Digital Equipment Corp says it will release a string of extensions for Windows 95 and Windows NT capitalizing on the Alta Vista name once again. DEC announced products for workgroups and corporates under the Alta Vista banner in May (CI No 2,907) and observers are beginning to wonder if it shouldn’t just change the sign at its Maynard, Massachusetts headquarters. The latest batch are called the Alta Vista Private eXtensions, and the first, the AltaVista ‘Search My Computer’ Private eXtension beta release for Windows95 and Windows NT, is available free for downloading, and enables users to create an index of their personal desktop – which sounds as if it has all the allure of filling in a Filofax from scratch. Alta Vista Private eXtension performs keyword searches in a split second, DEC says – but users must regularly commit processing time to indexing the contents of their hard disks. Alta Vista Private eXtension includes scheduling components for automatic updates, so the user can choose when to indexing. The tool also enables users to search downloaded electronic mail, and attachments by keyword in seconds. DEC reckons that if Private eXtension becomes established on the desktop, it will woo users to the Alta Vista search engine on the Web. A commercial version for October is not yet priced.
