From MOSR
Sherlock might not remain a free application forever; there are signs that Apple may be planning to make it part of .Mac in a future system update (probably OS X 10.3). Although significant new functionality will be added, Sherlock would be based around connecting to Apple servers and acting not only as a generalized Internet search engine, but also a centralized place to "find and track things to do on the Web"
I think this would be a tragedy. If true, the whole .Mac thing is beginning to sound very AOL-like. This would certainly be a case of pushing people one step too far. As it is, Sherlock's web search is d@mn near worthless (long live Google). Why give us an app we have to pay to use? That's dirty and tasteless.
I would be with Mr. Flibble on this subject.