Google Announces Google Desktop 2

[peat moss]

[news=http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/4148/googledesktop8sz.gif]Google Inc. has announced Google Desktop 2 (beta), a free downloadable application that combines desktop search with an intelligent sidebar that learns the user's habits and interests.

"Google Desktop is a new, easier way to get information -- even without searching," said Marissa Mayer, director of product management for consumer products at Google. "You can think of it as a personal web assistant that learns about your habits and interests to identify and present web pages, news stories, and photos that it thinks you will be interested in."

Built on Google's desktop search technology the software include major new features, such as a Sidebar that provides desktop access to a variety of personalized information including email, news, weather, photos, stocks and RSS and Atom news feeds. Sidebar appears as a small vertical window on the side of a user's screen that includes a series of "live" content panels.

Source: http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?contentid=5072
Homepage: http://desktop.google.com/[/news]

[tesco]

It's neat, I've been playing around with this program today.

[peat moss]

Here's some plugins too.


http://desktop.google.com/plugins

[reaktor]

I typically dont use applications such as this because I feel its a waste of system resources (if I wanted to do a search, I'd just go to google's website)

Therefore please excuse my ignorance. I have very little first hand experience of this application but after reading this part of the article;

"You can think of it as a personal web assistant that learns about your habits and interests to identify and present web pages, news stories, and photos that it thinks you will be interested in."

I tend to lean towards adware. All it takes is some simple code to report that data to other companies and they have a perfect tool for advertisements. Is the google desktop actually adware, spyware, malware free?

[peat moss]

Good point reaktor, you could start here :

http://desktop.google.com/privacypolicy.html

[grooman]

I download it and tryed to install it, but it says that is incompatible with NOD32 for the moment... so, I'm waiting for the final release.

[asmithz]

i think its gay

[tesco]

I download it and tryed to install it, but it says that is incompatible with NOD32 for the moment... so, I'm waiting for the final release.

Works fine for me with NOD32.

[tracydani]

So what do you guys think now? Still using it? Pro's/Con's?

[tesco]

I stopped using it, I didn't really use it's search that much so it wasn't worth the slowdowns it caused.