Personal Technology Information

Is Desktop Search Deserving?


Google, in their march to stay ahead of the pack of competition, has released Google Desktop Search. With Microsoft's MSN in the lead position and nipping at Google's heels, and Google's new shareholders to please, Google has more incentive than ever to deploy technology both better than the other guy's, and sooner. After all, the first to get loaded to the desktop is more likely to build and retain user loyalty.

Google Desktop Search allows you to search within various types of files on your computer. It's still in beta, but is available for download by anyone. It requires Windows XP or Windows 2000 with at least Service Pack 3. It runs as a memory-resident application, with a system tray icon, so that it can index new documents as they are created.

For example, if you know a certain word or phrase was in a Word document, but you don't remember which one, you can easily locate all documents on your computer that contain that word. Desktop Search can search through email, text, and HTML files, your cached web pages, and MS Office Documents (Word, Excel, and Powerpoint only).

By way of comparison, there is a competing application, also free, from Copernic, not surprisingly called Copernic Desktop Search. At the moment, it is perhaps more advanced than Google's. For example, Copernic's software scans the same type of files as does Google's, but also scans music and video files and PDF documents, while Google does not. Both products can only scan Outlook or Outlook Express email at present.

But don't count Google out. Webmasters know it's never wise to do that! After all, they're still in beta with Desktop Search, and they are as surely aware of Copernic's product as they are of MSN. Google has both the resources and motivation to not only keep but expand their market leadership.

About The Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.sitetube.com. Visit his website for the latest on planning, building, promoting and maintaining websites.


MORE RESOURCES:

Personal tech briefs: Game-to-film trend continues
Salt Lake Tribune, United States - Jun 24, 2008
Kim Pyeng-joong, senior manager of Hyundai Japan, wears special glasses to watch Hyundai's 3-D screen. Video game-based movies have been the butt of many a ...


Personal Tech
Boston Globe, United States - Jun 8, 2008
Proximity sensing is that creepy technology that allows marketers to tailor the actions of digital billboards and posters as you walk by them. ...


Fox Business Snatches WSJ's Walt Mossberg From CNBC
Silicon Alley Insider, NY - 11 hours ago
Well, how about the WSJ's biggest star, personal tech guru Walt Mossberg? Mossberg is scheduled to appear weekly on Fox Business Network, meaning he will no ...


Toward Freedom

Inside Africa’s PlayStation War
Toward Freedom, VT - 13 hours ago
To fulfill the personal-tech desires of hundreds of millions of consumers, SONY and other manufacturers needed electric capacitors. ...


Cnet Asia

Gmail can be Logged Off remotely
Cnet Asia, CA - 18 hours ago
He has a personal tech blog named The Most Authoritative Technology Blog. He loves networking with friends & the tech community at large and can be found at ...


Solutions: Suffering browser errors? Troubleshoot add-ons
Tampabay.com, FL - Jul 6, 2008
Send questions to personaltech@sptimes.com or Personal Tech, PO Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. Questions are answered only in this column.


Technology and Politics Collide at the 2008 Personal Democracy Forum
Washington Post, United States - Jun 16, 2008
If you caught last week?s Los Angeles Times coverage of the TechCrunch Primaries, you know we?ve tried to underline the increasingly important relationship ...


Google Connects PCs To TVs With New Application
Post Chronicle - Jun 30, 2008
by Mitch Marconi Google has decided to take over your TV, they just took your seat on the couch and grabbed the remote to change the way you view ...


Datamation

Tips on Getting a Better IT Job
Datamation, CT - Jun 27, 2008
By James Maguire Okay, you’re an IT professional and you’re looking for a job (or a better job than the one you have). Which of the following is most likely ...


Personal Tech Cable, Satellite Customer Satisfaction Falls, Poll Finds
CIO Today, CA - Jul 3, 2008
Cable and satellite firms also may field more complicated questions from consumers. HDTV, VOD, phone and other new services are more technologically complex ...

Personal-Tech - Google News

home | site map
© 2006