Internet giant Google has released Google Desktop for Mac, a desktop search tool the company states will work alongside Apple’s Spotlight feature built into Mac OS X 10.4.
Google Desktop functions as localized search tool as well as a web-enabled tool that can search through GMail, Google’s image engine, the company’s map program, available online media, etc.
Although Spotlight currently stands as an established local search standard on the Mac, Google claims its program can currently utilize any Spotlight plug-ins thtat users already have installed on their system according to Macworld News.
The program, a one megabyte download, is activated by hitting the Command key twice to bring up a search window. Begin typing and, like Spotlight, Google begins to display results such as whether it finds a document or application. If the first 10 listed results found don’t match what you’re looking for, clicking a “Search Web” option below the found results will pull up your default web browser and Google’s search engine results for your request.
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Internet giant Google has released Google Desktop for Mac, a desktop search tool the company states will work alongside Apple’s Spotlight feature built into Mac OS X 10.4.
Google Desktop functions as localized search tool as well as a web-enabled tool that can search through GMail, Google’s image engine, the company’s map program, available online media, etc.
Although Spotlight currently stands as an established local search standard on the Mac, Google claims its program can currently utilize any Spotlight plug-ins thtat users already have installed on their system according to Macworld News.
The program, a one megabyte download, is activated by hitting the Command key twice to bring up a search window. Begin typing and, like Spotlight, Google begins to display results such as whether it finds a document or application. If the first 10 listed results found don’t match what you’re looking for, clicking a “Search Web” option below the found results will pull up your default web browser and Google’s search engine results for your request.
Head into System Preferences after installing Google Desktop for Mac and options such as which hard drives, whether Google Mail is searched and how feedback is displayed can be adjusted. The window also includes a shortcut over to the Spotlight System Preferences pane to make quick changes over there.
Upon installation, users can either enable or disable whether Google records your Google Desktop results (which the company claims are non-intrusive and confidential).
According to Google, the Google Desktop can also help locate deleted files by creating cached copies of files and documents which are stored locally on the hard drive.
Google Desktop requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later to run and is available as a free download.
If you’ve tried the program and have comments or ideas about it, let us know.