Google launches desktop search

October 14, 2004

Google releases software that will simultaneously search files on a computer hard drive, as well as on the Internet.

Other companies have released desktop search products in the past year, and competitors Ask Jeeves and Yahoo are expected to follow suit.

But Google's integration of the product into its home page, and the company's strong brand awareness among Internet users, ups the ante in what is expected to be a tough battle with Microsoft over search technology.

``This is the newest extension of the browser wars,'' said Jupiter Research senior analyst Joe Wilcox, referring to Netscape Communications' epic battle with Microsoft in the 1990s. ``Microsoft has to be worried.''

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Google was to announce the software at the Digital Life conference this morning in New York.

Andy Beal, vice president for the search engine marketing firm WebSourced, said until recently, search companies were focused on providing the most useful Internet search results.

``Now the race has moved to who has the most bells and whistles,'' Beal said. ``How can you distinguish yourself from your competitors?''

Called Google Desktop Search, the software is a 400-kilobyte file that Microsoft Windows users can download to their computers (a Macintosh version is not yet available). The software is accessible through a Web browser and the ``Desktop'' link that is automatically added to the Google home page.

Once the software is installed, users can perform simultaneous searches for Web and desktop files directly from google.com, or they can limit the search to the desktop. The end result is a hard drive search that looks nearly identical to a typical Google Web search.

``The integration into the main Google look is essential,'' said research librarian Gary Price, who watches the search engine industry closely. ``Overall, it's very impressive.''

Like other, similar tools, the Google software performs a one-time comprehensive index of a hard drive after installation and then updates the index any time a new file is created.

The software can index the content of most common types of files, including Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and Outlook e-mail messages. The software also keeps a record of a user's Web surfing history, and it logs all AOL Instant Message conversations.

The software does have limitations. It cannot search across computer networks, it cannot search the text of PDF files. And, for now, it can only search e-mail messages from Outlook or Outlook Express.

The program, oddly enough, cannot index messages from Gmail, Google's e-mail service. Marissa Mayer, Google's director of consumer Web products, said that because Gmail is written in the Javascript programming language, the desktop software cannot access its files. But engineers are working on an HTML version of Gmail that can work with the desktop searcher, she said.

Like Gmail, Google's desktop search may raise privacy concerns. Some users may be uncomfortable with instant message conversations being recorded, though they can disable that feature. And there may be another rude awakening:

``If you thought that it was easier for people to find out about you on the Web, this makes it real easy for a co-worker to pop over to your desk and search your hard drive lickety split,'' said search engine expert Danny Sullivan.

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The Google announcement follows a flurry of Internet search developments this year, including Yahoo's creation of its own search engine, the unveiling of Gmail, and a bevy of other product upgrades by nearly every player in the industry.

But Google's move is especially significant because it signals that the Mountain View company may be readying itself to challenge Microsoft's ownership of the computer desktop.

Rumors have been circulating that Google may be developing a Web browser; the company has refused to confirm or deny them.

Now, by integrating desktop searching capabilities into its browser, Google is ``blurring the lines between the desktop and the Internet,'' said Joe Wilcox, senior analyst with Jupiter Research. That suggests Google is trying to position itself as the primary gateway to the increasing amount of digital content that people access every day.

``More and more it's about content, whether that's written in a file on a desktop, or multimedia or on a blog,'' Wilcox said, ``and who is going to control the information and provide the utility to access the information.''

Sullivan, editor of the Search Engine Watch Web site, said the new tool once again raises the specter of a potential Google operating system, where users would store all their digital files on the company's servers and access them through a specialized interface.

``It raises the question, what is the desktop?'' Sullivan said. ``I think down the road, it opens the possibility of moving your stuff over to Google, where you can always access it and they'll back up copies for you. I think it seriously changes the dynamic in a very Google-esque way.''

For their part, Microsoft executives have vowed to make search technology a top priority. The company's MSN division is developing an Internet search engine to compete with Google and Yahoo. And the company has promised to make desktop file-searching a key feature of Longhorn, its next operating system.

Microsoft Windows' file searching capabilities are considered mediocre at best, opening the door for quicker, easier-to-use tools such as Google's. But when Microsoft eventually releases its new operating system, with embedded search capabilities, the company could gain a clear advantage.

That's because Microsoft's search technology would be readily available on the desktop, while Google and other companies would need to persuade users to take the extra step of downloading software.

Moreover, Microsoft's technology will leverage a powerful new database system the company is developing for Longhorn, potentially making it far more robust than anything a competitor could provide with a small downloadable program.

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One feature Microsoft is developing, called Implicit Query, automatically displays a list of items or files -- Internet links, e-mail messages or music files -- related to whatever task the user happens to be working on. The company is also looking at ways to personalize search results based on what the operating system knows about users.

But Wilcox said Google's reputation for fast, reliable results may ultimately make it difficult for Microsoft to convince people to use its technology. Wilcox conducted a survey last year that found the majority of business Windows users change their default Web search setting away from MSN to other search engines.

``What I see is Google leveraging its strength,'' Wilcox said, noting its popularity with Web users. ``If Microsoft can do the research and catch up, then anything can happen. . . . Microsoft can improve search in two years. But if people are already using Google, it will be hard to get them to change.''

Source: Times Leader.com

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