The Google Desktop InterfaceFollowing the hype about the launch of Google Desktop a couple weeks ago, I decided to investigate, and have been running it since. But I must say, I'm left completely underwhelmed.
I suppose the biggest hook for most folks is that it brings the familiar Google web search experience to your local system. Anyone comfortable with Google will immediately tune in to Google Desktop. For most people, that is all that matters. But if you're a heavy duty computer user mired in data overload, finding a very specific piece of information among the multitude of data stores available (disk folders, email, attachments, network drives, etc...) is a truly daunting challenge. If search performance and quality of results are important to you, Google Desktop has a long way to go to beat my personal favorite search tool -- X1.
Google Desktop does alright, but I don't buy into its praise as being the Utopian search tool many have been calling it. Did anyone notice that it doesn't even preview your results? I've tried lots of different tools over the last few years (Enfish, Copernic, Lookout, NEO, etc.), and each has their own unique strengths, but after discovering X1, it didn't take long to drop the others entirely. I must admit a bit of excitement on my part when Lookout came on the scene, but a few weeks into its life on my system, its mediocre performance just wasn't cutting it. Although I still have it loaded, it hasn't been run in months. It makes me wonder why Microsoft bypassed X1 in favor of buying Lookout. My experience using Google Desktop was really no different, except it only took days to begin ignoring it in favor of my precious X1.
The single most impressive thing about X1 is quite simply its speed. Literally as fast as you type each letter of your search term, X1 is delivering your results with highlighted keywords appearing in the preview pane (Did I mention the Google Desktop doesn't preview results?). X1 must be seen to be fully appreciated. On the downside, X1 comes at a price -- literally. Although Google Desktop and some of its competitors are free, X1 costs $74.95 for a single license (although there is some speculation that says X1 is considering a lower price point). Although I believe most casual users will opt for the free Google Desktop, X1 deserves consideration by the enterprise and power user crowd. Nothing beats it for speed and usability.
The X1 InterfaceKeep your eyes out for the upcoming X1 V5 update. I recently began using the V5 beta, and it packs some big improvements in usability, versatility, and scope. The new X1 sports an Outlook-style interface that makes it easy to customize, refine, and sort searches even more quickly and easily, without the continuous re-queries Google users are familiar with.
One last thought...
From a programming standpoint, writing this brief review makes me wonder why some developers are so enamored with using a web interface for desktop-only applications? Why not to take advantage of the robust capabilities offered a modern GUI? Certainly a web interface offers a degree of platform independence, but the benefits of a rich interface can be huge in terms of usability.
I don't get it.