Google’s search moves onto the desktop

Google has just launched a ‘beta’ version of its new desktop search engine that operates at a far greater speed than the standard windows search. This is not a new idea as the Copernic desktop search tool was released in August and also the UK-based Blinkx tool has also received much publicity recently. However, crucially Google has rushed their new tool out ahead of similar concepts expected from Microsoft and Yahoo.

The application downloads quickly and runs from the desktop and within a web browser, integrating alongside the other Google search options such as web, images, news etc. Currently it can search for a limited range of files including:

• Outlook and Outlook Express
• AOL Instant Messenger
• Cached web pages from Internet Explorer
• Text files
• Microsoft office files

We’ve tried it out and have found it to perform very quickly and be very good at indexing cached web pages – making it much simpler to search through your browsing history to find a previously visited website. However, indexing Outlook emails can be problematic, especially if a number of different identities are being used, plus it would also be useful if more file formats (such as PDF) were searchable.

One of the main concerns about this type of application is that it is able to collect personal information. In its privacy policy Google states that it only collects a limited amount of non-personal information and it gives you the option to disable this in the preference settings. A more immediate concern is its effect on keeping information private from people who could gain physical access to your computer or network.

We found that it was able to index files on other computers across our wireless network and there have also been reports that the software is able to index files from different windows user identities on the same computer. This means that if someone has access to your computer they can search through your emails, browsing history and files on a contentious subject extremely quickly!

This tool is only a beta release with a number of clear limitations, but it does give a good idea of what can be expected in the future. Also, this type of application could potentially make real improvements to how productively computers are able to be used for a range of tasks, so give it a go and see how it can improve your search experience!

If you would like any further information about this tool, or other desktop search applications, please contact us.

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