Google Desktop for Mac-Released
The first public beta of Google Desktop for Mac has arrived, providing integrated searching
of local files and the web.
This is the first time the search engine has had it's search tool available for Mac users apart from using the web-based search engine.
"[W]e took the time to develop a product that deeply integrates into Mac OS X and maintains its high standards of usability," wrote Google software engineer Mike Pinkerton in the company's Mac blog. "This is a Mac product through and through, from the bezel on our search box down to correctly (and securely) handling multiple users and FileVault."
Features :
Full text searches are supported for many file types include text, PDF, HTML, email (Mail, Entourage), iChat transcripts, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, music and video files, and Address Book contacts. The program also searches file and folder names.
Google Desktop provides a degree of integration with Spotlight, taking advantage of any installed Spotlight importers to broaden the range of file types that can be searched. It also uses the Spotlight privacy list to determine which items should not be searched.
PN :The first version of Google Desktop does not appear to be able to index PC-formatted drives.
Advantages:
- Google does not see or record Google Desktop results without the user's permission.
- If a user is still concerned, he can choose to disable the integration option in preferences.
- Google Desktop also returns results more quickly than Spotlight does.
- Google Desktop does the same partial word searches as spotlight during entry, but without the delay.
- Google Desktop is easy to use, allowing a search without going into the dashboard.
[ Google Desktop ]