“Google Desktop has finally made its way to the Mac. Almost two and a half years after the initial introduction of the Google Desktop search beta for Windows, the desktop searching tool will be available as a beta for OS X users today,” Jacqui Cheng reports for Ars Technica.
Cheng reports, “Like both Spotlight (built into OS X 10.4) and the third-party utility Quicksilver, Google Desktop offers users the ability perform an indexed search of their entire computer’s contents, including applications, music, photos, chat logs, e-mail, and other documents.”
“In addition to what’s stored on the hard drive, however, Google Desktop also allows users to index their Gmail from Google’s servers as well as the contents of their web search history, so that a copy is always accessible to them, even when the computer is no longer connected to the Internet,” Cheng reports.
Cheng reports, “The beta period for Google Desktops for the Mac will likely last about three months in order to get user feedback. The Google team says that it plans to eventually bring all Google Desktop features to the Mac, which they estimate to happen sometime within the next six months.”
Full article here.
Related article:
Google releases Google Desktop for Mac beta – April 04, 2007
John Gruber (of Daring Fireball fame) has written an interesting article about what gets installed with Google Desktop here: http://daringfireball.net/2007/04/google_desktop_installer . If you plan to install GD, you may find it an interesting read.
Please read this before installing this product
http://daringfireball.net/2007/04/google_desktop_installer
Uh, thanks but no thanks
95% of exploits on PC’s and Mac’s are application exploits.
Since this program has experienced a exploit (or two) on the PC side, I’m not going to install it or anything that requires a administrative password (sudo) on my lovely secure out of the box Macintosh.
Thanks Google though,
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
wow double first posts ( by time) with same link!!!
that has to be a first!!
Meh so far.
Spotlight + Mail.app with Gmail POP = great for me.
Isn’t this a solution for a problem that didn’t exist? (Albeit welcome competition).
Am I missing something? (I prefer LaunchBar over Quicksilver but in general never use my 3rd party apps after their novelty wears off).
It’s only drag ‘n drop application installs for me.
I’ve learned my lesson the hard way.
I automatically linked to Google after reading the article and downloaded the application. I was at the point of typing in my admin password for the install when I thought… “I better go back and read the comments at MDN before I do this.” Seems that I stop just in the nick of time. I also stopped because, though I wanted to see how Google desktop performed, I couldn’t figure out why I really needed it.
So it seems that this would not really give me any added functionality unless I use Gmail, which I do not use. I love Spotlight’s functionality, so I’ll keep using that.
Well, for some who are afraid of the boogieman – and don’t have a gmail account, then this app is most certainly not for you.
But for those that want another version of apt search results, which includes results from your gmail account – this is a fantastic, feature-rich addition to the mac platform.
It’s slightly different than spotlight, and has been integrated nicely.
The power to search gmail within the OS is a wonderful, time saving feature for me. Someday, I hope to be organized enough that I don’t need something like this, but for now, with Spotlight there as well, it’s a real help.
As far as the article posted above, there is nothing too susicious going on as far as processes and installation locations go from what I can see. And the fact it installs it for all users isn’t really a surprise either. I’m sure they will change that in upcoming versions.
The google apps too are all updated by the Google Update, so I don’t see anything too odd about that either.
Sometimes it seems we create major FUD within our own community. This doesn’t keep us safer necessarily, it potentially limits ours and others positive experiences.
loller: “Isn’t this a solution for a problem that didn’t exist?”
– That’s what most revolutionary inventions are, solutions to problems that didn’t exist. Everything else is just evolutionary inventions. But in this case you are correct, this is barely even evolutionary. But it is nice to see Google working hard to support the Mac.
this kicks spotlights arse. i just installed it. it r0x0s our with its x0x out
I’m using any alternatives to Apple products(except Camino and google reader) until I see if Leopard has stuff better than the alternatives.
Spotlight does what this application does. So, why do we need it? I like Google and all, but it seems like this is a waste of energy…on all levels.
Irritant:
Often when switching back and forth between apps and cutting and pasting I hit the Apple key. A LOT. This brings up the “search” box when I don’t want it.
Not good.
Want spotlight to do more, go here : http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/spotlight/
Get a plugin.
Why add google desktop to any computer-windows or mac?
I love the fact that Spotlight is made by the makers of the Operating system to which it so tightly integrates. Why would I want to risk stability of my system to install something that duplicates what I already have? Bizarre move Google. Bizarre.
Spotlight works good enough for me.
First time I ever used it, it was trial by fire.
Boss looming over my shoulder asks “Do you still have that document about [blah, blah, blah] from 1996? The VP wants it.”
Me: [Inner panic grips heart: WTF is it—Then I remembered SPOTLIGHT!!! {typetypetype} List pops up: “Of course, here it is!” Boss leaves in impressed state of mind… Me: “THANK YOU STEVE!!”
Why doesn’t Google put effort into creating a Google experience for Mac that syncs all of their Web products to Apple products:
gMail=Mail
docs, spreadsheet, etc.=NeoOffice
gCalendar=iCal
Forget about Googel on the desktop. More space for indexing on my hard drive?? No thanks.
Another product to watch out for will be Adobe Apollo. Sorry Adobe. But Sherlock does some of this already, and I want Adobe FAR from my desktop.
Thanks. GOOG, but Spotlight and Quicksilver work for me.
I appreciate the offer, though.
I do like the sound of MacGoogle.
MacGoogle.
“Yes, MacGoogle that. And supersize it.”
@ Keith:
You can change the shortcut to something else in Google Desktop’s Preference panel.
Question: is their a way to put a list of all my applications in the menubar, perhaps under the apple menu in a sub-folder called “Applications”? It seems like that would be the quickest and easiest way to launch programs when they’re not in the dock and when I’m too lazy to type into spotlight.