Google Adds Features and Plugin to Desktop Search 274
Matthew Bischoff writes "Today Google added new features to its popular desktop software. Google
Desktop now supports alternative Netscape based browsers like Firefox,
PDFs, images, video, and music files. Google also added a plug-ins
feature so that developers can integrate their software into the Google Desktop
catalog. Another new addition is a supported way to search from Google's deskbar
software. It's probably a matter of time until we see desktop search integrated
into all of the Google products including the controversial Google
Toolbar 3." Google Desktop is also officially now out of beta.
Re:Wow, who uses this? (Score:3, Interesting)
Is Microsoft out of the loop? (Score:5, Interesting)
Also, good to see Google isn't doing an eternal beta on this product like its Google News offering (the whole beta thing gets annoying after 2 continuous years!)
So is there a catch ? (Score:5, Interesting)
I assume they're not risking their "don't do any bad "-policy for this ?
So what -is- the catch ?
I am fedup with using the regurlar search in Windows, so I am defenitely in for some improvement.
Why? Whats it for? Whats it do (Score:2, Interesting)
What, exactly does it do? Find files by name? I already have a tool to do that.
I mean, it's just another useless service to run.
I'm being serious. Tell me something neat and impressive that I can make it do, so I too can start preaching the genious of Google.
I tried searching, for example, for some phrases that I know are in some sourcecode files I have. It didn't find the files containing the code. I guess it doesnt recognize
If found stuff in a word doc that i made just to test it, but the built in search already does that.
So, what's it do? Why do I need it? Why does this need to be integrated into every app on my desktop?
SUSE 9.3 Pro (03/09/2005) with desktop search (Score:3, Interesting)
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/linuxunix/0,39
Is Google Desktop Search > Beagle?
Still requires admin rights to use (Score:5, Interesting)
Yep, that lovely message is still there when I try to use it in my main work account.
Oh, well. Maybe next time.
Re:Why? Whats it for? Whats it do (Score:5, Interesting)
Who cares in two months? (Score:2, Interesting)
Search is great, but I don't see a value-add for anyone other than the OS company itself to develop it.
Got to love that panic response to Copernic 1.5 (Score:4, Interesting)
Last week Copernic 1.5b was released with full support, now Google are producing the same feature. Coincidence? If so tough luck, I already switched from GDS!
Re:Why? Whats it for? Whats it do (Score:2, Interesting)
I don't delete emails. I happen to be using Outlook, too.
Google search doesnt (the version I tried) index the mailbox.pst file. Maybe it does now. My
So searching all my email for all references to a particular product takes... 29 seconds for a full text search. Less than two for a subject line only search.
Google does this better or faster? How please, because like I said, it didn't index the
If it works, then maybe that's something useful. Frankly though, 29 seconds isn't going to break me.
Lots of problems.... (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm not sure why NOD32's [nod32.com] Internet Monitor affects a DESKTOP search. But I can't use it as long as I'm using my AV program of choice. Does this make sense to anyone? Because I can't figure it out.
BTW: this has been a known issue for a few months now.
Re:Why? Whats it for? Whats it do (Score:2, Interesting)
I thought at the very least, the search tools would have an automatic list of files to EXCLUDE.
Get rid of avi files and iso images (by default) and large archives, and I might actually find whats in front of me.
I hate NOT knowing whats missing, and its worse knowing there is a file right in front of me, but the search tool refuses to index it.
I made my own in the end, and it handles everything I can throw at it.
Re:Why? Whats it for? Whats it do (Score:5, Interesting)
For example: I did a GDS search for the name of a server I was building last week.
Bam. I got every document I had about that server. The online change requests. The service requests to site engineering. The operational handbook I wrote. The inventory spreadsheet.
Wow. That was pretty cool.
I also found out that while GDS doesn't index networked drives/shares, it *will* include documents on the network that you have opened in its search results. That was pretty good too.
It's also useful on a couple of our intranet sites. Just this morning I had to find a change request for a server - using the search mechanism of our change system is difficult at best - but because I could search it in Google, it came up right away.
Re:Why? Whats it for? Whats it do (Score:1, Interesting)
It's free AIM logging for someone who doesn't like Trillian or DeadAIM or etc for one.
Now it does Firefox history too.
Also its great for searching through the monstrosity that is my development folder--if you remember a scrap of code, Google will find it in a second...the need for Windows' Start->Search just really doesn't exist anymore.
Re:Why? Whats it for? Whats it do (Score:3, Interesting)
it uses a OSS software to do that (Score:1, Interesting)
C:\Archivos de programa\Google\Google Desktop Search>pdftohtml.exe
pdftohtml version 0.33a http://pdftohtml.sourceforge.net/
Copyright 1999-2002 Gueorgui Ovtcharov and Rainer Dorsch
based on Xpdf version 2.03
Copyright 1996-2003 Glyph & Cog, LLC
Also, in the directory you'll find this:
aa ### WARNING - Do not
ab ### move or delete these
ac ### files - your system
ad ### may stop working
af ### To uninstall use
ag ### Add-Remove programs
ah ### in the control panel
ai ### or run
ak ### GoogleDesktopSearchSetup.exe -uninstall
Those are FILE NAMES. They're so when you open the directory you see the "message". Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Those guys know what are doing.