Desktop Google is indexing my hard drive while I write this, and that’s exciting. The ability to search your personal document space as efficiently as Google allows you to search the Web is a computer-industry grail. I can’t report yet on how effectively Google does this (it’s hard to see how well they can do ranking of results without all those links to mine for relevancy and authority, but who knows?).
What I’m disappointed by is the heavy focus on Microsoft data types. Desktop Google will snarf up your Outlook mail. But if you’ve got ten years of Eudora archives, like me, you’re out of luck (for now, at least — I sent Google a feature request and they turned around a courteous reply within 12 hours, which is pretty impressive). Desktop Google is heavily integrated with Internet Explorer, but if you’ve discontinued using that browser for Firefox and Opera, like me, you’re again out of luck.
I’m willing to assume that Google set out to serve the widest number of customers by covering the most widely used Microsoft file formats. I’d do the same in their shoes. But let’s hope Google broadens its horizons and supports us non-conformists. Because as the viruses multiply and the crud accumulates on so many of Microsoft’s products, there will be more and more non-conformists out there choosing “non-standard” — and in many ways superior — software. Google-on-the-Web is platform independent; there’s no reason why an IPO-flush and talent-heavy Google can’t do cross-platform development, and serve Mac users, Opera users, Eudora users… the whole universe of users who have made careful, intelligent choices about protecting their data and diversifying their code base.
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