Sat - October 18, 2003

Ambrosia Software offers yet another search tool for OS X. Does the world need it? 

Sherlock is far slower than its detective namesake. Safari searches the web more quickly but it uses only Google's web search. Can't anyone create a faster, more flexible internet search tool for the Macintosh?

Someone can.

Ambrosia Software's new $15 iSeek application for OS X places a search input field right in the Finder's menu bar, where it can be accessed from any program. You can choose from a number of preset general search sites, such as Yahoo!, Google, and Google Images. Or, if you prefer, you can search more specialized sites, such as Google News, Wired, and Amazon.com. Definitions in the dictionary, synonyms in the thesaurus, or famous quotes that reference a word are now just a click or a hot key away.

Unlike Sherlock or Karelia's Watson, iSeek will only search one of these sites at a time—launching your favorite web browser to do so—but Ambrosia incorporates convenient shortcuts to speed search engine selection. The up and down arrow keys scroll sequentially through potential sites, while the tab key quickly moves through categories of sites, such as News, Macintosh, and Entertainment. Each site can be assigned a hot key to select it instantly.

If you frequently perform the same search, you'll be delighted with iSeek's auto-complete feature, which automatically finishes a search string with the last search that matches those letters. And if typing skills aren't your strength, you'll be pleased that iSeek spell checks search strings too.

No matter how many sites a search application includes, you'll always think of one more that you desperately need. With iSeek, this poses no problem. You can add new sites in at least three ways: By downloading site URL's from a database on Ambrosia's web site, by exchanging them with other iSeek users through email, the web, or the Ambrosia database, or by using iSeek's built-in new sites editor. The latter requires parsing through search query URLs and cutting and pasting appropriate prefixes and suffixes into iSeek, which may be daunting to novice internet users. One hopes that Ambrosia can do more to automate the process in future versions.

So many search utilities are available to the Macintosh market now that it's fair to ask whether the world needs another one. Users who conduct infrequent searches but want the convenience of searching multiple portals at the same time will find Apple's free Sherlock application slow but perfectly acceptable. For $29, Watson offers a faster, more robust solution for dedicated searchers—and a host of other options to boot—but with Google search built into Safari, Watson's search tools seem increasingly dated. iSeek fills a niche between these applications, providing a more convenient way for power searchers to move quickly between different search engines. Whether that convenience is worth half the cost of Watson is something only the market can decide.

Overall rating: B+/A- Thoughtfulness of Design: A- (points off for the add new search tool) Ease of Use: A- Interface: A- Price: B Pros: Convenient searching of multiple search engines from the menu bar. Backed by an excellent Macintosh shareware developer. Cons: Half the price of more advanced search products. Lacks the ability to search maps and perform telephone lookups right "out of the box." Tool to add new search sites may intimidate novice users. All searches open a new browser window—perhaps a future version could support Safari's tabs feature?