Google Desktop for Apple?

MacRumors · 11:55 AM

Reuters reports that Google is planning on released a version of its desktop search tool for the Mac. This comes from Google's chief executive, Eric Schmidt, on Friday. Schmidt, however, could not provide a timeframe for the release.

Desktop Search tools have recently made headlines with Microsoft, AOL, Google and Apple entering this arena.

Google has already launched a Windows version of the desktop search tool.

zakee00 · Oct 30, 2004, 12:06 AM

sorry google, its called spotlight

stoid · Oct 30, 2004, 12:07 AM

Will it be out before Tiger, and how will is stack up against Spotlight?

I think that this will not be as successful for Mac as it is/was for Windows. I've found searching, even under Panther to be a few magnitudes easier than searching in Windows XP.

wileypen · Oct 30, 2004, 12:11 AM

When they do it, it puts Macs in the news, makes people think that the Mac is mainstream... everyone who develops for the Mac is good. Especially those who will get huge press when they do.

howard · Oct 30, 2004, 12:14 AM

in the windows desktop search screenshots that i saw the results looked like google.com search results, which is absolutely insanely stupid in my opinion for a desktop search.

Porchland · Oct 30, 2004, 12:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zakee00

sorry google, its called spotlight

My thoughts exactly. Will anyone who upgrades to Tiger even try this. With Google being the default search engine in Safari, though, I wonder what this development says about Google's relationship with Apple.

mymemory · Oct 30, 2004, 12:29 AM

Sorry but I am ignorant on the subject... what is a Google Desktop?

virus1 · Oct 30, 2004, 12:30 AM

tiger won't be out for a while... but we don't know when this will... as for spotlight, i am sure that it will be much more advanced than this.

swissmann · Oct 30, 2004, 12:31 AM

Have any of you used this on Windows? Is it any good?

zakee00 · Oct 30, 2004, 12:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by howard

in the windows desktop search screenshots that i saw the results looked like google.com search results, which is absolutely insanely stupid in my opinion for a desktop search.

i totally agree, i saw screenshots and was like wth...thats werid
the other guy did have a good point though, it makes the mac look more mainstream. so i guess i don't care if they make it for mac, but the question is:
what is google getting out of the deal that makes it WORTH it to make it for mac?

abhishekit · Oct 30, 2004, 12:39 AM

Its actually not even a complete search, the windows version just catalogs emails in outlook, M$ word and excel files, and chat logs, and wep pages you visited. Quicksilver works much better for me.

Abstract · Oct 30, 2004, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by virus1

tiger won't be out for a while... but we don't know when this will... as for spotlight, i am sure that it will be much more advanced than this.

Why so? I don't really care who makes this search thing work. As long as it works, and as long as there are alternatives available, then this can only be a good thing. I don't understand the negative ratings for this news/rumour.

And never doubt Google. There's no reason to right now. After all, they did give you the Geekmail.com accounts that we all love so much. And don't forget the fact that they're experts at "search"....

I hope Spotlight is as good as Google's only because it would be nice to have it built into the OS, although that isn't a big deal if Google's is actually better.

Quote:

what is google getting out of the deal that makes it WORTH it to make it for mac?

World domination, my friend. World ****ing domination.

maya · Oct 30, 2004, 12:51 AM

Google needs to shows to its investors that its keeping busy and is a growing company in many fields. Thus the search on Mac, if they alienate the Mac platform they are insulting some investors since if might be a lost opportunity if they don't sink they claws in now when the time is still right till TIGER is released.

kshkval · Oct 30, 2004, 12:58 AM

and people will voluntarily install it. There's got to be something about Google indexing all of your files and reporting on it that makes a Mac user just a tad queasy. Or what's a Lil Snitch for?

x86isslow · Oct 30, 2004, 01:07 AM

to the people talking about how it will stack up against tiger, keep in mind that not everyone is willing to pay 130 to get widgets and system search.

beefstu01 · Oct 30, 2004, 01:29 AM

A timefram eh?

Yeah, and spotlight will probably be 100x better, seeing that Apple knows all the inner workings of the operating system. But hey, I haven't tried it out yet, so I'm no authority on the subject.

MrMacMan · Oct 30, 2004, 01:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kshkval

and people will voluntarily install it. There's got to be something about Google indexing all of your files and reporting on it that makes a Mac user just a tad queasy. Or what's a Lil Snitch for?

yay Paranoia! But yeah, you use Litle Snitch for that to block stuff like that happening.

If Google Does Make this software, make it compatible for *ATLEAST* 10.2 and up, not only 10.3+

Spotlight is only 10.4, you want to make sure you have the whole Mac os X audience 10.2 and up atleast.

evilgEEk · Oct 30, 2004, 01:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zakee00

sorry google, its called spotlight

Soo... I guess once Tiger comes out all Mac users will magically receive it? There will be a lot of people that don't upgrade and Google's desktop search is a great alternative.

Quote:

Originally Posted by howard

in the windows desktop search screenshots that i saw the results looked like google.com search results, which is absolutely insanely stupid in my opinion for a desktop search.

I don't think it's stupid, it's definately odd, but not stupid. Google's search page is Google. It represents google. It's the foundation for the entire company, so I think it makes sense to make the search a web interface since that's what Google is. When I go to google.com on my PC I have all the usual categories to choose from (web, images, news...) as well as "desktop". It works for me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by abhishekit

Its actually not even a complete search, the windows version just catalogs emails in outlook, M$ word and excel files, and chat logs, and wep pages you visited.

That's not true, it indexes all the files on your computer as well, at least it did for me anyway. As of yet it doesn't search folders unfortunately, but it's still beta.

Quote:

Originally Posted by swissman

Have any of you used this on Windows? Is it any good?

I use it on my PC and it seems to work fairly well. There's definately room for improvement, like searching folders, but it's worked great for me so far. It's so much better than the native windows search.

I dunno, I doubt I'll download it for my iBook because I've never had a problem with Finder. But it's a wonderful thing for my PC.

Jaz · Oct 30, 2004, 01:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrMacman

If Google Does Make this software, make it compatible for *ATLEAST* 10.2 and up, not only 10.3+

Excellent point, if you're not on 10.3.x or 10.4 when it's out then a lot of things are starting to become unavailable.

If Google fills the gap then they might have a success. Integrate a Gmail notifier and some other bits and it might a good tool.

themadchemist · Oct 30, 2004, 01:58 AM

Let me just say, "no thanks."

kugino · Oct 30, 2004, 02:21 AM

will they be putting ads in my dock?

jusvistin · Oct 30, 2004, 02:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by howard

in the windows desktop search screenshots that i saw the results looked like google.com search results, which is absolutely insanely stupid in my opinion for a desktop search.

I've used it for XP - it's stupid.

It may be faster than a standard windows search, but the presentation of the results is pretty pathetic. If you don't mind having to page through 20 different screens to find what you're looking for - you may like it.

That is, if you don't need to see minor details like file size and creation date.

evilgEEk · Oct 30, 2004, 02:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jusvistin

I've used it for XP - it's stupid.

It may be faster than a standard windows search, but the presentation of the results is pretty pathetic. If you don't mind having to page through 20 different screens to find what you're looking for - you may like it.

That is, if you don't need to see minor details like file size and creation date.

Yeah, it's definately not for everyone. I like it a lot and made sure and had control over what it was searching. So far I've had a lot of positive results (get it?! results! ha!)...hmmm...

Trowaman · Oct 30, 2004, 03:03 AM

choice is good. The problem is that in Spring 2005, a program just like it will be built into OS X, it's called Spotlight. However, for those remaining in Panther or Jaguar, good for them. They will have a desktop search tool.

altair7 · Oct 30, 2004, 03:23 AM

Quicksilver already does this and has a better, quicker interface. However that doesn't mean I am against google making it. Competition is good.

Seriously though if people have not tried Quicksilver go out and do so. You can find it with a google search.

Oct 30, 2004, 12:05 AM	#1
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	Google Desktop for Apple? Reuters reports that Google is planning on released a version of its desktop search tool for the Mac. This comes from Google's chief executive, Eric Schmidt, on Friday. Schmidt, however, could not provide a timeframe for the release. Desktop Search tools have recently made headlines with Microsoft, AOL, Google and Apple entering this arena. Google has already launched a Windows version of the desktop search tool. Last edited by Doctor Q : Oct 30, 2004 at 11:55 AM.

Oct 30, 2004, 12:06 AM	#2
zakee00 macrumors regular Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Alaska	sorry google, its called spotlight __________________ 15" 1.25GHz Alubook 512MB AE 80GB 4200RPM Mobility Radeon 9600 Pro 64MB Custom built AMD 3000+ @2.5GHz 1GB Ram 6800GT @Ultra iPhone 8GB

Oct 30, 2004, 12:07 AM	#3
stoid macrumors 68040 Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: So long, and thanks for all the fish!	Will it be out before Tiger, and how will is stack up against Spotlight? I think that this will not be as successful for Mac as it is/was for Windows. I've found searching, even under Panther to be a few magnitudes easier than searching in Windows XP. __________________ Get Salted!

Oct 30, 2004, 12:14 AM	#5
howard macrumors 68000 Join Date: Nov 2002	in the windows desktop search screenshots that i saw the results looked like google.com search results, which is absolutely insanely stupid in my opinion for a desktop search. __________________ Check out my new EP, its acoustic with a touch electric, mellow, a little folky, indie rock/pop.

Oct 30, 2004, 12:31 AM	#9
swissmann macrumors 6502a Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: The Utah Alps	Have any of you used this on Windows? Is it any good? __________________ Always looking for a faster Mac.

Oct 30, 2004, 12:11 AM	#4
wileypen macrumors newbie Join Date: Jun 2004	When they do it, it puts Macs in the news, makes people think that the Mac is mainstream... everyone who develops for the Mac is good. Especially those who will get huge press when they do.

Oct 30, 2004, 12:29 AM	#7
mymemory Banned Join Date: May 2001 Location: Miami	Sorry but I am ignorant on the subject... what is a Google Desktop?

Oct 30, 2004, 12:30 AM	#8
virus1 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: LOST	tiger won't be out for a while... but we don't know when this will... as for spotlight, i am sure that it will be much more advanced than this.

Oct 30, 2004, 12:39 AM	#11
abhishekit macrumors 65816 Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: akron , ohio	Its actually not even a complete search, the windows version just catalogs emails in outlook, M$ word and excel files, and chat logs, and wep pages you visited. Quicksilver works much better for me. __________________ " Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former" Albert Einstein one of the videos I made

Oct 30, 2004, 12:51 AM	#13
maya macrumors 68040 Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: somewhere between here and there.	Google needs to shows to its investors that its keeping busy and is a growing company in many fields. Thus the search on Mac, if they alienate the Mac platform they are insulting some investors since if might be a lost opportunity if they don't sink they claws in now when the time is still right till TIGER is released.

Oct 30, 2004, 12:58 AM	#14
kshkval macrumors newbie Join Date: Jul 2003	the first real Mac spyware and people will voluntarily install it. There's got to be something about Google indexing all of your files and reporting on it that makes a Mac user just a tad queasy. Or what's a Lil Snitch for?

Oct 30, 2004, 01:07 AM	#15
x86isslow macrumors 6502a Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Philadelphia, PA	to the people talking about how it will stack up against tiger, keep in mind that not everyone is willing to pay 130 to get widgets and system search. __________________ 2009 Mac Mini: C2D 2.0Ghz, 4Gb RAM RevC 12" PowerBook G4: 1.33Ghz, 1.25Gb RAM 2G iPod Touch 16 Gb

Oct 30, 2004, 01:29 AM	#16
beefstu01 macrumors member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Ithaca	A timefram eh? Yeah, and spotlight will probably be 100x better, seeing that Apple knows all the inner workings of the operating system. But hey, I haven't tried it out yet, so I'm no authority on the subject.

Oct 30, 2004, 01:58 AM	#20
themadchemist macrumors 68030 Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chi Town	Let me just say, "no thanks." __________________ Sometimes, things get worse before they get better. Sometimes, they get better before they get worse. Almost never do they stay the same.

Oct 30, 2004, 02:21 AM	#21
kugino macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2003	will they be putting ads in my dock? __________________ 2.4GHz MBP 32GB white iPhone 3GS first-gen 20" intel iMac Air Extreme, Air Express, Al BT keyboard

Oct 30, 2004, 03:03 AM	#24
Trowaman macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: CD: TX-22	choice is good. The problem is that in Spring 2005, a program just like it will be built into OS X, it's called Spotlight. However, for those remaining in Panther or Jaguar, good for them. They will have a desktop search tool.

Oct 30, 2004, 03:23 AM	#25
altair7 macrumors newbie Join Date: Oct 2004	Quicksilver Quicksilver already does this and has a better, quicker interface. However that doesn't mean I am against google making it. Competition is good. Seriously though if people have not tried Quicksilver go out and do so. You can find it with a google search.

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