And it's not just a pretty interface. Windows Vista has a built-in search service that runs all the time in the background, cataloging all the data on your hard drive and creating an index. Windows XP had a similar service, but it was in most cases turned off by default. It was also both slow and ineffective, and it did not deliver the goods in terms of faster delivery of search results. It was pretty much a failure all around.
The new Windows Search Engine service in Vista is derived in part from MSN Search, and it is fast and smart. It is also turned on by default. The search functionality offers both full-context search and searching by metadata. Metadata are data points collected by application data files. Microsoft Word, for example, collects information such as Title, Subject, Author, Manager, Company, and Keywords. If this data is filled in by the user, then Windows Vista will be able to index it. Microsoft will be smartly sucking up file properties like this, but it is up to application makers to promote this capability by, for example, exposing user-input fields for this type of data in their File > Save As dialogs.
Virtual Folders
Search is also the underpinning of several new user interface structures in Vista, including virtual folders. Simply put, virtual folders do not represent file system directories at all. Instead, think of them as pre-configured searches that run every time you open them. Each virtual folder has a specific set of criteria it looks for, and when you open it, it works in conjunction with the index created by the Windows Search Engine to scour your entire hard disk for all files associated with the keywords behind the virtual folder.
 Think of a virtual folder as a pre-configured search of all your data. It runs automatically every time you open the folder. The files that are displayed inside a virtual folder are not actually contained by that folder. Virtual folders are not directories, but collections of links to files related by keywords. Click to Enlarge |
Some actual examples may help get this idea across. Windows Vista Beta 1 comes with a useful set of existing Virtual Folders, including All Music, Albums, All Documents, All Videos, and Authors. When you open the Authors virtual folder, for example, you'll see separate "stacks" (you can think of a stack as a virtual sub-folder) of files that were each created by the same person. So the Authors virtual folder might contain 17 stacks, each of which are made up of documents created by a co-worker, family member, or friend anyone you might have shared documents or other data files with. For example, the memo your boss wrote last January might be a lot easier to find in the Authors virtual folder than by traditional means. And what better way to collect all the individual music tracks on a CD than by checking the Albums virtual folder?
By combining resources and expertise, the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium will offer a blueprint for how industries can adapt to an AI-dominated future.
IT leaders should heed the guidance of cybersecurity insurance providers who think businesses should prioritize security education, incident preparedness, regular internal audits, and ongoing vulnerability scanning and patching.
There are many network courses that can address your present job's priorities and help you gain the needed skills to keep pace with industry changes and new technologies.
