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Google Desktop 4 Released

From the Google Desktop Blog:

Google Desktop 4 is available in English. Plus there are now beta versions of Google Desktop in 27 languages (up from 16). So now just about everyone will be able to use the latest and greatest Google Gadgets.

[…] Check out the Google Desktop Gadget Designer, a new developer tool for creating, maintaining and debugging gadgets faster than before. You can now easily manage your projects and files, visually design your gadget UI (no need to handcode the xml), edit your script code and preview changes instantly (no more restarts), view debug messages with the built-in debug console, automatically generate the gadget package and manifest and much more in an integrated development environment. The designer is available for download as part of the latest Google Desktop SDK.

But wait, there’s more! We’re announcing a Google Desktop Gadget Contest for developers, with $8,000 in cash prizes. The contest is only open for the next month, so put on your coding hat and start churning out those cool gadgets you’ve always wanted. Good luck and have fun!

Go ahead and have fun!

June 28th, 2006 Posted by Coolz0r | Products, Desktop, Desktop Search, Search, General | 2 comments



Google Shows Well On Top Products List

PC World has once again released its list of the top 100 products of the year, its always interesting and vaguely defined listing of “tech stuff that is good”. Google Earth is sixth on the list, with appearances by Google Search (#17), Blogger (#33), Google Desktop Search (#47). Oh, and Firefox, an open source project somewhat funded by Google and somewhat run by Google employees, is #12.

On the Microsoft front, the Xbox 360 shows all the way down at number 89. Ouch, and what? How is the hot and popular Xbox rated lower than the floundering and stagnant Blogger? Other Microsoft products: Windows Live Local (#39), and the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 Keyboard (#54).

Other products of note:

  • YouTube.com (#9) - Google Video competitor. Google did not make the list.
  • Apple Boot Camp (#10) - Yes, software to run Windows on a Mac is high on the list, while Windows is not on it at all.
  • Ubuntu Linux distribution (#27) - So, operating systems are allowed. Are you telling me Windows XP doesn’t beat anything on this list?
  • Yahoo Mail (#30) - Gmail and Hotmail didn’t make the list.
  • TiVo (#31) - Okay, how about Windows Media Center?
  • Opera 9 (#48)
  • Yahoo Maps (#56) - Again, no Google Maps
  • Yahoo Music Engine (#73)
  • Yahoo Flickr (#78)
  • Yahoo del.icio.us (#93)
  • Amazon A9 Toolbar (#96)

Oh, and on their top companies of the year list, Yahoo was named Web Company of the Year, Apple the Hardware Company of the Year, while Sony was the Worst Company of the Year.

Hat-tip: Frank at the Google Earth blog, who writes about the list here.

Interestingly, Windows Live Local is listed number 39, Yahoo Maps is listed number 56. But, Google Maps doesn’t even make it on the list - which just doesn’t seem right.

Agreed.

June 6th, 2006 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Google Maps, Products, Google Earth, Blogger, Amazon, Google Video, Services, Yahoo, Gmail, Email, Search, Desktop Search, Microsoft, Desktop, General | 3 comments

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Google Desktop Indexes Google Talk Chats

I recently noticed that Google Desktop has been indexing my Google Talk chats ever since I upgraded to the latest version of Google Desktop. Chats show up in search results just like AIM conversations with the little yellow icon. And the colors of the indexed message are the same as an AIM conversation, as you can see by this screenshot of a Google Talk conversation.
screenshot of Google Talk conversation in Google Desktop

Wikipedia noticed this two months ago, but apparently all the blogs including Nathan’s missed it. Just thought I’d hijack some space and impart a bit of wisdom. And I was getting lonely over at AppleWatch, so I’ll be posting here from time to time.

April 11th, 2006 Posted by Jason Schramm | Talk, Desktop, Desktop Search, General | 3 comments

How To Reindex Google Desktop?

This one kind of surprises me. Turns out there’s one glaring omission in Google Desktop: It doesn’t notice when you move a file. As reported by the Mercury News, when you move a file around on your computer, Google Desktop Search doesn’t notice it. Since GDS only indexes when you install it, and adds new files to the index as you create / edit them. However, it doesn’t scan your hard drive, even when you’re doing absolutely nothing, so if it doesn’t catch your files in the first place, it never will.

This is a pretty annoying problem, and Google’s solution is just plain stupid. To reindex your hard drive, Google suggests you uninstall and then reinstall Desktop Search. Really? You expect to compete with Windows Vista with this?

MSN Desktop Search indexes your hard drive when you’re doing nothing. Why can’t Google do that, or during off hours, or at least have a button to trigger a reindexing? I’d think that reindexing was pretty important. Maybe Google wants to build that feature in before Windows Vista (and its robust, integrated desktop search) hits stores later this year.
(via Barry Schwartz)

March 6th, 2006 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Products, Desktop, Desktop Search, General | 17 comments

Google Desktop Vs. Corporate IT

Silicon.com takes a look at some corporate IT departments that are worried about employees installing the latest version of Google Desktop Search on their systems. They worry that their corporate data is getting transferred over to Google’s servers, and rightfully so.

Analyst Gartner last week warned that the ’search across computers’ feature on the latest version of Google Desktop poses an “unacceptable risk” to many organisations because it allows people to share information and also stores some of that data on Google servers.

Richard Steel, head of ICT at Newham, said: “This is because Newham data will be copied onto Google servers and kept there indefinitely. There is no contract in place between Newham and Google for secure data handling, and under their terms and conditions, they retain the right to search the data for their own purposes.”

Now, we’ve all heard the arguements that Desktop doesn’t steal your data, that you have to turn on the feature yourself, but the fact of the matter is, there are a huge number of companies that simply don’t want you taking the files on your work computer and storing them anywhere else, let alone on the servers of another major corporation.

This isn’t about privacy, or about Google, but about simple network policies. There are many programs that allow you to do things that your company’s IT department doesn’t want you doing, either out of paranoia or policy. It’s usually a bad idea to go against that, and I think you’ll find more companies uninstalling and banning desktop search in the future.
(via Slashdot)

March 5th, 2006 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Controversy, Products, Desktop, Desktop Search, General | 2 comments

Google Analyst Day 2006

CNet’s Elinor Mills has posted some commentary of yesterday’s Analyst Day at the Googleplex. Some highlights:

  • CFO George Reyes opened the meeting. Last year, the biggest complaint was that attendees heard from the chef but not the Chief Financial Officer. Looks like they listened.
  • Eric Schmidt says the same principles from the founder’s letter of two years ago are still in place.
  • High points of the year: the AOL deal, and moving into China
  • There’s a $283 billion market for ads in broadcast TV, cable TV, radio, internet, print and direct mail. Google intends to be a major player in all of those markets.
  • “Google is primarily focused on Microsoft as a competitor because of the software giant’s history as a company, but Google hasn’t seen an impact from Microsoft’s search products yet.”
  • Google does not consider click fraud a major issue yet.
  • Google does not believe in being constrained by things like bandwidth and CPU power.
  • 20% of resources spent on: Google Video, Google Talk, Gmail, Google Earth, Local Search, Enterprise, Book search, AdSense, Desktop Search and Mobile Search.
  • 10% of resources spent on: AdSense Offline, Google Suggest, Orkut and Google Reader.
  • Google Ride Finder didn’t work because it followed GPS signals from cabs, but people couldn’t get to the street in time to hail them.
  • Google earns $1.44 million per employee.
  • Google admits it has not done a good job communicating that some of is betas are just tests, and that’s why they close them so quickly.

(via Google Blogoscoped)

Greg Linden also has some good stuff, and links to Google’s webcast page, which has the webcast for you to view, as well as the presentation slides in PDF format. Of particular interest is the dream of “a world with infinite storage, bandwidth, and CPU power”. While I think its a great goal to shoot for, Google needs to be willing to admit it certainly hasn’t reached that level yet, and many of its services suffer as a result. Developing services with an assumption of bandwidth and computing ability that doesn’t exist is just reckless.

March 3rd, 2006 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Google Local, Google Earth, AdSense, Stock Market, Products, Culture, Google Video, Google Book, Reader, Talk, Googleplex, Orkut, Services, AdWords, Advertising, Gmail, Email, Search, Desktop Search, Microsoft, Google Suggest, AOL, Desktop, General | 4 comments



Google Desktop, A Warning To IT

Nathan already wrote about privacy issues with Google Desktop’s most recent version, and also about LapLink which lets you access Desktop Search on another machine from a web-based interface without leaving traced on any server, anywhere.

Now InformationWeek is running a two page article about the same topic, but from another point of view. Thomas Claburn:

[…] the uproar reflects the new reality of IT: Users want the same easy-to-use search experience in the workplace they get outside the office, and IT organizations are unprepared to immediately meet those demands. “Innovation happens in the consumer space much more quickly,” says Dave Girouard, general manager of Google’s enterprise division. “For a lot of reasons, applications that are delivered to users in the consumer space have a much higher degree of focus on the end-user experience.” The No. 1 reason: Consumers, especially on the Web, can quickly go elsewhere.

The advantages are obvious: People can access files from computers at home or at work. The disadvantage: Employees can put sensitive information at risk, violate corporate policy, and even break the law in regulated industries.

Yet at many companies, employees’ needs for better desktop search will be more than IT departments can fend off. Google and Yahoo spend countless hours improving the responsiveness of their search apps by milliseconds, and users get addicted to that kind of performance.

Still, some IT teams think they need to move at a slower pace, even if that frustrates users. “We step carefully and slowly into supporting the adoption of any consumer-oriented packages,” Ron Bonig, deputy CIO of George Washington University, says via E-mail.

So indeed, IT carries a responsability too: users are getting used to being served quickly and just. They have the luxury at home that serves their needs and then arrive at the office, where things suddenly go slow and it becomes frustrating. IT departments in all companies should be able to deliver a smooth service too, although that’s not always possible because of the amount of time and devotion that goes into such an app.

Google has many admirers, but plenty of IT pros remain wary about anything with a consumer orientation. “I used to have a boss who said that three guys in a garage can do any IT project in a weekend,” George Washington’s Bonig says. “But it takes a whole lot more to ensure the product can integrate and play nicely with the other components of the IT architecture, be supportable, upgradeable.” That’s a reputation Google hasn’t yet earned.

Read more on InformationWeek.

February 28th, 2006 Posted by Coolz0r | Consumer Products, Products, Desktop, Desktop Search, General | no comments

Privacy Experts Advice Against Google Desktop 3

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, go-to guys for legal issues in Web 2.0, have recommended against using the latest version of Google Desktop. The EFF says that if you use the “search across computers” feature (which, don’t worry, is double-super opt-in), your data is placed on Google’s servers, which makes it available for subpoena by government organizations (normally, such an invasion would require a search warrant).

From their website:

Google today announced a new “feature” of its Google Desktop software that greatly increases the risk to consumer privacy. If a consumer chooses to use it, the new “Search Across Computers” feature will store copies of the user’s Word documents, PDFs, spreadsheets and other text-based documents on Google’s own servers, to enable searching from any one of the user’s computers. EFF urges consumers not to use this feature, because it will make their personal data more vulnerable to subpoenas from the government and possibly private litigants, while providing a convenient one-stop-shop for hackers who’ve obtained a user’s Google password.

“Coming on the heels of serious consumer concern about government snooping into Google’s search logs, it’s shocking that Google expects its users to now trust it with the contents of their personal computers,” said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. “… The government could then demand these personal files with only a subpoena rather than the search warrant it would need to seize the same things from your home or business, and in many cases you wouldn’t even be notified in time to challenge it. Other litigants—your spouse, your business partners or rivals, whoever—could also try to cut out the middleman (you) and subpoena Google for your files.”

The privacy problem arises because the Electronic Communication Privacy Act of 1986, or ECPA, gives only limited privacy protection to emails and other files that are stored with online service providers—much less privacy than the legal protections for the same information when it’s on your computer at home. And even that lower level of legal protection could disappear if Google uses your data for marketing purposes. Google says it is not yet scanning the files it copies from your hard drive in order to serve targeted advertising, but it hasn’t ruled out the possibility, and Google’s current privacy policy appears to allow it.

While the EFF is right that Google’s latest features present new legal and privacy problems for users, you can see in the comments at Slashdot that there is a lot of FUD being spread around, since so many people do not understand the intricacies of the situation. Since it isn’t in the EFF’s interest to correct them, maybe Google could do a better job calming down users over these concerns? The Google blog moves too slow. If Scoble were a Googler, he’d already be on top of it.

February 9th, 2006 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Products, Desktop, Desktop Search, General | 8 comments

New Version Of Google Desktop Released

Google has released a new version of its desktop search / sidebar suite. Google Desktop 3 has some cool new features:

  • Undock panels: any panel can be removed from the sidebar and placed anywhere on the desktop. Windows Vista’s sidebar can do this, so it was almost a requirement. Panels can be made to be always on top, in a per-panel setting, so you can pick a specific one to just show it over everything else if its really convenient.

  • Send to friend: you can right click on any information in the sidebar to send it to one of your contacts instantly. You can send it to their email (any email address), Google Talk, or to the same panel on their sidebar (with a “Sent from Joe” message).

  • Spell checker: when searching, live search now offers spelling suggestions, offering corrections as you type
  • Lock search: You can lock desktop search, and no one will be able to use it until you unlock it with a password,

  • Search operators: “under:” searches only files under a specific subdirectory. “machine:” restricts searches to a particular computer.
  • New advanced search page, with options to chose to search specific areas of desktop search (emails, files, history, chats), who something is addressed to or from, date range, and choose certain machines for your search.

  • Search across computers: install Desktop 3 on multiple machines and link them together so you can search all the machines at once from any machine. You can specify only certain folder to be searchable. Your index is copied to Google’s servers, and you can request that the data on those servers be deleted at any time.

  • Now indexes ZIP files

Desktop 3 is 99kb larger than Desktop 2. Not bad!

Other coverage:
Google Desktop blog announcement
Michael Arrington saw it coming
Search Engine Watch has their preprepared embargo article

February 9th, 2006 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Products, Desktop, Desktop Search, General | 7 comments

Tell Me Its Not A Software Bundle!

ThreadWatch writes that the Wall Street Journal has the scoop on Google’s CES announcement, and its a video download rental service… and a software bundle?

Google video rental: Google will be partnering up with television stations like CBS and the NBA to allow people to download videos for a fee.

Google Pack: a software package including pretty much everything but an operating system and productivity suite.

[It] will include the open-source Firefox Web browser, a version of Norton AntiVirus software from Symantec Corp., Adobe Systems Inc.’s Reader software, RealNetworks Inc.’s RealPlayer multimedia software, Trillian instant-messaging software from Cerulean Studios and Lavasoft AB’s Ad-Aware antispyware software. Google Pack will also include Google’s own desktop search software, Google Earth satellite imaging and maps software, Picasa photo-management software, Google Talk instant-messaging program, its Toolbar add-on for Web browsers and screen saver software.

The download service has been expected for a while, although I think most of us were expecting Google to differentiate itself with a long-tail download service (upload anything to Google Video, and charge for it).

However, the software bundle is just strange. Dirson reports that you’ll be able to find it at http://pack.google.com/pack/pack_installer.html. The Google Pack will have:

  • Firefox
  • A version of Norton AntiVirus
  • Adobe Reader
  • RealPlayer
  • Trillian
  • Ad-Aware
  • Google Desktop Search
  • Google Earth
  • Picasa
  • Google Talk
  • Google Toolbar
  • [Google?] screensaver

I call it the anti-Microsoft Pack:

  • Internet Explorer
  • Windows OneCare Live
  • Metro?
  • Windows Media Player
  • Windows Live Messenger
  • Windows Defender
  • Windows Desktop Search
  • Windows Live Local
  • Windows Vista Photo Gallery
  • Windows Live Messenger, again
  • MSN Search Toolbar

Most of Microsoft’s products are better, and at least all of Microsoft’s products are from Microsoft! What exactly is the point of bundling all these services, unless you get something extra? The only way this won’t be an awful letdown is if:

  • Google Bridge - Much like Adobe’s Creative Suite, Google releases a central interface for the whole shebang that ties in the whole system. The Bridge would run over Windows and shut out the operating system, possibly even providing better security. The Bridge would integrate the applications, creating a virtual Google shell, one that could eventually be ported to non-Windows platforms to make Windows irrelevant, if it takes off.

    Saving grace: 90%, even if it sucks
    Odds of happening: 30%

  • Premium versions - “a version of Norton AntiVirus” could mean that Google will pay for your antivirus subscription, but only if you keep the entire suite installed. Giving Norton’s suite away would be real tempting to most folks. Google could also bundle a lite version of a PDF creation tool, a premium version of RealPlayer and Ad-Aware, all if you keep the whole thing installed.

    Saving grace: 80% with Norton, 60% without
    Odds of happening: 60% for Norton, 15% for the rest of the Pack

  • New versions - Google will deliver new versions of its own programs, and Larry Page will try to be Steve Jobs onstage. Google Desktop Search is due for a new version, Google Earth could add a few new features, Picasa hasn’t been updated in a year, Google Talk needs more feature (although the presence of Trillian hints it still isn’t ready), and the Toolbar could be updated, maybe even to interface with the rest of the Pack. And the screensaver is new, and could be a functional screensaver, not a pretty one.

    Saving grace: 40%, unless there’s a killer new feature in there
    Odds of Happening: 45%

  • Does nothing - Google changes very little about anything in the suite (except for a few logos and cosmetic changes, and a minor new feature or two) and Larry Page spends most of the CES keynote explaining how good Google’s products already are.

    Saving grace: 0%
    Odds of happening: 80%

  • Google $200 computer

    Saving Grace: 150%
    Odds of happening: 10%

  • Google Cube media receiver

    Saving Grace: 130%
    Odds of happening: 20%

  • Some other, really good Google product gets announced

    Saving Grace: 80% if its really good, 30% if it isn’t
    Odds of happening: 50%

So, there you go. I’ve got my odds set out. I really hope Google isn’t doing something as low rent an unimaginative as a software bundle, but I guess anything’s possible. Ireally hope that if it is a software bundle, they’re hiding something else up their sleeve. You don’t keynote at CES for a software bundle, so either we don’t know everything, or Google is shooting real low.

Some more from WSJ:

Google Pack, which could eventually come preinstalled when people buy some new personal computers, is one way for Google to promote alternatives to Microsoft. It doesn’t, however, appear to include productivity applications, such as word-processor software, that would compete more directly with Microsoft’s core software business. A Microsoft spokesman wasn’t able to comment.

Google Pack, which will involve a single installer program for all applications, could also ease some of Google’s own work providing technical support to users. In some cases, the software in Google Pack could fix problems — such as viruses or spyware on computers — that impede consumers’ usage of Google services.

Some details of Google’s online video service remain unclear, such as how much content owners might charge consumers to download their videos. Google last year had said it planned to allow content owners to charge for videos, but it hadn’t activated that feature. Interest in delivering video over the Internet has surged since October, when Apple began offering downloads of popular TV shows through a partnership with Walt Disney Co. Google has developed its own digital-rights-management software to protect downloaded videos from piracy.

Seems like PR FUD about the Pack. Did the Journal promise to not say anything mean to get the scoop?

January 5th, 2006 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Google Earth, Toolbar, Talk, Google Pack, Products, Picasa, Tools, Desktop Search, Desktop, General | 17 comments

links for 2005-11-16

November 15th, 2005 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Stock Market, Products, Blogs, Talk, Bookmarks, Yahoo, Microsoft, Email, Gmail, Humor, Desktop Search, General | no comments



links for 2005-11-01

October 31st, 2005 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | AdSense, Products, Blogs, Culture, Bookmarks, Search Optimization, Services, Microsoft, Advertising, Gmail, Humor, Desktop Search, Desktop, General | 2 comments

Google Deskbar Observations

So, I’ve been trying out the various features of the new Google Desktop 2, and one thing that grabs me is the Deskbar. Since I find the Sidebar takes up too much space without doing enough, I’ve been running the Deskbar instead.

The Deskbar has some good stuff. Like the sidebar’s search box, it has the search-as-you-type ability. I’ve found this most useful as a quick Start Menu, as I can type in a letter or two and get a quick list of Start Menu programs. Of course, this is a feature in the beta of Windows Vista that has been getting some terrible press, so all it does is make me wonder how many Vista features Google plans on “adapting” for Desktop, and why Vista users will install Desktop at all.

See, it is a good idea for Google to compete directly with Microsoft’s products (although copying them outright would just be wrong). But if all Desktop does is emulate Vista features, Vista users will be hard pressed to have any reason to install it on their new or upgraded systems. After all, if Microsoft is doing it at the operating system level, who needs a third-party utility to do the same thing?

On the other hand, if Vista is a collosal dissapointment, or these specific features are poorly realized in Vista, Google can deal a massive blow to Microsoft with an ad campaign that proclaimes Desktop as “The Real Next Generation Operating System”. Those dissapointed with Vista could “fix” the OS by using Desktop, and Windows XP users could avoid upgrading entirely (and avoid giving Microsoft any money) by using Desktop.

Its a very tricky idea, and if indications of Vista are accurate, it isn’t likely to work. Competing with the next generation of Windows within Windows is a difficult concept at best. Google has done its best work catching Microsoft when it was down. Microsoft is no down on Vista, just behind schedule. Once Vista is around, will Google lose out?

—————-

The other thing I noticed about the Deskbar is that the non-floating version does not place itself on the desktop like a normal Windows toolbar. Normally, you can pull a toolbar off the taskbar and put it anywhere on the desktop, but the Deskbar loses its search box when you pull it off (and is thus rendered useless). This means I can’t dock it where I want to, in my floating Quick Launch box forcing me to fake it by putting the Floating Deskbar on top of the Quick Launch box:

The Floating Deskbar is always on top of all other Windows, with no option I can find to turn that off. That means that when I don’t want to see the Quick Launch and run an app full screen, the Floating Deskbar is still there, annoying me when I try to use Photoshop.

I realize Google probably created the Floating Deskbar (and didn’t fix the Deskbar) so no one would have to take the Deskbar off the taskbar, but if the Floating version won’t act like a regular deskbar, and the Deskbar breaks if you move it, I’m left with even less reason to use these programs.

I’m quickly finding that all three of these apps, the Sidebar, Deskbar and Floating Deskbar, are all space-wasters and annoyingly designed. The sidebar won’t go under other Windows, it only hides. The Floating Deskbar won’t go under either, and the Deskbar won’t detach from the taskbar properly. Google needs to give more customization options if it wants everyone to use these programs.

—————-

I might add, Desktop is still not done indexing after 12 hours of continuous usage (including a few hours where I was actually sleeping).

76% complete with about 25.0 idle hours left.
89,288 items indexed so far.

August 22nd, 2005 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Microsoft, Products, Desktop, Desktop Search, Tools, Deskbar, General | 7 comments

Yahoo Updates Desktop Search

Yahoo has released an updated version of its desktop search client, featuring an improved, tab-based UI and a smaller footprint. They’ve accomplished making the program smaller by stripping out the capability to read extra filetypes, and making those (a total of over 300 filetypes) available as part of an expansion pack. It also now indexes Thunderbird email.

July 14th, 2005 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Yahoo, Desktop Search, General | no comments

Is Google Bundling “Evil”?

BetaNews reports that Google has struck a deal to bundle some of its utilities with WinZip, the popular compression software. The lead says it all:

In a marketing tactic used primarily by spyware and adware companies, Google has begun bundling its Google Toolbar and Desktop Search software with the popular WinZip archive utility.

Yes, bundling is evil. Not entirely of course, but this is opt-out bundling, where the programs will be installed unless the user notices and tells the installer not to. Opt-out is always evil. Why should anyone have to opt-out? If Google believes its software is very useful (and I would certainly agree with that), then why not just offer it to the user during install, but not installing it by default?

Most people install software by just clicking “Next” over and over, and they won’t even notice Google’s programs are being installed. They won’t even notice the slight loss in performance on their machines from running Google Desktop Search. They won’t realize that their IM conversations are being logged. They won’t realize a lot of things that are happening without them choosing to do so. “Evil”? You betcha.

I think antispyware programs should report this as low-risk spyware, what with the privacy implications inherent in GDS and the Toolbar’s AutoLink feature being installed without the user’s knowledge. Not that those programs are as bad as real spyware, but it is the responsibility of antispyware programs to warn us if those programs are being installed, so we can make informed decisions. Don’t be surprised if Microsoft AntiSpyware starts warning on Google software. It certainly should.
(via Weblogs)

—–

On a side note, huge thanks to Coolz0r for taking the reigns these last two days. I’m thrilled to see it worked out as well as it did, with some real good posts. Hopefully a bunch of you guys have subscribed to his blog (but don’t stop reading this one!).

June 15th, 2005 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Microsoft, Desktop, Desktop Search, Tools, General | one comment

Catching Up…

Okay, so here I am going to touch on some of the news I missed out on over the last week and a half. In addition, all InsideMicrosoft news will be here for a short time, since that site isn’t working. The reason? Some error I get when trying to login. If someone is familiar with the inner workings of WordPress and could give me a hand, I would be eternally grateful. So, in no particular order:

Wow, I thought I’d never get caught up! Well, back to your regularly scheduled blogging (and for god’s sakes, someone help me fix the other blogs).

May 2nd, 2005 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Microsoft, AOL, Desktop, Services, Products, Stock Market, Google News, Desktop Search, Security, Gmail, Email, Advertising, AdWords, Search, Humor, General | one comment

Google Desktop Search Now Available In More Langauges

Google has released its Desktop Search in German, French, Spanish, Dutch and Italian, joining Chinese, Korean and Japanese versions. For some odd reason, only the English version is out of beta.
(via Dirson)

Now might be a good time to check out the GDS plugins, which now give it support for searching filenames within ZIP archives, C++ files, WordPerfect documents, .KAR karaoke files (including indexing of song lyrics), MP3 metadata. Also, you can add a web spider to GDS, to have it index sites you specify (like an intranet) and add them to GDS.

March 31st, 2005 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Desktop, Desktop Search, General | one comment

Yahoo Desktop Search Now With Messenger History

Yahoo has refreshed its Desktop Search Beta, and the new version saves a history of your Yahoo Messenger conversations, as well as adding contact list search. Hopefully, future desktop search releases (from all companies) will index more than just one IM program (Google only indexes AOL Instant Messenger).
(via the Yahoo Search Blog)

March 23rd, 2005 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Yahoo, Desktop Search, General | no comments