Mac OS Search Utility

I have a ReadyNAS Pro and I am experiencing the same issues on my Mac running 10.7. Not only does searching the ReadyNAS take a long time, but it does not return accurate results. For example, I search for files with certain words in the filename, and I only get a few results even though I know there are more. Also, there is no progress indicator in the Finder to show the status of the search. So I am left wondering whether the search is complete or not. Slower search speed is understandable since the ReadyNAS does not use a Spotlight index. But the lack of accuracy is unacceptable.

In all fairness, the inability of Macs to search ReadyNAS devices is not entirely Netgear's fault. This issue goes beyond Netgear. Let's put the blame where it belongs. It is Apple's arrogance/shortsightedness that we cannot reliably search a ReadyNAS, a Windows server, a Linux server, or anything that is not shared from another Mac.

Apple should not assume that Mac users will only connect to other Macs, or that Mac users will only search for files on Mac computers. Mac OS should be able to search for files regardless of the file sharing protocol or the operating system of the remote host. When connected to non-Mac systems, Mac OS should be able to perform ordinary filename searches without requiring indexing. Mac OS certainly had this capability before Spotlight ever existed. And as others have pointed out, the Terminal seems to be capable of straight-up searching unlike the "Finder" (emphasis mine). Is that Netgear's fault too?

Instead of blaming Netgear, Mac users should be telling Apple to fix the broken searching in Mac OS:

http://www.apple.com/feedback

https://bugreport.apple.com