Google on your desktop?

• Nov. 7, 2003

It's true. In one of the best moves Google has made to date, they have released the Google Deskbar. So why is this so important for Google? We have already told you how Google needs to stay ahead of Microsoft's MSN, because Longhorn will have search integrated in the OS. Until now, Google has had no real way of getting into that OS. Obviously, Microsoft was not going to allow them in, so Google has developed its own way. Since Microsoft has begun testing their own spider, it was safe to assume that they would enter the search market, which they''ve announced they are going to do.

Further to that, came the separate announcement that search would be integrated into the next Windows operating system. Knowing this, it is safe to assume that MSN search will be the default for Longhorn. This is still 2 years away however.

That gives Google 2 more years to win people over with it's version of integrated search, and I have to tell you – it's pretty great for a version 1 application.

While I was writing this article, I needed information. By simply highlighting the phrase that I wanted information on (Say for example "Google Deskbar") and pressing 3 keys (Control, Alt and "G") and then hitting enter, a Google search is launched displaying results for that search.

This search from within an application has so far worked for me in notepad, wordpad, Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer, Excel and or CMS system. I'm sure most other applications will work with the desktop search as well. And, the search results appear almost instantly in a small but resizable window. No more waiting for my browser to load.

Once you highlight and Control-Alt-G you can default to the regular web search, or a variety of other searches by hitting the dropdown arrow attached to the search box.

Overall I must say I am very impressed with this feature. No longer having to open IE or Mozilla to perform a search, I just have to highlight, press a few buttons and I have results in a fraction of the time.

Rob Sullivan
Production Manager
Searchengineposition.com
Search Engine Positioning
specialists