Is an Apple Search Engine on Track?

Matthew Rothenberg: Here's an interesting tidbit from blog-daddy Dave Winer: On Friday, Dave remarked that he'd seen a week's worth of sharply elevated traffic headed his way from Apple.com. This spike whetted his curiousity about whether Cupertino might be testing out some sort of hitherto unannounced Web-searching facility. It's a compelling idea that fits nicely with Apple's efforts to put its own stamp on its customers' online experience, from e-commerce to e-mail to online storage. It's had its share of false starts (viz. eWorld), but Apple has kept on trucking. And in the realm of desktop search, the company has led the way with its Sherlock technology and the Spotlight capabilities slated for Mac OS X [base "]Tiger.[per thou] Now that it's beaten Google for brand recognition, is Apple ready to take on the upstart in the field of Web search?[Rothenberg's Mac Enterprise]