The New Google Desktop: Desktop Gadgets on iGoogle

In my previous post I have shown how the Google Desktop team has streamlined the user experience in Google Desktop’s newest beta version. Features are explained better in a much clearer way and were made to be more discoverable by the users. The level of attention to details has made Google desktop an even more top-notch product that continues to challenge Microsoft’s own offering (the Vista sidebar).

Other new features included in the update are the sexier quick search bar that shows up when you press CTRL twice.

And the new notification when the first Google Desktop alerts shows up

To configure which gadgets shows alerts when you have the Google sidebar minimized, click Configure Gadgets from the Google Sidebar menu which you can show by clicking the downward-pointing arrow on the sidebar.

Outlook search has also been improved, making the search engine even more accurate and powerful.

But the real news in this new version of the Google Desktop is Google’s (beginning attempts in) integration of desktop gadgets and its iGoogle service.

Starting with this release, some of your desktop gadgets will also be made available to your iGoogle page. Though this may seem easy at first, I think the work entailed is not as straightforward and it shows in the extra steps that the user has to do in order to make this work.

iGoogle and Google Gadgets

To start, just go to the iGoogle Content Directory and find the gadgets that you want to add, for example, Google’s own analog clock or media player remote

Unlike normal iGoogle gadgets, gadgets made for the Google Desktop gadgets may need additional browser plugins to work. This is added through Firefox’s add-ons or thru Internet Explorer’s Active-x controls.

Internet explorer asking for confirmation for the installation of the ActiveX control

In Firefox, the gadget plugin is added through add-ons.

Once you have gone through the necessary steps, your desktop gadget will be sitting in your iGoogle page along with your other normal gadgets.

One good thing about having Desktop gadgets in iGoogle is that gadgets originally designed for the Desktop are more interactive and inherently does more things. For example, having the Media Player remote on your iGoogle allows you to play music files found in your machine without launching up the full media player (Google Desktop does this for you in the background).

With this Google Desktop update, Google continues to blur the difference between the Desktop and the (internet) cloud as their push for internet-based computing moves on.