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HotBot Quick Search Deskbar 3.1.6

Reviewed by

Jeff Bertolucci

on 10/11/2004

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CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
Detailed editors' rating
Average user rating: Write your own review

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The good: Integrates searches of your hard drive and the Web into one interface; includes a file viewer and RSS newsreader.

The bad: Quirky performance; weak help section.

The bottom line: Lycos's HotBot Desktop provides a glimpse of the future, combining desktop and Internet searches, but other apps actually deliver these features now.

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CNET editors' review

CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
Detailed editors' rating

Reviewed by:
Jeff Bertolucci
Edited by:
Robert Vamosi
Reviewed on: 10/11/2004
Released on: 08/21/2003

Lycos's HotBot Desktop provides a glimpse of the future of PC search. Unlike Lookout and X1 Search, which comb through only your local drives, HotBot Desktop merges Web and hard drive search into one compact interface that fits inside an Internet Explorer toolbar. It also provides an RSS newsreader, handy for staying up-to-date on news and blogs from around the Web. You can index and search RSS feeds, too. Even better: the HotBot Desktop download is free.

Installing HotBot Desktop is easy: launch the 1.5MB setup file, and you're up and running in a couple of minutes. The HotBot Desktop toolbar is a marvel of space-saving efficiency, with easily identifiable buttons that provide fast access to popular tools including HotBot's search menu, newsreader, and pop-up blocker. A single search window allows both Web and local searches. How does HotBot Desktop know where to search? A drop-down menu to the right of the search window lists several options, including Search the Web, Search E-mail, Search Files, and so on.