Mark Evans

Google Desktop 2.0: Impressive

How should we read Google's new desktop software? From a strategic perspective, what does version 2.0 say about where the company is going? After loading the software and playing around with it for awhile, there is no doubt it's impressive. In particular, it offers the ability to quickly and easily access all kinds of information from local weather and e-mail to stock quotes, the latest news and frequently used applications/Web sites. Plus there is the ability to personalize many of the different widgets. For the growing number of people who mostly use their computers to access the Web and e-mail, Google Desktop 2.0 has the potential to be a perfect and permanent companion. As far as flaws, Silicon Beat quickly pointed out the toolbar takes up a lot of space, which means I can't open as many tabs in Firefox as I would like. The Kelsey Group's Greg Sterling offers an excellent critique of the software, including his belief its “functionality sits somewhere in between a toolbar and a browser…. allowing users to do a bunch of things without having to go to separate places on their machines or on the Web.” What's also interesting about Google Desktop 2.0 is there are no signs of AdSense banners, which suggests Google is not so much interested in monetizing the software as it is about have a bigger presence on the desktop.