| Google Desktop | |
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 The GDS Sidebar sits on the user's desktop and displays relevant information. (Google Desktop on Vista) |
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| Developed by | |
| Latest release | 5. A software developer is a person or organization concerned with facets of the software development process wider than design and coding a somewhat broader scope of Google Inc is an American public corporation, earning revenue from advertising related to its Internet search, e-mail, online A software release is the distribution whether public or private of an initial or new and upgraded version of a Computer software product 7. 802. 22438 / February 29, 2008 |
| OS | Cross-platform |
| Genre | Desktop search |
| Website | http://desktop.google.com |
Google Desktop is desktop search software made by Google for Mac OS X, Linux, and Microsoft Windows. Leap years Although the modern calendar counts a year as 365 days a complete revolution around the sun takes approximately 365 days and 6 hours 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common An operating system (commonly abbreviated OS and O/S) is the software component of a Computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination In computing cross-platform (also known as multi-platform) is a term used to refer to Computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented Computer software can be organized into categories based on common function type or field of use Desktop search is the name for the field of search tools which search the contents of a user's own Computer files, rather than searching the Internet A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages Desktop search is the name for the field of search tools which search the contents of a user's own Computer files, rather than searching the Internet Google Inc is an American public corporation, earning revenue from advertising related to its Internet search, e-mail, online Mac OS X (mæk oʊ ɛs tɛn is a line of computer Operating systems developed marketed and sold by Apple Inc, the latest of which is pre-loaded on all currently Linux (commonly pronounced ˈlɪnəks Microsoft Windows is a series of Software Operating systems and Graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. The program allows text searches of a user's e-mails, computer files, music, photos, chats, Web pages viewed, and other "Google Gadgets. "
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Features
As of January 2008, Google Desktop features the following functionality:
File indexing
After initially installing Google Desktop, the software completes an indexing of all the files in the computer. PortalCurrent events International holidays January 1 - New Year's Day January 1 - Independence Oddly, the indexing includes the content of the file, but does not include file names. So if your file is called John Doe, it will not be indexed under Doe if you always refer to him as John in the content of the file.
After the initial indexing is completed, the software continues to index files as needed. Users can start searching for files immediately after installing the program. After performing searches, results can also be returned in an Internet browser on the Google Desktop Home Page much like the results for Google Web searches. A web browser is a software application which enables a user to display and interact with text images videos music games and other information typically located on a
As of October 2007, Google Desktop can index several different types of data, including email, web browsing history from Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox, office documents in the OpenDocument and Microsoft Office formats, instant messenger transcripts from AOL, Google, MSN, Skype, Tencent QQ, and several multimedia file types. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Google Desktop is Desktop search software made by Google for Mac OS X, Linux, and Microsoft Windows. Windows Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer abbreviated MSIE) commonly abbreviated to IE, is a series of graphical The OpenDocument format (ODF is a File format for electronic office documents such as Spreadsheets Charts presentations and Microsoft Office is a set of interrelated desktop applications servers and services collectively referred to as an Office suite, for the Microsoft Windows and Google Talk ( GTalk) is a Windows and web-based application for voice over internet protocol (VOIP and Instant messaging, offered by Google. Skype (skaɪp is Software that allows users to make telephone calls over the Internet. Additional file types can be indexed through the use of plug-ins. [1] Google Desktop allows the user to control which types of data are indexed by the program.
Sidebar
A prominent feature of Google Desktop is the Sidebar, which holds several common Gadgets and resides off to one side of the desktop. The sidebar is a term that is used for a GUI element that displays various forms of information to the side of an application or desktop user interface As of January 2008, the Sidebar is available with the Microsoft Windows version of Google Desktop only. PortalCurrent events International holidays January 1 - New Year's Day January 1 - Independence The Sidebar comes pre-installed with the following gadgets:
- Email - a panel which lets one view one's Gmail messages. Gmail, officially Google Mail in Germany and the United Kingdom is a free POP3 and IMAP
- Scratch Pad - here one can store random notes; they are saved automatically
- Photos - displays a slideshow of photos from the "My Pictures" folder (address can be changed)
- News - shows the latest headlines from Google News, and how long ago they were written. Notetaking is the practice of Writing pieces of information often in an informal or unstructured manner A photograph (often shortened to photo) is an Image created by Light falling on a light-sensitive surface usually Photographic film or an electronic Google News is an automated News aggregator provided by Google Inc The News panel is personalized depending on the type of news you read.
- Weather - shows the current weather for a location specified by the user.
- Web Clips - shows recent posts from RSS news feeds. RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works – such as Blog entries news headlines audio and video – in a standardized
- Google Talk - If Google Talk is installed, double clicking the window title will dock it to one's sidebar. Google Talk ( GTalk) is a Windows and web-based application for voice over internet protocol (VOIP and Instant messaging, offered by Google.
Like the Windows Taskbar, the Google Desktop sidebar can be set to Auto-Hide mode, where it will only appear once the user moves the mouse cursor towards the side where it resides. If not on auto-hide, by default the sidebar will always take up about 1/6 - 1/9 of one's screen (depending on the screen resolution), and other windows are forced to resize. However, the sidebar can be resized to take less space, and you can disable the "always on top" feature in the options. With the auto-hide feature on, the sidebar temporarily overlaps maximized windows. In Computing, a window is a visual area usually rectangular in shape containing some kind of User interface, displaying the output of and allowing input for one
Another feature that comes with the Sidebar is alerts. When the Sidebar is minimized, new e-mail and news can be displayed on a pop-up window above the Windows Taskbar.
Quick Find
When searching in the sidebar, deskbar or floating deskbar, Google Desktop displays a "Quick Find" window. In Computing, a window is a visual area usually rectangular in shape containing some kind of User interface, displaying the output of and allowing input for one This window is filled with 6 (by default) of the most relevant results from one's computer. These results update as one types so that one can get to what one wants on one's computer without having to open another browser window.
Deskbars
Deskbars are boxes which enable one to type in a search query directly from one's desktop. The desktop metaphor is an Interface metaphor which is a set of unifying concepts used by Graphical user interfaces to help users more easily interact with the Web results will open in a browser window, and selected computer results will be displayed in the "Quick Find" box (see above). A Deskbar can either be a fixed deskbar, which sits in one's Windows Taskbar, or a Floating Deskbar, which one may position anywhere one wants on one's desktop.
Email indexing
Google Desktop includes plugins that allow one to index and search through the contents of local Microsoft Outlook, IBM Lotus Notes, and Mozilla Thunderbird email databases, outside of the client applications' built-in search functions. Microsoft Outlook or Outlook (full name Microsoft Office Outlook since Outlook 2003 is a Personal information manager from Microsoft, and is Lotus Notes is a Client-server, collaborative application developed and sold by IBM Software Group Mozilla Thunderbird is a free, Open source, Cross-platform e-mail and News client developed by the Mozilla Foundation. For Lotus Notes, only local databases are indexed for searching. Google Desktop's email indexing feature is also integrated with Google's web-based email service, Gmail; it can index and search the email messages in one's Gmail account. Gmail, officially Google Mail in Germany and the United Kingdom is a free POP3 and IMAP
Gadgets & plug-ins
Desktop gadgets are interactive mini-applications that can be placed anywhere on the user's desktop – or docked in the Sidebar – to show new email, weather, photos, and personalized news. Google offers a gallery of pre-built gadgets for download on the official website. For developers, Google offers an SDK and an official blog for anyone who wants to write gadgets or plug-ins for Google Desktop. A software development kit ( SDK or " devkit " is typically a set of development tools that allows a Software engineer to create applications An automated system creates a developer hierarchy called the "Google Desktop Hall of Fame", where programmers can advance based on their gadgets' number and popularity.
The SDK also allows third-party applications to make use of the search facilities provided by Google Desktop Search. For example, the file manager Directory Opus offers integrated Google Desktop Search support. Directory Opus (or "DOpus" as its users tend to call it is a popular file manager program originally written for the Amiga computer system in the early to mid 1990s
Release history
Google Desktop was originally developed to bring Google search technology to the desktop. Google Desktop received much attention because it may allow reverse engineering of Google's proprietary search algorithm. Reverse engineering (RE is the process of discovering the technological principles of a device object or system through analysis of its structure function and operation In Computer science, a search algorithm, broadly speaking is an Algorithm that takes a problem as Input and returns a solution to the problem usually
- Microsoft Windows
- The first release of Google Desktop Search was released as a beta version on October 14, 2004. Events 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - In England on Senlac Hill seven miles from Hastings, the forces "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " [2]
- Version 2 was released as a beta version on August 22, 2005. Events 392 - Arbogast has Eugenius elected Western Roman Emperor. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The new feature that distinguishes Desktop 2 from Desktop is the addition of Sidebar, a panel that displays personalized information, which can be placed on either side of the Windows desktop and can display real-time news, e-mail, photos, stocks, and weather, among others. Sidebar includes a search box that can search just the PC or Google's other search types (like Web, Images, News, Groups. ) Google Desktop 2 graduated from beta on November 3, 2005. Events 644 - Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Muslim Caliph, is killed by a Persian slave in Medina. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. New features include a sidebar plug-in for Google Maps and more plug-in developer support. [3]
- Google Desktop 3 Beta was released on February 9, 2006. Events 474 - Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. It includes support for searching multiple computers on a network. [4] Google Desktop 3 graduated from beta on March 14, 2006. Events 1489 - The Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, sells her kingdom to Venice. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Notable in this version is the quick search box, which appears anywhere on your desktop after pressing "control" twice. [5]
- Google Desktop 4 Beta was released on May 10, 2006. Events 1291 - Scottish Nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. It features Google Gadgets, modules that can deliver an array of information. It also introduces option to automatically remove deleted files from search results. [6] Google Desktop 4 graduated from beta on June 27, 2006. Events 1358 - Republic of Dubrovnik is founded 1709 - Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
- Google Desktop v4. 5 was released on November 14, 2006, adding a transparency aesthetic to the sidebar and "floating" gadgets. Events 1533 - Conquistadors from Spain under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro arrive in Cajamarca, Inca Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The graphic interface of the sidebar was also enhanced with more stylized icons for news, stocks, weather, photos, etc. Release 4. 5 also added support for Windows Vista.
- Google Desktop 5 Beta was released on March 6, 2007. Events 1079 - Omar Khayyám completes the Iranian calendar. 1454 - Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
- Google Desktop v5. 1 (the first post-Desktop 5 Beta release) is made available for download on 2007-04-27. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1124 - David I becomes King of Scotland. 1296 - Battle of Dunbar: The Scots are defeated [7]
- Google released Desktop v5. 5 on 2007-10-02. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1187 - Siege of Jerusalem: Saladin captures Jerusalem after 88 years of Crusader rule [7]
- Mac
- On April 2007, Google released Desktop 1. April 2007 is the fourth month of that year It began on a Sunday and 30 days later ended on a Monday. 0 for Mac OS X, which can function alongside the Spotlight search tool in Mac OS X v10.4. Spotlight is a system-wide Desktop search feature of Apple's Mac OS X Operating system introduced in version 10 Mac OS X version 104 “Tiger” was the fifth major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server Operating system for Macintosh [8]
- On November 29, 2007, Google released Desktop v1. Events 1777 - San Jose California, is founded as el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. 4. 0. 826 beta for Mac OS X[9], which plugs into Dashboard for Gadgets support. Dashboard is an application for Apple 's Mac OS X operating systems used for hosting mini-applications known as widgets.
- Linux
- Google released Desktop 1. 0 for Linux on June 27, 2007. Events 1358 - Republic of Dubrovnik is founded 1709 - Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. [10] It currently features the basic functionality of the Windows version but not the sidebar functionality.
- Google added 64-bit support to the Google Desktop for Linux with version 1. '64-bit' CPUs have existed in Supercomputers since the 1960s and in RISC -based workstations and servers since the early 1990s. 1. 1. 0075, which was made available for download on 2007-12-18. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 218 BC - Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia - Hannibal 's Carthaginian forces defeat those of the [11]
Criticisms
Security
In February 2007, Yair Amit from Watchfire found a series of vulnerabilities[12] in Google Desktop that could allow a malicious individual to achieve not only remote, persistent access to sensitive data, but in some cases full system control as well. The significant impact and the ease of exploitation forced Google to change some of Google Desktop's logic in Google Desktop version 5.
Privacy
Many privacy and civil liberties groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) have concerns that personal information on people's computers could readily be copied from users' hard drives. Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively thumb| |Broken Liberty Istanbul Archaeology Museum Civil liberties are freedoms that protect the Individual from the Government. The Electronic Frontier Foundation ( EFF) is an international non-profit advocacy and legal organization based in the United States with the stated purpose of being dedicated A hard disk drive ( HDD) commonly referred to as a hard drive, hard disk, or fixed disk drive, is a Non-volatile storage device
Google Desktop V. 3 contains certain features that raise serious security and privacy concerns. Specifically, the share across computers feature that introduces the ability to search content from desktop to desktop greatly increases the risk to users' privacy. If Google Desktop V. 3 is set to allow Search Across Computers, files on an indexed computer are copied to Google's servers. The potential for information stored on their computers to be accessed by others if they enable this feature of Google Desktop v. 3 on their computers should be seriously considered. The EFF advises against using this feature. [13] Also, those who have confidential data on their work or home computers should not enable this feature. There are privacy laws and company policies that could be violated through the installation of this feature, specifically, SB 1386, HIPAA, FERPA, GLBA and Sarbanes-Oxley. SB1386 amending civil codes 179829 179882 and 179884 is a California law regulating the privacy of personal information The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ( HIPAA) was enacted by the U The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 ( FERPA or the Buckley Amendment) is a United States federal law codified at, with implementing regulations The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, also known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act,, is an Act of the United States Congress The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ( also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 and commonly called SOX or Sarbox [14]
Other more far reaching concerns arise around the packaging and end user license agreement - specifically the level of intrusion on the local machine and the disclaimers that users implicitly agree to future changes in the license agreement without actually being able to see them immediately. [15][16]
Resource use
Although there have been known problems with the GoogleDesktopCrawl. exe process,[17] lately the presence of smart indexing has improved the use of resources so this is less of a problem now. As a default setting, after the user installs the application, files, emails and other data will be indexed at once, in a one-time process. It occurs only when the user's computer is idle for more than 30 seconds and it will usually be complete in several hours. After the one-time indexing, the index is kept up-to-date based on user actions and preferences.
Internationalization/Keyboard
Besides the key combination advertised on the preferences page (hitting Ctrl twice) Google Desktop's Quick Search Box can be launched with a shortcut Alt Gr + g, Alt Gr, however, is the standard key to input diacriticized letters on a QWERTY keyboard, e. AltGr is a Modifier key on PC keyboards used to type many characters primarily ones that are unusual for the locale of the Keyboard layout, such A dead key is a key on a Typewriter or a Computer keyboard that allows modification (such as by placement of Diacritic) on the following letter A diacritic ( also called a diacritic or diacritical mark, point, or sign, is a small sign added to a letter to alter pronunciation QWERTY (ˈkwɜː(rti is the most common modern-day Keyboard layout on English-language computer and Typewriter keyboards It takes its g. Ģ/ģ in the Latvian language. Latvian language (latviešu valoda is the official state language of Latvia. Even though it can't be disabled on the preferences page, it can be done through editing the Windows Registry. The Windows registry is a directory which stores settings and options for the Operating system for Microsoft Windows 32-bit versions 64-bit versions and [18]
See also
- Desktop search
- List of desktop search engines
- List of Google services and tools
- Comparison of widget engines
References
- ^ All Indexing Plugins. Desktop search is the name for the field of search tools which search the contents of a user's own Computer files, rather than searching the Internet This is a list of Wikipedia articles about search This page is a summary of services and tools provided by Google Inc This is a comparison of Widget engines. This article is not about Widget toolkits that are used in Computer programming to build Graphical user interfaces Retrieved on 2007-10-22. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 202 BC - Hannibal Barca, leader of the Carthaginians, is defeated by the Roman legions under Scipio Africanus
- ^ Google Press Center: Press Release
- ^ Official Google Blog: Desktop grows up
- ^ Official Google Blog: New on your Desktop
- ^ Official Google Blog: Stay in Ctrl Ctrl
- ^ Official Google Blog: Yes, we are still all about search
- ^ a b Latest Updates for Google Desktop.
- ^ Mike Pinkerton (2007-04-04). Mike "Pink" Pinkerton is an American Software developer who is known for his work on the Mozilla browsers Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1581 - Francis Drake completes a circumnavigation of the world and is knighted by Elizabeth I. Google Desktop for Mac. Official Google Mac Blog. Retrieved on 2007-04-19. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1012 - Martyrdom of Alphege in Greenwich London. 1529 - At the Second Diet of Speyer
- ^ Google (November 28, 2007). Google Inc is an American public corporation, earning revenue from advertising related to its Internet search, e-mail, online For the town in Argentina, see 28 de Noviembre. Events Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. "Where can I obtain a list of known issues or release notes?" - "Current Version". Desktop for Mac Help Center. Retrieved on 2007-11-29. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1777 - San Jose California, is founded as el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe
- ^ Google (2007-06-27). Google Inc is an American public corporation, earning revenue from advertising related to its Internet search, e-mail, online Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1358 - Republic of Dubrovnik is founded 1709 - Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden Google Desktop for Linux. Google Desktop for Linux. Retrieved on 2007-07-27. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1214 - Battle of Bouvines: In France, Philip II of France defeats John of England.
- ^ Where can I obtain a list of known issues or release notes?. Google Inc. .
- ^ Overtaking Google Desktop
- ^ Press Releases: February, 2006 | Electronic Frontier Foundation
- ^ More worries about Google Desktop 3 - Internet - News - ZDNet Asia
- ^ http://rixstep.com/2/20070621,00.shtml Google Desktop Tracked: Terms of Service (Welcome to Google)
- ^ http://rixstep.com/2/20070621,05.shtml Google Desktop Tracked: The Aftermath
- ^ Google Desktop is using up 100% of my CPU. What can I do?
- ^ What shortcut keys are available with Google Desktop?