Google plans desktop search tool for Mac OS X

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
Mac OS X users will soon gain access to Google's desktop search tool.



Google Inc. plans to release a version of its desktop search tool for computers running on the Mac OS X operating system, Google chief executive Eric Schmidt said on Friday. The announcement was made at the University of California-Los Angeles during a conference commemorating the 35th anniversary of the Internet.



Schmidt would not provide a timetable for a Mac version of Google Desktop, explaining that the software must be rebuilt from the ground up due to fundamental differences between the Mac OS and Windows.



"We intend to do it," Schmidt said.



Google released a Windows version of the desktop tool earlier this month, striving for an early lead in the personal information retrieval market.



Shares of Google closed at 190.64 on Friday after flirting with the $200 mark earlier in day trading.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    Not really a spectacular thing, considering that Spotlight will be out in March.
  • Reply 2 of 9
    kim kap solkim kap sol Posts: 2,987member
    While I and many others (I'm sure) appreciate the thought, I'd have to wonder "why?"...it *could* be useful for 10.3 and below users...then again, they could use the already powerful Quicksilver.



    Somebody that installs a desktop search in 10.4 would be somewhat weird. Maybe there will be a PathFinder-type crowd that will lust over Google's solution over Apple's but, for the most part, I think people are going to stick with the native built-in Spotlight which will probably be more powerful and extensible.



    But like I said...I guess the target market will be 10.2 and 10.3 users.
  • Reply 3 of 9
    louzerlouzer Posts: 1,054member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by AppleInsider

    Shares of Google closed at 190.64 on Friday after flirting with the $200 mark earlier in day trading.
    [ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]




    Forget the rest of this. People complain that Apple's overprived at $50. What about Google? All they have is a lot of free services, ad services, and lots of word of mouth. If there's a company that's way overpriced these days, google is it.
  • Reply 4 of 9
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    Yeah, Google's stock is based entirely on hype and hopes.
  • Reply 5 of 9
    squirrel_monkeysquirrel_monkey Posts: 99member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Placebo

    Yeah, Google's stock is based entirely on hype and hopes.



    I like to think of Google as a nice reminder of Wall Street's frequent ability to be full of crap.
  • Reply 6 of 9
    the cool gutthe cool gut Posts: 1,714member
    I wonder if Apple would ever get into search. How hard would it be to make Spotlight able to search the web?
  • Reply 7 of 9
    thevilthevil Posts: 7member
    Sadly, this article is wrong.

    See Boing boing.
  • Reply 8 of 9
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by thevil

    Sadly, this article is wrong.

    See Boing boing.



    Thanks for the link.
  • Reply 9 of 9
    louzerlouzer Posts: 1,054member
    Not too impressive a product. Well, I guess for what it does, it is. But, its kind of lacking in many regards. i installed the PC version on my work computer, and this is what I've found:



    - It runs its own little web server to host the searching (I guess this is to use their current page searching display stuff, or whatever, but annoying none the less).



    - It apparently only searches certain file types: Word/Excel, text files, Zip files, EXE files, Outlook mail, Explorer histroy.



    - It didn't search (or isn't returning results) for any of my source code files.



    - It doesn't search Firefox history, or Eudora email.



    So, for me at least, it isn't really that useful, as it seems to ignore most of the stuff I use regularly.
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