In part one of our overview of Windows 7, we look into Federated Search:
Windows Vista included the enhanced desktop search feature which helps users to readily locate files, e-mail messages, and other items on their PC . With the release of Windows Search 4.0, the performance of the search tool improved while adding much-needed manageability features for IT.
Windows 7 along with the desktop search, introduces Federated Search in which the scope of the search goes beyond your PC. You can now search for items in remote repositories from your PC. It is based on OpenSearch and the RSS format. Since it is based on open standards, it becomes very simple to create custom "search connectors" for your own remote repositories. For example, you can search Flickr or Twitter from within explorer.
There are already few search connectors available for download:
- Neowin Connector (Created by -Hiroshi-, more information)
- Flickr Search Connector
- YouTube Search Connector
- Google News Search Connector
- Google Blogs Search Connector
- Twitter Search Connector
- MSN Search
- Deviant Art Search
The Federated Search feature looks very promising. As more sites add support for OpenSearch, expect to see more search connectors emerging for Windows 7. This is nothing new for Microsoft as OpenSearch has already been implemented in Internet Explorer 7(& above) and SharePoint Search.
There is no official documentation yet, but it is believed there will be a Windows 7 Beta SDK released once the beta is officially available later this week.