Like any similar application, YDS is of limited usefulness until it has completed indexing the contents of your computer. Because this can be a fairly CPU- and disk-intensive process, you can decide when indexing can take place, opting to have it occur continually, at a specific time of day, or only when the system is idle.
You can also choose to disable indexing entirely, and you can even apply these schedules individually to the indexing of files, IMs, e-mail, and contacts. YDS also gives you a high degree of control over what data gets indexed, allowing you to exclude file extensions, e-mail, folders, etc. You even get to decide where the index files reside, so you can put them on a drive with the most free space.
Current Shortcomings
Despite its considerable strengths, there are also a couple of critical shortcomings in the current (beta) release of YDS. Most notably, while the client does index instant messages (IMs) from its Yahoo! Messenger client, YDS doesn't index any form of instant messaging communications from other IM tools, and inasmuch as IM software is often used in lieu of e-mail this can prove inconvenient. (We personally have often found useful Web links within indexed IM conversations.)
Also unlike Google, YDS additionally declines to index your browser cache and history, citing the privacy ramifications. These are of course valid concerns, but since useful nuggets of information can often be found in a previously visited Web page, we'd rather see the user have the option of indexing them if desired.
It's worth noting that irrespective of the content type, YDS can only index local drives, so shared folders from other clients, servers, or network-attached storage devices are unsearchable. Then again, none of the other free desktop search utilities features this capability either (though the $74.95 X1 Desktop Search product does include this feature). YDS does not index files belonging to other users on the same system and sure enough, searches didn't turn up such files.
Finally, YDS took an inordinately long time to initialize (nearly a minute on our test system) during Windows startup. This didn't technically prolong the boot process since the system was still responsive while YDS was loading, but it was annoying nonetheless since it caused the immovable YDS splash screen to anchor in the center of the screen, obstructing all other application windows until YDS completed loading. (Fortunately, you can disable the splash screen via the configuration options.)
Overall, Yahoo! Desktop Search distinguishes itself with seemingly endless file support, search sorting capability, and the convenience of its preview pane. If maintaining the privacy of your browsing activity is a priority, or if you don't want or need to search Web or IM information, then Yahoo! Desktop Search should make short work of finding information tucked away in the corners of your computer.
Date of Original Review: January 9, 2005 Updated: September 29, 2005 (v1.2 Official Release)
Pros: Extensive file support, versatile preview pane lets you view and often act on files without needing to launch host applications, useful search sorting capabilities, ability to search compressed files
Cons: Currently lacks support for indexing Web pages and IM chats, two important features found in competing clients such as Google Desktop Search; will only index local drives (as opposed to shared network drives or folders); takes an inordinately long time to initialize
