Google Desktop
From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, by MultiMedia
Google Desktop is Google's version of the desktop search that
runs locally on a Windows XP or Windows 2000 SP3+ PC. The desktop search
program allows full text search of all of one's e-mail, computer files,
music, photos, chat, and Web pages that one has viewed.
Google Desktop 2 Beta was released on August 22, 2005. The new feature
that distinguishes Desktop 2 from Desktop is the addition of Sidebar, a
panel that displays personalized information, which can be placed on
either side of the Windows desktop and can display real-time news,
e-mail, photos, stocks, and weather, among others. Sidebar includes a
search box that can search just the PC or Google's other search types
(like Web, Images, News, Groups.)
Google Desktop 2.0 Final graduated from beta on November 3, 2005. New
features include a sidebar plug-in for Google
Maps and more plug-in developer support.
Google Desktop
The GDS Sidebar sits on the user's desktop and displays
relevant information.
Maintainer: Google
Latest release: 2.0 / November 3rd, 2005
OS: Microsoft Windows
Genre: desktop search
Website: Desktop.Google.com/ |
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Technical
Introduction
After initially installing Desktop, the software completes a full
indexing of all the files mentioned above, after the initial indexing is
completed the software continues to index files as needed. Users can start
searching for files immediately after installing the program. After
performing searches, results are returned in an Internet browser on the
Desktop Home Page much like the results for Google Web searches.
Indexing
Like other Desktop search
programs,
Desktop indexes all the user's files for efficient searching. This is unlike
Windows XP's built-in search function which scans whole files instead of a
list. For a better understanding, consider this comparison: If one is trying
to find the title of a chapter of a book in a library Windows XP's search
will search through all the books in the library, whereas Desktop scans the
card catalog, a time-saving process.
Current supported file types are:
- E-mail
- Gmail
- Outlook
- Outlook Express
- Netscape Mail
- Mozilla Mail
- Mozilla Thunderbird
- Web history
- Internet Explorer
- Netscape / Firefox / Mozilla
- Microsoft Office documents
- Instant messenger chats
- AOL Instant Messenger
- MSN Messenger
- Other
- PDF
- Music
- Video
- Images
- More file types available through use of plug-ins.
Features
Google Desktop features the following functionality (not a complete
list):
Sidebar
The main new feature with Google Desktop is its sidebar. The side bar
consists of several panels which display information. The Sidebar comes
pre-packed with the following panels:
- Email - a panel which lets one view one's
Gmail messages.
- Scratch Pad - here one can store random notes; they are saved
automatically
- Photos - displays a slideshow of photos from the "My
Pictures" folder (address can be changed)
- News - shows the latest headlines from
Google News, and how long ago they were
written. The News panel is personalized depending on the type of news
you read.
- Quick View - gives a list of recently viewed Web pages,
including the option to make some of them one's favourites, so they
always stay at the top of the list.
- Web Clips - shows recent posts from your favourite RSS feeds.
- Google Talk - If you have
Google talk installed, double clicking
the window title will dock it to one's sidebar.
When minimized, the sidebar will become either a Deskbar, or a Floating
Deskbar, depending on which one was displayed last. The default is a
Floating Deskbar. To minimize the sidebar, click on the horizontal line in
the top-right hand corner of the sidebar. Like the Windows Taskbar, the GDS
sidebar can be set to Auto-Hide mode, where it will only appear once the
user moves his or her mouse towards the side where it resides. If not on
auto-hide, the sidebar will always take up about 1/6 of one's screen, and
other windows are forced to resized. With the auto-hide feature on, the
sidebar temporarily overlaps your maximised window.
Additional panels can be downloaded from Google Desktop Plugins.
All plugins can be moved and reordered. Several options are also available
for each panel.
Another feature that comes with the sidebar is alerts. When the Sidebar is
minimized (see above) new e-mail and news can be displayed on a pop-up
window above your Windows Task Bar. This is configurable via the main
sidebar menu, accessible by clicking on the arrow in the top-right of the
sidebar.
Quick Find
When searching in your sidebar, deskbar or floating deskbar, Google
Desktop displays a "Quick Find" window. This window is filled with 6 (number
can be changed) most relevant results from your computer, so you can get to
what you want on your computer without having to open another browser
window.
Deskbars
Deskbars are not a new feature to Google Deskbar. They are a box which
enables one to type in your search query directly from one's desktop. Web
results will open in a browser window, and selected computer results will be
displayed in the "Quick Find" box (see above). A Deskbar can either be a
fixed deskbar, which sits in your Windows Taskbar, or a Floating Deskbar,
which one may position anywhere one wants on one's desktop.
Google Desktop add-in for Microsoft Outlook
A new feature is an add-in for Microsoft Outlook. It enables one to
search all of one's Outlook e-mails using Google Desktop's Index, rather
than using Outlook's inefficient search functions.
Google Desktop add-in for Microsoft Outlook Express
It allow to search Outlook Express e-mails using Google Desktop's Index,
direct from Outlook Express toolbar. Google Desktop Search for Outlook
Express.
Plug-ins
Google offers an SDK for people who wish to write plug-ins for Google
Desktop. These plug-ins can increase the functionality of the program, such
as allowing for indexing of more file types or addition of panels to the
sidebar.
Disadvantages
Current limitations of the Google Desktop system are:
- No substring search support
- No boolean search support
- Google Desktop indexes only the first 10,000 words. Thus many
documents may be missing from the results page. According to the Google
FAQ, this limit cannot be changed.
History
Google Desktop was originally developed in the wake of file and Web
search capabilities that would be offered in the next major release of
Microsoft Windows called Vista, formerly codenamed Longhorn (slated for
release in 2006). Some claim that Google Desktop, as well as Vista's Desktop
Search, was inspired by Spotlight, a competing technology that is currently
being shipped with Mac OS X v10.4.
Desktop received much attention because it may allow reverse engineering of
Google's proprietary search algorithm.
See also
External links
Google Guide made by MultiMedia | Free content and software
This guide is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
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