Google has released its long-anticipated Google Desktop tool, which indexes your computer and puts the power of the Google search right on your desktop.
Installation is fast and easy, then you access it via your Web browser just like you would view any other Google tool (Web, News, Froogle, etc.). Once installed, it actually runs as a Web server on port 4664 on your own computer (http://127.0.0.1:4664). It’s a pretty slick design.
The first thing that needs to happen after installation is that your computer will be indexed while it’s idle.
I started my indexing last night and by this morning, it was finished.
It works incredibly well. Indexing happens immediately (e.g., the second you’ve sent an email via Outlook, it’s available), unlike other products like Lookout, which require an indexing period to update. You can even view the entire body of an Outlook email in the search results, along with the entire thread of hte email in context, or choose to view it in Outlook. Google Desktop is super-fast, of course, and the interface is just like a Google search. I’m really excited about using it, and it’s going to make finding the information I use in my life and in my work much more accessible. This tool is definitely in line with Google’s mission or organizing the world’s information.
Too bad it doesn’t index Trillian chats (hint, hint, Google).
The caching is awesome, and has already come to my rescue this morning, allowing me to restore a Word document that I accidentally overwrote with a new version (rather than doing a “Save As” when I started making changes). I just searched for the old version, viewed the cache stored in Google Desktop, and voila! Text is restored.
Another most excellent feature: Using your existing Google search toolbar in your browser (or doing a regular Google search, of course), you can search for documents/email/etc. on your computer, and the results are displayed at the top of the regular Web search results. Kick ass.
Note in this example how it even grabbed the Web cache from my computer from viewing this post.
