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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.
Great! Now if only IE and Windows were out of beta, we'd be set.
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!)
Get a free iPod Nano 4GB!
I assume they're not risking their "don't do any bad "-policy for this ?
So what -is- the catch ?
I am fedup with using the regurlar search in Windows, so I am defenitely in for some improvement.
Beta versions so far have featured a prominent image of Janet Jackson's bared breast as an interface element
No thanks i'm keepin it off my machine!
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 Google Toolbar now has a spell check built it. Now if it only had a feature that would electricute the user everytime he wrote something in 1337.
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
"Google Desktop Search can only be used when the account from which it was installed is logged in."
Yep, that lovely message is still there when I try to use it in my main work account.
Oh, well. Maybe next time.
Find every occurence of a name in 400MB worth of email in less than a second. Something that crashes Eudora and takes forever in Outlook.
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's controversial because some idiots can't tell the difference between an enabled-by-default feature on the default browser on a monopoly OS and a disabled-by-default feature on an optional additional program.
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.
People seem to be overlooking the real news contained in this story: a Google product actually out of beta. Surely a first?
No, they want to attract users.
Why am I supposed to like them, exactly?
You're not supposed to. However, I can tell you why other people like Google: because they make cool shit that's easy to use and useful as hell.
Frankly I prefer the honesty of a spam
Awww shit... looks like I'm feeding a troll here.
I'm not sure what Google is trying to do.
Make money?
GMail, no thanks. I DO NOT WANT CONTEXT-RELATED ADS EMBEDDED INTO MY EMAIL.
Embedded? Nope, they appear on the right side of the screen, similar to other free-mail service banner ads. So either you haven't used it, or you don't like the idea that their algorithm might actually find something you'd like to buy based on your email. I mean, I can't see how someone who understands how the technology works would be afraid of using it.
Desktop Search, no thanks: I DO NOT WANT CONTEXT-RELATED ADS EMBEDDED INTO MY DESKTOP.
Embedded in your desktop? I installed Google Desktop just now. It shows an icon in the bar near the time. No ads on my desktop. Perhaps you meant the desktop SEARCH RESULTS? Nope, none there, either. Sure, they may add some someday, but it doesn't bother me.
Then again, I don't expect to get everything cool for free. Yet Google surprises me most of the time on that front.
My desktop is not for sale as advertising space. If it were, then the revenue generated from it should be MINE, not Googles.
In other words, the services Google provides are worth nothing to you. That is fine, you don't have to use Google. However, I find it strange that someone would be pissed off that a commercial company might offer services in exchange for advertising revenue.
Have you been living on Earth long?
Ironically, the word ironically is often used incorrectly.
For example: I did a GDS search for the name of a server I was building last week.
Bam. I got every document I had about that server. The online change requests. The service requests to site engineering. The operational handbook I wrote. The inventory spreadsheet.
Wow. That was pretty cool.
I also found out that while GDS doesn't index networked drives/shares, it *will* include documents on the network that you have opened in its search results. That was pretty good too.
It's also useful on a couple of our intranet sites. Just this morning I had to find a change request for a server - using the search mechanism of our change system is difficult at best - but because I could search it in Google, it came up right away.
Photography, technology, and my dog Scout - http://mattstratton.com
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.
Why doesn't it also search GMail? That would be a real benefit. Or does it already and i just don't see this listed anywhere?
Kyle
http://www.unlogikal.net/
a) The data on your hard disk isn't encrypted so having an index encrypted doesn't buy you any real security.
b) Even if it was encrypted, the decryption key would have to also be on your computer for Google Desktop to use it anyway so would be fairly easily snarfable by someone who had enough access to get at the index.
c) Google Desktop runs as an http server on localhost. Anyone with enough access to get to the index could more easily query the Google interface directly for whatever they are interested in.
Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
I'm very familiar with google watch and I've actually quoted the very same exerpt that you have but what do you think this proves? I can link dozen's of pages that claim creationism has been scientifically proven and anything else that I'd like to prove. You said:
"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."
Someone asked you to show them where google's privacy policy makes these claims and then you post from googlewatch.org That's almost (well not really but you get the point) like quoting Microsoft on Linux's total cost of ownership
http://nyamenation.org/
I trust google-watch even less than google.
Here's why.