MSDN - Why can't MSDN Library have a good search facility?

Author

Why can't MSDN Library have a good search facility?

Bob

2005-08-31, 6:55 pm

Hi,

I have been a MSDN Library user since it was first introduced. It certainly
beat anything on the market then. It has incremental search of topics and
some rudimentary search facility.

But that was the days before Lycos, Yahoo, AltaVista, MSN and Google, just
to name a few.

As a result, I am progressively becoming disappointed and disenchanted with
the MSDN Library's search facility. It is still as rudimentary as it was
first introduced. I often go to Google to find articles that I could not
locate using the MSDN rudimentary search facility. Before you jumped in, I
often went back to the MSDN library with the given title and found the very
articles and went on from there.

I have not tried using the Web MSN Search facility. I am thinking of
configuring the MSN Desktop search but they are not CHM files. Does anyone
know if there is a filter for MSN Desktop Search to deal with MSDN?

Even search engine like Google and MSN Search is powerful in raw
performance, it is still relatively dumb in deduction such as allowing a
users to say "Want this and not that or that and something like this" but
still better than the latest MSDN Library. www.vivisimo.com has a much
better presentation of information than Google, which just dumps the lot to
the user to sort it out yourself.

If you venture into a shop where the sales person dumps the lot in front of
you leaving it to your own device, I doubt you will stay there for too long
or recommend that to your friend.

I have hardly encountered my Celeron spinning near 20-30% of CPU consumption
during search in my MSDN Library and surely the search facility need not be
so frugal - human brain power is far more expensive than silicon one that
also does not grow tied.

Will we be seeing any improvement in search facility in MSDN Library?

Thanks.

Bob

Rob Nicholson

2005-08-31, 6:55 pm

> As a result, I am progressively becoming disappointed and disenchanted
with
> the MSDN Library's search facility. It is still as rudimentary as it was

Good point, does seem rather arcane doesn't it. I wonder if you could point
Google personal search at the folder?

Cheers, Rob.

2005-09-01, 3:55 am

B- [Thu, 1 Sep 2005 00:48:39 +1000]:
>As a result, I am progressively becoming disappointed and disenchanted with
>the MSDN Library's search facility. It is still as rudimentary as it was

Have a few example searches that don't do what
you want? I don't have any real complaints
on it from that perspective (I'd like to size
the fonts), but I usually search just for APIs,
and then, usually, the CE ones.

--
40th Floor - Software @ http://40th.com/
iPlay : the ultimate audio player for mobiles
parametric eq, xfeed, reverb; all on a mobile

Bob

2005-09-03, 7:55 am

"Rob Nicholson" <informed@community.nospam> wrote in message
news:%234Zz3clrFHA.3596@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl...
> with
>
> Good point, does seem rather arcane doesn't it. I wonder if you could
> point
> Google personal search at the folder?
>
> Cheers, Rob.
>
>
I am surprised to see Microsoft releasing MSN Desktop Search and *not*
including a filter to target those .HXS files:-( May be Google search will
beat MSN Desktop Search to past the post.

I have been experimenting of using site:support.microsoft.com or
site:msdn.microsoft.com to enhance the Google Search.

Bob

Bob

2005-09-16, 3:55 am

Try
www.google.com/microsoft

Will we see search.msn.com to have one to search MSDN or even Microsoft
related?

Leon
<hel@40th.com> wrote in message
news:eB4vbIqrFHA.3352@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> B- [Thu, 1 Sep 2005 00:48:39 +1000]:
>
> Have a few example searches that don't do what
> you want? I don't have any real complaints
> on it from that perspective (I'd like to size
> the fonts), but I usually search just for APIs,
> and then, usually, the CE ones.
>
> --
> 40th Floor - Software @ http://40th.com/
> iPlay : the ultimate audio player for mobiles
> parametric eq, xfeed, reverb; all on a mobile

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