and you'll miss it"
Paul Rowlingson -- "blinkx 0.3.98"
John Batelle -- "Blinkx to launch"
Patrick O'Beirne "won't be giving up Wilbur from redtree.com anytime soon."
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July 13, 2004 in Search Engines | Permalink
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» Blinkx Online from IrishEyes
BLINKX -- I saw two users yesterday arrive here after using the . This search engine is way-Alpha--few bells and whistles but a nice clean look and feel. [Read More]
Tracked on Aug 18, 2004 2:08:03 PM
» Blinkx Online from IrishEyes
BLINKX -- I saw two users yesterday arrive here after using the . This search engine is way-Alpha--few bells and whistles but a nice clean look and feel. Plus this: blinkx caches lots of pages of results and presents them [Read More]
Tracked on Aug 18, 2004 2:11:24 PM
Comments
They do say they only have 10% of the web so far, so you probably have to give it some time to judge web results but the linking is awesome and it was great on my harddrive.
Posted by: Mark | Jul 26, 2004 12:24:14 PM
I can't see HD results.
My review is at
http://www.sysmod.com/cgi-bin/blosxom.cgi?Bernie
Posted by: Patrick O'Beirne | Aug 6, 2004 4:06:28 PM
I couldn't see the HD results and found that a composite of Google-Alexa-Vivisimo gave me better intelligence than the standalone Blinkx information. I'm happy with askSam taking stock of my hard drive. Considering these things, I pulled Blinkx from my computer after three weeks of occasional use.
Posted by: Bernie Goldbach | Aug 6, 2004 4:23:57 PM
You couldn't see the HD results? That's strange.... are you sure you tried the latest versions coz it seems pretty good to me and the linking is something really special.
Posted by: Mark | Aug 10, 2004 1:07:13 PM
I found your review on Blinkx...I'm no expert like you lot and I installed it only after it was brought to my attention by a friend you saw it in the Mail on Sunday and liked it. I find it really useful, I can suddenly find all my files and email and I wnader around the net from page to paqge follwoing the links. Perhaps you folks are too clever for this but for me its great, you all seem a bit harsh on something new and a bit different...open minds now!
Posted by: dickm | Aug 12, 2004 3:24:20 PM
I agree I've been a little harsh because I couldn't get the hard drive search function working straight away -- meaning I was looking for instant gratification. I'll reinstall blinkx for a second look.
But
It's hard to beat the information you get on Internet content from a composite view through Google, Alexa, Technorati, and Feedster. If you know how to read those results, you get better information about the veracity of information than by relying on a sole source. While Blinkx never alleged to provide this kind of cross-sectional analysis, some reviews herald it as a step up from Google or a better index of your hard drive than all manner of other programs. I can't agree with that assessment.
Posted by: Bernie Goldbach | Aug 12, 2004 3:37:00 PM
At the end of the day - you can't beat Google! :-)
Posted by: Digital Death | Sep 19, 2004 5:40:20 PM
After hearing a report on the local radio I decided to try out Blinkx. The lady on the show claimed that Blinkx will take over google and yahoo, as being one of the leading web search sites. I have been using Blinkx for about a week now and to be quite frank I don’t like it. It is very confusing, as it does not use key words to find sites. But I do like the indexing facility for the hard drive it is much faster than Microsoft search. The interface on the site is not great, as it does not clearly state what the buttons are all about and relies on the users power of recognition to navigate the system. A must look at feature on the Blinkx software is the video clip area when you look at the search results you get a real time view of each video clip I think this is very cool!!! Maybe a little more time on the systems interface and maybe the people at blinkx might have something worth looking at.
Posted by: paud | Oct 23, 2004 7:50:01 PM
In my opinion you can't beat google or yahoo for ease of use. They both contain a vast amount of information and if you are not sure of an address the keyword facility is a great advantage over other websites.
Posted by: Sully | Nov 16, 2004 10:42:29 AM
Better than OSX'x File Find, but Smart Folders didn't work for me. Full review: http://tinyurl.com/84pwj
Posted by: Matthew | May 24, 2005 1:25:33 AM
