Google Releases Desktop 2
Google has released a new version of its desktop search product, now called Google Desktop 2, and now back in beta.
The big difference in this new version is a sidebar which goes on the side of your desktop and gives you access to your Gmail, news, weather, photos (not from Picasa, but folders and RSS feeds), stock quotes, RSS headlines (or Web Clips), a Scratch Pad (for quick note-taking) and a Quick View list for web pages and files you use often.
There’s also a Sidebar API, which already has a few plugins, like ones for iTunes, a todo list and a clock.
Google Desktop now adds a toolbar to Outlook (or so I assume, since I’ve only recently begun using Outlook). It also now indexes natively PDFs, images, audio and video.
I’ll have a little more after I install it, since it insists on closing my browser.
UPDATE: Apparently, the news in the sidebar may be self personalizing. From the privacy warning:
For example, Google Desktop sends Google information about the news pages you visit in order to personalize the news you see in Sidebar. We use other non-personal usage data, including crash reports, to help improve Desktop’s performance. Please note that none of this data actually tells us who you are; we use it merely to improve Desktop’s ability to give you the information that’s most relevant to you.
UPDATE 2: The sidebar is now loaded. Its got a “What’s Hot” portion, that is probably determined from Zeitgeist records. Now, I like “The Island”, but few others did, so why is it #1?
Google Desktop What’s Hot Plug-in
(c) 2005 GoogleView what’s popular on the web.
Learn about the current trends and what’s hot on the web. What’s Hot is automatically generated based on what’s currently popular on the web. It automatically combines different sources of information to determine what people are talking about online. You can remove headlines by right-clicking on them and selecting Remove.
UPDATE 3: Okay, it is getting a bit scary how this program somehow knows a lot about me. Despite that I received this computer from the factory 9 days ago and never previously installed any Google product on it, it has indexed something on my system to determine some websites I’ve been to recently and added their RSS feeds.
Of course, it isn’t using my most popular pages, because it added the old InsideMicrosoft blog, the Inside AdSense blog and the new Microsoft blog (called Microsoft Blog).
L.A. Times has a good quote about Sidebar:
Sidebar is “not an operating system, it’s not a browser,” said Greg Sterling, an analyst with Kelsey Group. “But it has elements of both in a certain way.”
Why do I get the same people who bemoaned Microsoft’s Longhorn sidebar (that may never make it into Vista) will call this a great innovation. In all honesty, sidebars have been around for a while, and while Google’s has a lot of good stuff in it, most users will not find the memory hit beneficial enough. At its worst, the full Desktop 2 suite eats as much as 35 megabytes of memory.
Desktop 2 runs into the same problem programs like Konfabulator (or my fav, Sphere XP). While useful, bogging down your system with utilities has never been a good idea. If you have a gig or two of memory, and don’t mind shutting these down every time you run a game or Photoshop, I guess you can leave them open.
I’m a firm believer that there are two types of computers: Those that have a lot of horsepower and those that don’t. Those that do, can easily run full-size programs without issue, and don’t need widgets (why run an iTunes widget if iTunes is super-fast?). Those that don’t can’t afford the performance hit of the widget.
I like full-featured programs and hardware. Its why I bought a simple phone and tote around a heavy super-powered laptop. I don’t like sacrificing power for portability. The sidebar, while useful and tiny, simply can’t compete with the full featured clients that do everything it does.
Why do I need Gmail indexed, when I can open Gmail? Why do I need Google News headlines when Google News is better? Why do I need “Web Clips” when I love Bloglines? Why do I need a scratch pad when I have Outlook’s Notes feature? Why do I need to display photos at all?
Why do I need shortcuts to what’s hot or browser favorites or stock quotes or weather, when I put in all that effort anyway? I guess what I’m saying is that, as a power user, Desktop 2’s Sidebar has too little. Some people might find it handy (and after a few days, I might as well), but the immediate verdict is: “Eh”.
UPDATE 4: Desktop 2 also has a timeline, viewing all the pages you’ve been to and emails and chats you’ve received, in order. It even digs into the past nicely. You can add networked drives to be indexed. On the other hand, it is telling me it will take another 10.8 idle hours to index my 160 gigabytes of data. Super.
Google Desktop Search — check out the cool new beta version!
Google unveils version two (beta) of their Desktop Search product (GDS), which now features find-as-you-type, a packed sidebar with constantly updating info, network drive support, and much more.
Trackback by BLADAM: Musings on life, love, liberty, and stuff | August 22, 2005
[…] Nathan has much more. […]
Pingback by BusinessBits - BusinessBitsBlog.com - News, Reviews, Commentary and More | August 22, 2005
I just finished posting my review of GDS2, and dangit, I shoulda figured you’d beat me to the punch
I feel the same way you do about the sidebar, but much more mildly.
> Why do I need Gmail indexed, when I can open Gmail?
Well, some folks I know use Gmail only sporadically, and rather than log in to Gmail to check for any posts that day, I can see why having a (perhaps minimized) Gmail panel on their GDS could be handy.
> Why do I need Google News headlines when Google News is better?
Hey, why have Bloglines when going to individual blogs is richer and perhaps “better”?
For me, I like having headlines scroll up regularly that I can quickly skim out of the corner of my eye without having to actually stop what I’m doing and navigate to the fullblown Google News. Plus, I can skim the all-text sidebar stuff faster than skimming the GN page with photos.
> Why do I need “Web Clips” when I love Bloglines?
Because Bloglines is slow as a dog and its plumber visits too often?
Okay, seriously, I don’t really see the value of Web Clips either. It seems that most folks either don’t know (or care) about RSS, and the rest of us geeks follow 100+ feeds. Web Clips ain’t useful for either group, IMHO.
> Why do I need a scratch pad when I have Outlook’s Notes feature?
Because if I want to write a note in Outlook, I have to load it up or tab over to it, move to the Notes section, start up a new note (or find a relevant existing one), then close the note, and go back to where I was (browser, paint program, etc.). With the GDS sidebar always there, it’s a 2 second dealie to jot a coupon code down, someone’s name you just heard, etc., without interrupting your work flow.
In fact, that’s one of the greatest promises of the sidebar, IMHO… helping one glean and/or act upon information without leaving one’s current app window. The persistence of a docked sidebar (as with my Trillian IM) is key, I think.
> Why do I need to display photos at all?
Photos… *need*? Who “needs” photos at all in their life? Personally, I find the mini-slideshow endearing
Comment by Adam | August 22, 2005
The best things are the integration with Gmail, and the new desktop search bar or panel in the sidebar. The search does partial matching as you type in a query, much like google suggest. And then you can click on a result to either open a file, a program, or a website.
Comment by Jason | August 22, 2005
Adam, I guess I just prefer running EVERYTHING at once. I keep all eight email accounts open and active at once, plus my two blog control panels, my Bloglines page, Outlook, Media Center, and usually a few other things (like AIM, a shortcut icon panel, Bit Torrent). I even have four peripherals plugged into my four USB ports at once, and I’m using a laptop! I don’t like losing any functionality at all, so why do I need a sidebar? Others will likely find they can’t live without it.
Comment by Nathan Weinberg | August 22, 2005
With regard to the 10.8 hours.. maybe go to sleep? It’s 4:30, Nathan.
Comment by Devin | August 22, 2005
Google Desktop 2 Launches - Big Brother Calling
Inside Google reviews Google Desktop 2. Some interesting quotes. Okay, it is getting a bit scary how this program somehow knows a lot about me. Despite that I received this computer from the factory 9 days ago and never previously…
Trackback by Damien Mulley's Blog | August 22, 2005
Google Desktop 2 Release !
Trackback by max | August 22, 2005
Google Desktop 2
Google Desktop 與 OS 的關係是… ?
剛看到一篇文 ，說 Google 推出第二版的 Google Desktop 了，多了很多新功能，其中最重要的一個變化是多了 Sidebar。而另外的消息來源則指出，這個 sidebar 功能…
Trackback by 國二菜鳥忙裡偷閒 | August 22, 2005
Funny.
Comment by Patrick | August 22, 2005
Nathan, One interesting observation I have this morning is that if you open more than your own account in Microsoft Outlook, the Google E-mail section of the new sidebar displays all accounts new incoming e-mail.
Comment by Kevin | August 22, 2005
Anyone know if all the old plugins will work with this version? What about the Enterprise version, will that be upgraded? Is there a beta for that? Thanks.
Comment by Scott Kingery | August 22, 2005
Google Desktop 2 Beta, vislumbando lo que Google piensa
Google acaba de lanzar la nueva versión en desarrollo de su Google Desktop Search, ahora llamado Google Desktop 2 a secas. Pero, ¿qué trae que sea tan interesante? Ahora también trae una nueva barra lateral al más puro estilo Microsoft con la que…
Trackback by genbeta | August 22, 2005
You can set to show the deskbar if you don’t like the sidebar.
Comment by Jason | August 22, 2005
Devin: I never sleep.
Kevin: Good call. Again, I keep Outlook open all the time anyway.
Jason: What do you think I’m doing right now?
Comment by Nathan Weinberg | August 22, 2005
[…] […]
Pingback by Los links del da… por Mardito » | August 22, 2005
what are you telling Nathan to go to sleep for when you’re up at 5:09 in the morning yourself?
Comment by Raquel | August 22, 2005
Sleep is for the weak
Comment by matt | August 22, 2005
[…] See also: Microsoft Monitor, Inside Google […]
Pingback by Danny Ayers, Raw Blog | August 22, 2005
[…] Inside Google: Google Releases Desktop 2 […]
Pingback by The Closed Circle » Google Sidebar | August 23, 2005
GNC-2005-08-23 #93
Join me on the Computer Outlook Radio Talk Show this coming Wednesday at 5pm PST and also if you are…
Trackback by Geek News Central | August 23, 2005
[…] Version 2 of Google’s useful Desktop search tool is released today and, yes, it has RSS capability. The Googlers have taken an early lead it seems in the rush to scrap the terms RSS / Atom / XML, on the public face anyway. […]
Pingback by » Google Leads IE7 Debate with Web Clips Windows Vista Weblog | August 23, 2005
Visit http://longhorn-vista.blogspot.com
for latest updates of Microsoft Longhorn & Microsoft Windows Vista.
Comment by pr | August 23, 2005
[…] More on the new desktop here, and about that “communications tool”: Google Inc. is set to introduce its own instant messaging system, the Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday, marking the expansion by the Web search leader into text and also voice communications. […]
Pingback by Microsoft News Tracker » Blog Archive » Google competition for Microsoft | August 23, 2005
I have been using Desktop Sidebar (www.desktopsidebar.com) since I found a reference to it on one of the Microsoft Community blog posts, and, frankly, I wouldn’t be reading your blog if I didn’t get it streamed to the sidebar where I can see it as I’m working in my ‘real’ apps.
Likewise, I can see emails as they come in, upcoming appointments, and a whole slew of other goodies that I can add or remove as I need.
I’m just starting to review the Google Sidebar and so far it doesn’t look as functional as Desktop Sidebar, but I’m guessing that plug-ins will quickly proliferate and it will become the sidebar of choice.
I’ll be keeping an eye on it.
Comment by Jeri | August 23, 2005
Sorry, this is off the topic of the Sidebar. I’ve run into a problem with GDS v2. I’ve described it in more detail at http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33, but briefly it is that GDS STOPS indexing after about 15 pages into a Word document or PDF. In other words, it is as if anything after page 15 does not exist. I’ve tested this out on several documents and PDFs, on 3 different computers. Has anybody else run into this bug?
Comment by Anderbek | November 24, 2005