People all over the Internet are getting their undies all in a bunch over Google Desktop [Slashdot]. The concerns are a knee jerk reaction and wholly expected. This isn't to say that they are without merit; I don't get the impression that Google has looked at all of the security concerns. However, the claims are clearly exaggerated. The thing to keep in mind is that people get nervous about all new technologies and this one is no exception.

I installed Google Desktop on my work desktop about a week ago and I have already benefited. Of course, my work life revolves around MS Office documents and Outlook these days. The Temporary Internet Files search is also convenient and a lot easier way to find a page that you've searched recently than the IE history feature is. And, let's face it; Windows and Outlook search suck in the extreme. Now, instead of tediously setting up complex search criteria and waiting for the damn computer to sequentially analyze every document on my computer or in by Inbox, I just type my string in the Google Toolbar. (Oh yeah... That's another Google application and they work together very nicely.) The results show up in IE in less than a second and you're off. It's just like using Google to search the Net, but it is searching an index of your local system.

I had some minor concerns when I first hear about Google Desktop, but I knew the potential benefits immediately. And it didn't come as a surprise either. After all, there have been rumors and talk that Google was developing something along these lines for months, maybe years. My main concern was that, after indexing my documents, the system would push the index up to the Google cloud. This turns out not to be the case, which was enough for me to start using it.

A Microsoft friend of mine did bring up some interesting points about certain security implications of Google's implementation. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that a few big security holes exist in the product. They'll be found and fixed. The key for me is that I have a tool that I can use now.

One thing that I think most people haven't figure out yet is that this type of search capability is a transforming technology. It stands to completely change the way people work with their computer and with the files stored on it.

Typically, we all tend to organize files and emails that we care about in hierarchical folder structures. Why do we do this? Because we want to find them later to either modify or use. However, if you have the ability to immediately jump to a file by simply typing in a couple of words in a search box, the hierarchies we so painstakingly maintain become almost more work than they are worth.

Hierarchies are still useful, but it is no also useful to abstain from organizing some of your emails and files. Instead, you can just dump a lot of your less important items in a folder somewhere with no organization whatsoever. Then, when you say to yourself, "didn't I have a file that talked about XYZ?" all you have to do is search for it and it pops right up! No waiting twenty minutes for Windows to find it or time spent looking through folder after nested folder because you forgot which one you saved it under.

As always, we'll see how things shape up over time. But, one thing is for sure, I have a search that indexes my local documents and I'm never going back to the old way. 8:16:31 PM    comment []