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Google Adds Features and Plugin to Desktop Search
Matthew Bischoff writes "Today Google added new features to its popular desktop software. Google
Desktop now supports alternative Netscape based browsers like Firefox,
PDFs, images, video, and music files. Google also added a plug-ins
feature so that developers can integrate their software into the Google Desktop
catalog. Another new addition is a supported way to search from Google's deskbar
software. It's probably a matter of time until we see desktop search integrated
into all of the Google products including the controversial Google
Toolbar 3." Google Desktop is also officially now out of beta.
If you go to toolbar.google.com in firefox (or Netscape, I assume), they now promote the open-source googlebar extension for Firefox. They also offer a toolbar 3.x beta for IE now.
Also, they have setup a download page where you can grab individual download packages, or all of their packages in one zip file. www.google.com/downloads/
And of course there was the slashdot article, the other day describing the new Weather feature and Gmail Improvements.
Also, good to see Google isn't doing an eternal beta on this product like its Google News offering (the whole beta thing gets annoying after 2 continuous years!)
That's a legal issue. If Google starts making money from other news sites without actually paying them, then they risk legal action for use of copyrighted material. Right now, they have no ads because this (in theory) puts them in the fair use section
--
Free iPod? Try a free Mac Mini
Or a free Nintendo DS, GC, PS2, Xbox
Wired article as proof
I think most Slashdotters will be pleased (or at least would be, if they used IE) with the new Spellcheck feature on the Google Toolbar. That's a pretty cool feature.
The ability to search PDF's seems like it could be useful if it is actually searching inside the PDF. I haven't actually seen another Windows based tool do that, so for me this could make Google Desktop more than the "toy" it is (for me) at the moment (It doesn't do anything a structured file system cannot).
So good improvements. I can't see what is so controversial about the toolbar though.
- Jax
The only reason the Google Toolbar 3 is controversial is because Slashdotters haven't taken the time to look at how it really works. Most think that the Autolink feature creates links that weren't put there by the page's creator (automatically linking an address to Google maps, for instance). In reality, you have to visit a page then click the Autolink button. It's automatic in a semi-automatic gun kind of way. Sure, it's doing a lot of stuff on its own, but it needs you to start telling it to do so before it starts. Not controversial since it's use is optional.
You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life. --Winston Churchill
There is a plugin for this new version of Google Desktop search that allows you to specify additional file extensions to search as text files - for example, your .c and .h files.
It finds files by content, and much faster than does the Windows search. Without indexing on, Windows must search every file individually. With the caching on, it's somewhat faster, but still abysmally slow compared to Google's search. There were some very painful limitations until now, particularly the lack of PDF searches. I'm hoping that there will be some ability to customize the searches somewhat further to allow for searching straight text files like .c, .h, or .php.
Google's search utility uses a variant of their own caching technology to make searches much faster. The new plug-in technology will allow someone to make add-ons for searching code.
You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
Google's privacy policies state that:
1.) Any information on you is fair game.
2.) They will happily turn over any information they have on you at any government request.
3.) Your Gmail may reside on their servers indefinitely, even after you delete it. This may also be "indexed" on their servers and the contents read at any time.
Since you claim that this information is in Google's privacy policy, can you provide a link?
Let me quote first from Google's deskbar privacy policy http://desktop.google.com/privacypolicy.html/
Your computer's content is not made accessible to Google or anyone else without your explicit permission.
Now let me quote from Google's gmail privacy policy http://gmail.google.com/gmail/help/privacy.html/
Because we keep back-up copies of data for the purposes of recovery from errors or system failure, residual copies of email may remain on our systems for some time, even after you have deleted messages from your mailbox or after the termination of your account. Google employees do not access the content of any mailboxes unless you specifically request them to do so (for example, if you are having technical difficulties accessing your account) or if required by law, to maintain our system, or to protect Google or the public.
Now feel free to link to the privacy policy of any company in the USA that claims to protect your privacy even after martial law is declared and claims that your data is deleted from their servers the instant you hit delete.
I trust google-watch even less than google.
Here's why.