A change in the wind

Apple's OS X 10.4 Tiger brings with it a fairly simple concept that I predict will make a significant change in how I use my computer for information retrieval. Apple introduced Spotlight, their name for a local search tool which indexes the content of files and folders for very quick location and retrieval. They did a nice job of it, although I till expect refinements to Spotlight. Some of the nice parts are good integration with the rest of the OS, a simple interface, and the ability to save searches as active folders. There are still some glitches to work out, but that will happen.

The implications are just now beginning to sink in as I play with it. For example, I have problems sometimes remembering where I put stuff. Not just computer files; real stuff. Like the summer quilt for the bed. We've been breaking heat records lately and it became time to put away the winter comforter for something lighter. Neither of us could remember where Joan put the comforter; it wasn't where she expected to find it. We looked for a couple of days before it turned up in the drawer of a chest, a very reasonable place, once we thought of it. This happens often with stuff that gets used once or twice a year. So what if I make a text file stored anywhere on this computer. In it I put a line of key words: where is, locate, find, look for ... whatever is likely to be a part of finding something. Then I add a line of text: comforter is in drawer in west bedroom chest. Presumably, I can then type in the Spotlight search field: find comforter and get back the answer I want.

Another example. When I get an email or web notice confirming a purchase, a delivery, or some other kind of receipt, I print it as a pdf file, an OS print option, and store it in a folder of receipts. I can then ask for receipts in the last month, for example, with a query such as "kind:pdf date:last month" and get back a list. If I add a word about the topic, I'll get the file itself. I don't have to organize this stuff in detail or add a bunch of key words, although there is a tool for that as well. It's all found for me regardless of where I put it. Combine that with smart folders, a tool called Automator, and Spotlight provides really simple information retrieval without having to write code. THAT will change computing where it matters, in the hands that touch the keyboard. Major change, cleanly done.

Cool.