Publisher's Description
From Google:
Google Desktop is a desktop search application that gives you easy access to information on your Mac and from the web. Desktop makes searching your own email, files, music, photos, and more as easy as searching the web with Google.
What's new in this version:
- Support for 9 new languages (English UK, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Chinese Simplified and Traditional, Japanese, and Dutch).
- Support for non-English and non-Roman languages, especially Japanese.
- Crash reporter.
- Support to ignore email identified as spam in Mail and Entourage.
- Support for contact groups in Address Book and Entourage.
- Split kernel extension into two parts to avoid future reboots on Tiger.
We've fixed bugs ... See all new features
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All versions:
1.0 starsout of 1 votes
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Current version:
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"Hopeless!! Refuses to install on this computer"
Version: Google Desktop 1.7.0.1877
Pros
Despite this being a new computer each time I download the App it refuses to admit it is compatible with this computer. I have only had the computer for 3 weeks. IT WILL NOT INSTALL!!!!!!!!!
Cons
Despite this being a new computer each time I download the App it refuses to admit it is compatible with this computer. I have only had the computer for 3 weeks. IT WILL NOT INSTALL!!!!!!!!!
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"Run Away"
Version: Google Desktop 1.6.0.1552
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.
How did this trash get three stars. Time to take it down a notch.
This thing is utterly useless. There are superior alternatives galore. All it did for me was eat my CPU cycles and my hard drive space. If you find that useful, then by all means download it. If this is what client-side Google software is supposed to be, give up now Google. You FAILED. This annoying, lame crud may pass for software with Windows using zomboids, but we're Mac users.
I can hardly wait to see Android. NOT. You already infested Google Earth with bad attitude toward your users. And you want to take over my cell phone? I think not. The magic phrase in the Apple world is USER FRIENDLY. Go do no 'evil' somewhere else please.
Or better yet, have the guys who developed this POS take a few lessons from the side of Google that actually doesn't do evil, the side of town that makes all the great Google stuff I love and use on the net.
My rating for Google Desktop: 5 chunks
:-Q***** -
"Google DT"
Version: Google Desktop 1.1.0.520
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.
Fast as hell on my G5; superior interface to Spotlight too. Good job Google people! -
"Unexpected error in installation"
Version: Google Desktop 1.1.0.520
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.
Well, it seems there might still be some problems. Gave "Unexpected Error" on install.
Previous versions managed to make my Mac Pro (really) crawl. Would love to see this work. -
"Speed is its best feature"
Version: Google Desktop 1.1.0.520
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.
I am puzzled with all other reviews regarding instability and speed issues. My experience is exactly opposite. When I search using Spotlight and type e.g. "bootcamp", spotlight search almost freezes my computer (MacBook Pro 2.16GHz) for 1/2 second and then takes up to 3 (!!) seconds to display any results. Of course, I miss "Boot Camp Assistant" because I got only results for bootcamp. Maybe it chokes because my disk has ~1500000 files. Who cares?
On the other hand, Google's search takes 0 seconds to start searching and as soon as I press b-o-o-t, I have all results I need. And I *love* integration with google search page. -
"Just uninstalled it."
Version: Google Desktop 1.0.3.301
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.
I agree with all the previous comments about how this will noticably slow even the fastest system. I just wanted to comment on the "What's New" list:
What's new in this version:
[...]
Memory leaks.
[...]
Yep, that about sums it up for me. -
"Beginning to loose hope"
Version: Google Desktop 1.0.3.301
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.
I tried this version, hoping they had gotten the killer bugs worked out. No such luck. I have a new Mac Pro and even with four 3GHz CPUs and 4 GB of RAM, Google Desktop still manages to bring my system to a stuttering crawl. I don't know why - it isn't using unreasonable amounts of RAM or hogging CPU cycles, yet every app I use stutters and chokes. Spotlight doesn't do this; why should Google Desktop?
Another annoying bug that persists in this version is that, even though the keyboard shortcut to call up the search window remains set at the default - Command-Command - whenever I hit the Tab key twice in close succession the Google window pops up. Very rude and annoying behavior. -
"2 B || ¬ 2 B, The latter is the answer for Google..."
Version: Google Desktop 1.0.0
Summary
...Desktop
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.
Mixed feelings because I like Google's offerings and the company in general. Don't see the point to this product, especially in its current form. And be aware that even though you may tell it not to send stats back to Google, it tries to do so anyway. On the high side, it is fast.
Quick Overview:
GD installs in a more complicated than necessary 'download, install, download install' dance. Not unacceptable but feels clunky.
GD then indexes your hard disk and allows a command-command press to bring up a widget-like interface. Not bad but not intuitive. Could it have been a widget instead? Sure and then it would be intuitive. During the indexing, various components are contacting Google on a seemingly a continuous basis.
During and after the indexing of (all?) storage systems, the search engine is usable. Results are displayed in a browser. Browsers are a poor man's interface when compared to the richness of Mac OS X and Aqua.
Search results are not nearly as sophisticated as SpotLight:
- Number of results are very limited. ... only a couple on each screen, similar to Google on the web.
- No grouping of results, uses 'Cateogry' instead. GD's Categories are mutually exclusive when displayed; can only see one category at a time. Spotlight can group results by file type, by date, and even a 'people' category which is surprisingly useful. Spotlight can display all at the same time or use progressive disclosure triangles to hide individual groups.
- Meta data on the search results are flat in GD's browser display without progressive disclosure. Do we really care to see every file's path? No. Spotlight presents enough data to be useful and with a click, displays much more information which is also context sensitive. Spotlight metadata display for vCards is relative to vCards and very different from metadata display for video.
- Very limited preview capability. No movie preview, no audio preview, no PDF preview , no finder clipping preview. SpotLight can preview PDFs to vCards
- Only "List" view of search results, no "Grid" for images and other documents where a preview is very important. This is unlike both Google web and SpotLight both of which can provide a grid view of results for images. Spotlight can do it for any data type as well.
- Results not dynamic. Must issue search each time a refresh is desired. Spotlight refreshes dynamically as the disk changes.
- Where is not a choice. Must search whole computer, cannot search a folder, an external disk, a file server or an iPod like SpotLight
- When is not a choice. Can sort by date but at the expense of whatever 'relevance' is. Spotlight allows for date sorting within categories (a subsort) and can search on ranges of 'day', 'month', etc.
(there are more but this should give a feel for the contrast)
The application's component's organization in the system is good. The overall architecture of the software appears well done on the surface. This does not have that clunky 'Windows Port' feel at all. Its principle utility does have that clunky 'web application' feel. The icons are attractive but seem rather meaningless. They do resemble a salt water taffy pull (and strangely enough make my mouth water).
Roll Up:
Look, feel and function of the primary interface are all well below expectations. Better to invest the development efforts in something that adds distinct value to the Mac OS X platform. Google Desktop is not it, but the effort is still appreciated, just not the results.
Now if Google produced a SpotLight plugin that allowed searching of Google using the elegant interface of SpotLight, that would be useful. In fact, someone has already done that in Google Importer which works great. -
"Works well for me"
Version: Google Desktop 1.0.0
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.
Much faster than spotlight and Gmail indexing is really handy. -
"Works fine here"
Version: Google Desktop 1.0.0
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.
Installed a few days ago. Indexing took a while on my G4 Powermac dual 800mhz, but it now works like a charm. Much faster than spotlight !! I'm sorry to hear you guys had so much trouble with it btw.
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