Blinkx upgrades search tool

Blinkx on Monday plans to unveil 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.

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, said Suranga Chandratillake, the company’s founder and chief technology officer. “As a user, you don’t think that way,” he said.

Blinkx’s new version, Blinkx 3.0, also features improved security, a document-preview function and the ability to index new files, such as Lotus Notes e-mail messages and attachments, he said. The product recognizes more than 200 file formats, Chandratillake said.

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, Chandratillake said.

Also, Blinkx 3.0 pops up a preview of a document when the user hovers over its search result.

Blinkx, a start up company with about 30 employees, launched Version 1.0 of the software in July of last year and followed with Blinkx 2.0 in November. Over one million people use the Blinkx software, he said.

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. Blinkx works in the background and displays search results when prompted by the user.

In addition to its desktop software, Blinkx also has a search engine on its Web site whose highlight is an index of audio and video content that lets users find and play back radio and television clips.

The speed and quality at which Blinkx is upgrading its search tool is impressive, considering it is a small start up company, said Gary Stein, a Jupiter Research analyst. “They seem like a very dedicated and focused group. It shows what a small group of very smart people with the right resources can do,” Stein said.

The pace of innovation Blinkx is keeping is also remarkable, as is the effect it is having on its much bigger rivals, Stein said. Since the launch of the Blinkx tool in mid-2004, Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft often seem to be looking at the smaller competitor for clues on the direction they should be heading towards in search, Stein said.

“Blinkx is not a flash in the pan,” Stein said. “It faces monumental competitors, but I think Blinkx is just dedicated to building compelling search technology as opposed to unseating the market leader.”

Blinkx 3.0 can downloaded for free at http://www.blinkx.com.