Google for Your Desktop
The latest gambit from the folks at Google: proving that their software can find documents on your Windows computer faster than Windows itself can. The new Google Desktop, a free downloadable program, applies Google’s indexing technology to your hard drive, drastically speeding up keyword searches of files such as Word, Excel, and Powerpoint documents, Outlook e-mail messages, AOL Instant Messenger conversations, and Web pages you’ve viewed.
Google isn’t the first to introduce such technology; X1, Enfish, and several other companies sell utilities that index local documents, and Blinkx recently introduced a multipurpose program that monitors what’s on your PC screen and shows related documents stored your hard drive or on the Web. But Google is the biggest player in the search business to launch a major incursion onto the desktop, beating even Microsoft to the punch. (Microsoft’s next-generation Windows system, code named Longhorn, was to include a new file system called WinFS that was designed in part to make searching across different document types easier. But officials in Redmond said recently that WinFS won’t be ready in time for Longhorn’s projected 2006 release.)
Deep Dive
Uncategorized
Our best illustrations of 2022
Our artists’ thought-provoking, playful creations bring our stories to life, often saying more with an image than words ever could.
How CRISPR is making farmed animals bigger, stronger, and healthier
These gene-edited fish, pigs, and other animals could soon be on the menu.
The Download: the Saudi sci-fi megacity, and sleeping babies’ brains
10 Breakthrough Technologies 2023
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.