Finding something on the web these days is easy -- just Google it. Within seconds, just about anything even remotely related to "it" instantly appears on your screen. But for most of us, finding information on our own machines is the hard part, especially with the amount of information we're bombarded with on a daily basis.
Mercifully, if you're a Windows XP or Windows 2000 SP3 user, now you can Google your PC. Google's free Desktop search allows full text search of emails, computer files, music, photos, chat, even visited web pages, and organizes search results in the same user-friendly Google interface you're used to from the web. With its photographic memory, it can recall virtually any file stored on your machine in seconds. And because it creates its own cache, it probably will find even a few you thought you'd lost or long since deleted.
Tell your PC to say "Cheese"
Essentially, Google Desktop takes a snapshot of your files and indexes them for more efficient searching. After taking an initial inventory of your PC, Desktop continues to index and store every file it comes across (which means you won't be able to find items received while the application was turned off). The reason it's so much faster than the search function of your PC is because, unlike Search, which searches entire files, Desktop searches an indexed list of files.
To quote Wikipedia, "If one were trying to find a title of a chapter of a book in a library, Windows XP's Search would search through all the books in the library, whereas Desktop would scan the card catalog, a time-saving process."
Bye, bye, Beta
On November 3rd, 2005, Desktop 2 officially came out of beta testing with a number of improvements, enhancements and expanded plug-in development options. Far from merely a search field on your desktop (although this is one display option), the program features a Sidebar that serves as a sort of personal start page on the side of your screen. If enabled, the content in many of Sidebar's plug-in modules is continually updated to appeal to the user's interests, or at least what the software perceives the user's interests to be.
Along with the standard plug-ins like News, What's Hot and Web Clips, Google also offers downloadable plug-ins to customize Sidebar. For example, gdTunes lets you control your iTunes music player from Sidebar, and YIM Archive indexes Yahoo! IM files. And because there are over 10,000 file types associated with Windows, Google offers an SDK (software development kit) that allows developers to write their own plug-ins.
Advertising opportunities abound
It doesn't take a marketing guru to notice that Sidebar, which has the ability to cater content to a user's specific interests, is a near-perfect vehicle for delivering highly focused advertising. So are pop-up ads, banners and streaming video aimed with laser-like precision on their way anytime soon?
"We have no plans at this time," says Sonya Boralv, Google's PR person for Technology. When asked if Google has plans to integrate marketing or advertising to any other aspects of Desktop, Boralv's reply was the same.
But what of the content featured in Sidebar's plug-ins? After all, many of the websites promoted by Sidebar contain prominent advertisements. Is Google receiving revenue from these sites for driving traffic to them?
"No," Boralv emphatically says, which begs the question, then how is Google making money with Desktop? The short answer is, the same way they do with their web searches -- by featuring sponsored links with search results.
In Desktop's default mode, running a search will yield both items found on your computer and items found on the web, including sponsored links. So if you type "invitation" into the search field to find an email invite you received, not only will you get results for the email on your computer, you'll also get web results having to do with invitations, including sponsored links like Shutterfly.com.
When asked if Google has seen an increase in driving traffic to sponsored links since releasing Desktop, Boralv replied that Google doesn't release details on traffic. But it seems clear there's definite potential for a substantial increase in traffic. Especially with Desktop's search field always right there on your screen, even with no browser open. Its constant presence is undoubtedly designed to encourage more searchers.
To their credit, Google provides users with the option to not include desktop results with web results, as well as a desktop-only search that's completely void of sponsored links.
Convenience vs. privacy
Clearly there are some concerns with a program that saves and indexes every email you receive, every file you work on, and every web page you visit. First and foremost, what if you don't want this information accessible to anyone? Remember, even if you delete emails, documents or your history from your browser, Desktop still saves these files in its own cache -- a great safety net, but not exactly conducive to protecting your privacy.
There are some things you can do, like turning Desktop off if you don't want it to record your activity. By default, password-protected Office files aren't indexed, and there are ways to keep specific data from being indexed as well as to remove data from Desktop's index. There's also an encryption function, but Google openly warns that it reduces Desktop's performance. So if you're really adamant about not wanting anyone knowing what sorts of information you're looking at, Desktop may not be for you.
Then there's the issue of your personal information being available to Google, something Google makes clear doesn't happen without your permission. No keywords leave your computer when you search your desktop only, but with combo web/desktop searches, search terms are sent to Google, the same way they are with regular web searches. Enabling Advanced Features in Desktop's preferences allows information about web pages you visit to be sent to Google to help them personalize your Sidebar, and other data, like crash reports, may also be sent to them. The specifics can be found in Google's Privacy Policy.
Will Google rule desktop searches, too?
While they face some stiff competition from other desktop-search programs, based on their track record alone, it's hard to bet against Google. While some may stay away because of privacy concerns, it's tough to envision the convenience, functionality and price (it's free!) of this product not winning over the masses. In fact, Google's biggest challenge may turn out to be resisting the temptation to bog down users with contextual advertising, something this product appears ready made for.
Sean Egen works as a freelance writer and as senior marketing writer for Experian Consumer Direct in Orange Country, California.
