Google Desktop Matures

Today Google released Google Desktop 5.0 beta (it's Google, isn't it always beta?) and they seem to be elbowing for room on the Vista desktop.  Without adding any real functionality they did greatly improve the visual.  Google says their sidebar will " fade in" the color of you wallpaper so that it will blend in more seamlessly.  It actually looks to me like they just made their transparency smarter.  They also added some phishing detection in your search and it also displays a thumbnail of the site.  I'm still waiting for the sidebar to be able to double as a dock for shortcuts but that's just me.


From Google Desktop Blog:

The sidebar has a completely new look and feel. It samples the color of your wallpaper and fades in the sampled color so that it fits seamlessly onto your desktop. Some of our gadgets have been redesigned so that they are easy to tell apart, easy to read, and easy on the eyes. More differentiated gadgets allow for faster scanning of information through the sidebar. And we've created a new dialog for adding gadgets so it's easier and faster than ever to find the right gadgets for you.

In addition, we have improved two other key features of Google Desktop:

• Desktop Search - Ever searched your computer and seen a row of results that looked almost identical - so you had to open file after file until you found the right one? Now there is a better way: preview search results from within Google Desktop. Don't wait for an entire application to load, just click "Preview" and find the information you want right away. Finding the right file has never been easier!


• Security - We take your security extremely seriously and have added new features to help make your search experience safer. Whether you’re clicking on links from documents, IMs and email or browsing the web, if we have information that the site you're visiting might be trying to steal your personal information or install malicious software on your computer, we'll give you a warning first so you can decide if you want to use the site.

Google desktop 5.0 beta is available for Vista, XP, and 2000+sp3