Google Desktop 2 Search Software Update

Google Inc. has updated its Desktop Search beta software for searching PC hard drives and the Internet. Google Desktop 2 features a new look and a "'Sidebar" that enables users to manage stocks, weather, music, RSS or Atom web feeds, news headlines, instant messages and e-mail.  There's also a new "Quick Find" search box that lets users search and locate files.

From Google:

Google Desktop doesn't just help you search your computer; it also helps you gather new information from the web with Sidebar, a new desktop feature that shows you your new email, weather and stock information, personalized news and RSS/Atom feeds, and more. Sidebar is personalized automatically, without any manual configuration required (though you can certainly make your own customizations if you want to).

We've also improved your desktop search experience. With Quick Find, you can now launch applications and see search results as you type without even opening a browser. We've also extended our Outlook integration, so you can search Google Desktop with the Outlook Toolbar and see results within Outlook itself. Finally, you can search even more stuff, including your Gmail, files on network drives, many Outlook data types (including Contacts, Tasks, Calendar, Notes and Journal) and MSN Messenger chats. And if you yearn for even stronger security, you can encrypt your entire index.

read more details

Google Desktop Search software is a free download and works on computers running Windows XP or Windows 2000, but does not support Mac OS X.

download Google Desktop 2 here