Originally published February 23 2006
Google to release version of its PC and Web search application
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Google Desktop 3 beta has a Sidebar pane that can be broken up into individual panels, which give users access to email, news, weather, photos, stocks and more. Users can also share directly from one Sidebar to another.
Google plans to release on Thursday a new beta version of its free, downloadable PC and Web search application.
The new version will expand the functionality of the product's Sidebar feature, a panel that provides information from a variety of information sources.
In the Google Desktop 3 beta, the Sidebar pane can be broken up into individual panels, which can in turn be placed in different parts of the screen, says Sundar Pichai, director of product management.
Another enhancement to the Sidebar is the ability to share content with other users by sending it directly to another person's Sidebar or via instant messaging, in both cases thanks to integration with the Google Talk instant messaging service.
Both users need to be logged into Google Talk to take advantage of this feature.
Content can also be shared via e-mail, by launching an e-mail interface from Sidebar.
This new collaboration and sharing capability is the upgrade's most compelling feature, because it adds a social computing dimension to the product, says Greg Sterling, an analyst with The Kelsey Group.
Because Google Desktop's functionality can be extended through its APIs (application programming interfaces), it will be interesting to see how third-party developers broaden this social computing aspect of the product, he says.
Beyond the Sidebar enhancements, the application's new version also lets users search for information across two or more of their computers.
The storage of PC files on Google servers makes users more vulnerable to subpoenas from the government or private litigants, the EFF said in a statement.
This is because the Electronic Communication Privacy Act of 1986 affords less privacy protection to data stored on online service provider servers than to data stored on a home or work PC, the EFF said.
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