"The sidebar has a completely new look and feel. It samples the color of your wallpaper and fades in the sampled color so that it fits seamlessly onto your desktop. Some of our gadgets have been redesigned so that they are easy to tell apart, easy to read, and easy on the eyes. More differentiated gadgets allow for faster scanning of information through the sidebar. And we've created a new dialog for adding gadgets so it's easier and faster than ever to find the right gadgets for you."
Search results get a small preview box below the snippet, so you can make an idea if they're useful. Of course, the preview box is small enough to be hardly usable, and there's no highlighting for your query. The box reminds me Ask.com's binoculars.
Google Desktop has a new feature that shows warnings if you're trying to visit sites that "might be trying to steal your personal information or install malicious software on your computer". They're the same malware warnings from the search results combined with the anti-phishing technology previously included in Google Safe Browsing and as an advanced option in Firefox 2. Google Desktop automatically updates a list of suspicious or malicious sites by downloading information from Google's servers.
While there's no dramatic change in functionality, it's strange to see how a different theme makes you look at a software from a different angle. Google Desktop became more distant, more serious and looks more and more like Vista's sidebar.
What made u think the preview is too small to be usable. I can scroll down in the preview and see everything in the files I'm searching for. It is very usable!
ReplyDeleteI will never use G's or M$'s desktop utilties. I consider them to be the equivalent of bloatware and besides, I know exactly where I put all my files already.
ReplyDeleteHow do I update?
ReplyDeleteGive me a mac version!
ReplyDeleteLooks nice but runs like bloatware on my 6 year old computer. Most other desktop search programs run like that too, so its not just Google...
ReplyDeleteI installed it, but the sidebar never loads completely. I see it running in my task manager, but the UI is not visible. XP Pro, Hyperthreaded 3.2 proc with 2GB RAM, dual monitors.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I see, a major improvement is in the "Add/remove gadgets" dialog which loads much faster, looks better and lets you see the search results instantly. It still lacks a preview and a link to a Google Desktop page that shows more about the gadget, its homepage, etc.
ReplyDeletegadgets standard needs to be brought up. Maybe google should improve gadgets submited by third party.
ReplyDeleteDon't install it if you are using Outlook 2003!
ReplyDeleteWhen you have installed Google Desktop Search you can't access your address book anymore. Instead you will get the following error message:
The messaging interface has returned an unknown error. If the problem persists restart Outlook
What about Google QA?
For those saying that this runs too slowly on your ages-old computer: have you considered upgrading? Then ALL your software will run faster! :) Seriously...6 years is "old age" in computer terms, and upgrading is very affordable nowadays. You can even buy a 2-year-old used one for cheap.
ReplyDeleteDitto on the Outlook 2003 issue. Three of us here in the office are having the same issue. Running Office 2003 under Vista and Outlook is horked until you disable the Google plugin. Wonder if the Google team knows there is a problem?
ReplyDeleteI, too, have experienced these errors with Outlook 2003 on XP. Can't open address book, can't use To:, Cc:, or Bcc: buttons to address messages, can't use mailto: links. Works fine as soon as I uncheck the Google add-in and COM modules and restart Outlook.
ReplyDeleteFor the Outlook issues, this link may help.
ReplyDeleteanyone have a problem using google desktop with multiple monitors? i have the sidebar docked to the right (2nd) monitor and it often "wigs out". sometimes it won't load, other times its 'empty' and if you touch it, it flashes repeatedly. also, today it wound up resizing itself to the full width of both monitors and effectively made all windows invisible (0 width).
ReplyDeleteI freaked out since did not notice that GooGleDesktop will be installed together with needed software (talk about bloatware, viruses, spyware and every other unwanted software)
ReplyDeleteAfter deinstalling google desktop my Outlook 2003 allways reported error on GoogleDesktopO... something
And reinitialize Setup. I did put CD inside but wasn't prepared so I needed to reintall Office 2003.
I hate GoogleDesktop
the Google desktop updated itself without asking my permission. It changed the skin and now it has this ugly look that contrasts with my environment. Worse, I don't know how to change the look so I'm stuck with it until I remove it! I don't know how much longer I can look at this.
ReplyDelete