In the past, I might have used Google to find pages on the web, folder browsing and liberal cursing to find documents on my own computer, and the start menu or the command line to launch applications.

With desktop search, there is now a convergence of all three activities into a single search based interface.

Let’s review the current state of the art:

Google Desktop Search provides a single, speedy interface for finding any kind of content, either web pages or documents on my own computer. It also includes local applications in desktop search results.

MSN Desktop Search does the same, and also provides the ability to define easy-to-type shortcuts for launching applications or invoking web based search forms, as described by David Brunelle in MSN Desktop Search Hacks.

As a geek power user, search shortcuts are great: I can hit a single shortcut key regardless of what I’m doing, bring up a search box, and launch my key applications using concise shortcuts I’ve defined. It does hint at a day when lines between search, GUIs, and command lines are blurred.

It will be interesting to see to what extent these ideas will be incorporated into other desktop search applications, and to what extent such an interface because a mainstream way of launching applications. The lines will continue to get blurrier between content and applications, and between local versus web based applications. As this happens, the start menu or dock becomes less and less appropriate as a way of navigating to applications.