I loved Windows 8 Search! It was my favorite feature. I was very disappointed when I loaded Windows 8.1 to find it had been redesigned. How can the speed and functionality of Windows 8 Search be brought to the new Windows 8.1 Search and its design? These are my thoughts.





Don’t drag me out to the web

Windows 8 search instantly became a critical part of my workflow because when I was staring at the start screen, it was very natural to type what I was looking for. "The Office" for example. In 8 Search, the search "The Office" would be captured, and from there I could see if it was available on Hulu, Netflix, or order it from Amazon by selecting those Apps. If it wasn't available in Netflix, I could pull up search again and check Amazon. Windows 8.1 captures my “The Office” and shows me web results and the NBC website, which drag me through the browser and back to Hulu, Amazon, or Netflix Windows 8.1 has moved Bing Web Search to the focus, compared to direct Apps results in Windows 8. Windows search should exhaust options available from Windows 8 Apps I’ve installed before taking me out to the broad web. It is inexcusable that a search for a contact I have leads me to a Bing web search for their name. Get smarter and use the content on my computer. I know Microsoft is pushing Bing, but forcing it on users will cause a retreat into the desktop and start menu emulator apps.





I’m not looking for an App, but content in that App

I’m searching just to open the Amazon app, or the People app. I’m searching for content in my Apps, a specific contact in the People app, or “The Office” in the Netflix App. Now in Windows 8.1, I have to type “Hulu”, open the Hulu app, and then reopen the search interface to search for “The Office”. Windows 8 captured my search input, and allowed me to choose the app to search for the content. It matched how my mind worked, leading to joyous efficiency. Windows 8.1 could improve on this by pulling results from likely apps automatically. A search for “The Office” could show results directly from the content apps like Hulu, and Netflix.





Search leads to a New Activity

Searches lead to opening different apps, and new content. It doesn’t make sense to compact the search interface, wastefully maximizing space for the previous content that the user is navigating away from. I’m starting a new task, show it to me. Search should press the previous active app into the side partial view, freeing up space to show actual results, instead of basic search suggestions. In fact, bring the hero search interface out to fill the screen and lay it out for me, and be reactive as I’m typing. Pressing enter is so 2003. Also, don’t make me use that fiddly box for the search types (settings, files, everything), they should be free and visible.





The Dream

I hit Windows-S, type in “Geoffrey Cline”. The weather I was looking at slides away, the contact info from the people app is front and center, joined by recent emails and messages from their respective apps. The hero interface continues to the right like usual, showing web results, other apps, and more.





Ok, I’m done ranting