I’ll admit it. I’m one of the ten Google Desktop users. Everyone seems to hate Google Desktop, but for some reason I love it. I think it’s because Google Desktop allows me to quickly search through the years of files on my hard drive with ease. I keep my files organized, but I still hate clicking through eight folders just to get the file I’m looking for. Google Desktop eliminates the clicking, and speeds up opening files.

If you’re a Google Desktop user like myself, you’ve probably already heard that Google has launched Desktop 3.0 beta. Yes, not Google Desktop 2.0 final, or even Google Desktop 2.0 beta 2; we’re talking about Google Desktop 3.0 beta. Google must not like final versions or something. I’m sure if you use Google Desktop you’ve already made the upgrade, but what if you’re one of those users who’s tried Google Desktop in the past and uninstalled it? Is version 3.0 the version to get?

If the search features of Google Desktop are what made you dump the program, then most likely version 3.0 isn’t for you. Improving the search is not something Google looked at in this version. So, if Google hasn’t improved the search, what have they improved? Not a whole lot, and in my book, this upgrade just barely deserves the version number bump to 3.0.

Sharing Data

Probably the biggest feature added to version 3.0 is sharing data. What this feature does is if you have multiple computers using Google Desktop, you can search between the computers. Let’s say you’re on the road using your laptop, and you just realized you forgot to bring an important file with you. What Google Desktop will allow you to do is search for that file on your laptop, and if found, will give you the option to download the file. While this feature may be nice for some, it should be considered a major privacy concern.

When enabling this option all new files created on your computer will be uploaded to Google’s servers. This is so if your computer is offline while searching from another computer, you can still retrieve your files. I don’t know about you, but for me this creates some concern. No matter how much I trust Google, handing over my files, which may contain sensitive information, is not something I’m willing to do. Luckily this is an opt-in feature, and Google has it disabled by default.

It should be noted that since your files are being uploaded to Google, your bandwidth is going to be involved. That means if you create a 100MB document, you’re uploading 100MB to Google. Since most Internet Service Providers have a slow upload speed, uploading that file is going to take a while. During the upload, your browsing speeds may be affected. Putting the whole privacy issue aside, the whole concept of constantly uploading files is a reason alone not to opt-in to the sharing of data.

Tic Tac Toe

The next feature Google added to its Desktop application is Tic Tac Toe. Yes, that classic game you played in kindergarten is now available for your sidebar. If you have a friend who has Google Talk and the Tic Tac Toe plugin installed, you can play a multiplayer Tic Tac Toe game over Google Talk. While the feature itself isn’t existing, the effects of it are.

Since you can play a multiplayer game over Google Talk, that shows Google has included some communication between Google Talk and the Desktop Sidebar. This means in the future we may see more games or other features added to Google Talk. If Google includes documentation on how to develop a plugin which talks to Google Talk, we may see interesting third-party plugins that will allow users to truly collaborate. Unfortunately, most likely this will just be something Google will use.

Widgets?

The final major addition to Google Desktop is widgets. Google does not officially call them widgets, but that’s what they’ve basically added. Technically Google has added the feature of dragging sidebar plugins out of the sidebar and allowing them to float on the desktop. Now just because the plugins are free from the sidebar, does not give them the name widgets; it’s how Google handles them.

When a plugin is removed from the sidebar and floated on the desktop, Google gives you all the options that popular widget programs allow you to do. You can tell the plugin to stay on top of all windows, and you tell the plugin to stay behind all windows. On top of that, Google has added what they call the Panels button. What the Panels button does is hide or display all plugins, similar to the hide feature that all widget programs have.

To make the toggling of plugins even easier, Google Desktop has a shortcut. Pressing the Shift key twice will toggle all plugins’ display state. While shortcut keys are nice, Google didn’t pick a great key combination. Pressing the shift key three times on any Windows XP machine activates Sticky Keys, so if you’re toggling the display quickly you’ll eventually activate this annoyance. Google would have been better off using one of the function keys like all other widget programs do.

Conclusion

All in all, Google Desktop 3.0 does not have much new. The features added either are a big privacy concern, or just a gimmick. Google hasn’t focused on fixing what’s really wrong with Google Desktop, its interface. Until Google addresses its major design flaws (like file search within a web browser), you’re most likely going to feel the same way about Google Desktop as you did when you initially tried it.

If you’re already a Google Desktop user, this upgrade is worth it; only because bugs have probably been ironed out. Otherwise this is the same program you tried last time, just with more bloat.