Google Desktop for Mac released

[admin]

Google Desktop for Mac released
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Posted by: Brian

Google has released Google Desktop for Mac, a desktop search application that gives you easy access to information on your Mac and from the web. According to the company, Google Desktop makes searching your own email, files, music, photos, and more as easy as searching the web with Google. The application requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later, and runs on both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs. The features include:

Quick Search Box
The Quick Search Box is your fastest way to do web and desktop searches and launch applications. You can call it up by pressing the Command key twice, and hide it by pressing Command key twice again. Type a few letters or words into the search box and your top results pop up instantly, including applications. For example, you can launch iTunes simply by typing "itu" into the Quick Search Box and pressing Return when iTunes appears as the first result.

Search Your Gmail and Web History
Not everything you're looking for lives on your Mac. Whether you're searching your computer or the Internet, Google Desktop helps you find it by searching your Gmail and web history along with your hard drive. Also because your index is stored locally on your own computer, you can even access your Gmail and web history while you're offline.

File Types
Google Desktop automatically indexes and allows you to search the full text of virtually all your files, including the following types:
- Gmail
- text files (.txt)
- PDF
- HTML
- email from Apple Mail and Microsoft Entourage
- iChat transcripts
- Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
- music and video files, including artist and song names
- Address Book contacts
- system preference panes
- file and folder names
- Google Desktop also searches file types that have a Spotlight importer.

Familiar Results
When you do a Desktop search, you'll see a list of search results. Each result, just like Google web search results, includes the file name and a brief snippet with your search terms highlighted. You can also filter for a particular type of item -- only emails, for instance -- by using the links at the top of your Desktop search results page.

Smart Indexing
After you install Google Desktop, it starts indexing the files that are already on your Mac. This one-time indexing is designed to peacefully co-exist with your normal work, so you can continue working while indexing takes place. Depending on how many files and other items you have on your computer, this process can take up to several hours. Once it's done, Desktop makes sure your index stays up to date by adding new email as you receive it, files as you update them, and web pages as you view them.

Google Integration
What if you already have the information you're looking for but don't realize it? When there are useful results on your Mac related to your Google web search, Google Desktop will include these files with your search results. There's also a simple command center for searching your computer, which you can access by clicking "Desktop" above the search box on Google.com.

File Versioning
Google Desktop creates cached copies (snapshots) of your files and other items each time you view them, and stores these copies on your Mac's hard drive. As a result, you can often use Desktop to find previous versions of your files or ones you've accidentally deleted.



http://www.123macmini.com/news/story/628.html

[Yvan256]

[g5g5]

I think Spotlight and Quicksilver have me covered. I have to agree with Yvan256 though. It's still good to see Google release more software for OS X.
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1.25GHz Mac Mini / 1.8GHz iMac G5 / 2.0GHz C2D Mac mini (2009)
4GB iPod mini / 2G iPod shuffle / 16GB iPhone 3G
Apple TV 2
iLife's a Bitch!

[Ben Tex]

I'm not crazy about having the extra background indexing, but I'll probably give it a shot here today.

[picaman]

Gruber at Daring Fireball has an interesting write-up about this. Evidently the install sprays files all over the place, some in suspicious places:

http://daringfireball.net/2007/04/google_desktop_installer

Given the similarity to Spotlight, I'd think twice before installing this.



Jamie
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I'm Jamie, and I approved this message.

[Ben Tex]

[D444niel]

I downloaded it and removed it almost straight away. I admit its very quick at searching for information however unless you have a very high resolution screen, its huge.
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Too much spec to add here ....

[TyPod]

I find that Spotlight works better for me. It's built into the menu-bar and is out of the way. I don't really like widget-like programs running on my desktop.

[scooper]

[dirtychinchilla]

Well I like it, what spotlight doesn't do is search on the go and just pressing enter doesn't launch the top result. I'll be using it, and the shortcut is, as mentioned, very clever.

[mojofrojo]

Is Picasa available for the mac now? Been waiting for it for some time now since I dont like the way Iphoto indexes pics.

[aquaman]

[Tuishimi]

I have it. Installed it yesterday and the indexer is STILL running! Still, it is pretty responsive and quite a quick little application. I think it might have a few interface bugs, I don't see how it could possibly still be indexing, but that is what the app says.

Otherwise, so far I like it. I might try it out for a little while.
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Mac mini core 2 duo 2.33/2 GB RAM/160 GB 5K160, Dell 20.1" wide-aspect
24 inch iMac 2.4/4 GB Ram/320 GB/VESA
Shuttle Glamor, core 2 quad 2.4/4 GB RAM/2x250GB SATA 2, BENQ 24"

[Tuishimi]

Hmmmmm. Just noticed that mdimport has been crashing regularly since installing google desktop. Time to uninstall. For now I have disabled it to see if it was causing the problem. But even if it doesn't, I will uninstall.
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Mac mini core 2 duo 2.33/2 GB RAM/160 GB 5K160, Dell 20.1" wide-aspect
24 inch iMac 2.4/4 GB Ram/320 GB/VESA
Shuttle Glamor, core 2 quad 2.4/4 GB RAM/2x250GB SATA 2, BENQ 24"

[rosco]