Blinkx (www.blinkx.com) announced on April 4 the newest version of its PC search software, which combines search results from a user's hard drive and from the Internet in a single results list. Blinkx 3.0, which recognizes more than 200 file formats, and which can be downloaded for free at www.blinkx.com, also features improved security, a document-preview function and the ability to index new files, such as Lotus Notes e-mail messages and attachments. The improved security comes in the form of support for Windows security profiles. The Blinkx tool will now recognize if more than one person uses a PC and index their documents separately, restricting access to the appropriate user.
Suranga Chandratillake, the company's founder and chief technology officer, said that providing one set of results is important because when people search for information, they don't view the sources as segmented between their PCs and the Internet, that over one million people use the Blinkx software, that Blinkx's search technology has generated interest because instead of relying only on keyword-based queries, Blinkx reads users' screens and, based on that information, flags documents from their PCs and from the Internet, and that in addition to its desktop software, Blinkx also has a search engine on its website whose highlight is an index of audio and video content that lets users find and play back radio and television clips.
