Google launches Desktop for Linux

Link: Google launches Desktop for Linux
Filed under: Linux News, Google News, Internet News

Google has launched a beta version of Google Desktop search for Linux.

Google Desktop was launched in 2004 for Windows machines and there is also an enterprise version, but it has never before been available to Linux users.

It is a desktop search application which provides a text search tool for a computer. A user can search for files, emails, music etc on a computer as easily as searching the web.

Google Desktop allows a user to search the web at the same time as searching their computer. The index is stored locally on the computer so that users can access Gmail and Web history while offline.

The application also provides Google Gadgets, which displays personalised information and tools such as a calendar and scratch pad.

Google Desktop for Linux was written natively and uses Google’s own desktop search algorithms rather than Linux search applications such as Beagle.

It is only compatible with computers with x86 processors. It supports the Debian 4.0, Fedora Core 6, Ubuntu 6.10, Novell Suse 10.1 and Red Flag 5 versions of Linux, and uses either the KDE or GNOME graphical user interfaces.

Google Desktop for Linux was developed in the company’s Beijing office.