The search engine giant Google (www.google.com) announced on March 8 the formal launch of Google Desktop Search (http://desktop.google.com), a free downloadable application that enables users to search for information on their own computers. Previously in beta, today's 1.0 release adds search over the full text of PDFs and the meta-information stored with music, image and video files. Additional enhancements include support for the Firefox and Netscape browsers, Thunderbird and Netscape e-mail clients and new Chinese and Korean language interfaces. Google Desktop Search allows access to the full text of Web page history and can also search AOL instant messages.
The software can also be used to recover accidentally deleted or misplaced information. For instance, a user who unintentionally deletes a Word document or PowerPoint presentation can use the tool to find the text stored in Google Desktop Search. All results are accompanied by cached snapshots of each Web page and document so users can access information even if they're not connected to the Web or if a document has been deleted.
Google Desktop Search will also provide application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable software developers to create new applications using the desktop search product. Plug-ins developed with these APIs will be made available for download at http://desktop.google.com/plugins. Additional enhancements to Google Desktop 1.0 include a free-standing search box that users can place anywhere on their desktop. Google Desktop Search is currently available for Windows XP and Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 and above. It requires 500 MB of disk space and a minimum of 128 MB of RAM, and a 400 MHz (or faster) Pentium processor is recommended.
