At the risk of sounding like a mindless Google-ogue (because I like Google Reader and Gmail), let me write some good things about Google Desktop. One good thing is that it provides me with a quick way to find files on my PC and any shared network drives that I specify. That’s an obvious “good thing.” Another is that it enables me to use plug-ins in a way that is similar to Firefox, so that, e.g., I can add in a plug-in to see Google News in a sidebar of my screen if I choose. I can also link directly to photos in my Flickr account from this sidebar, and see the current weather in my area at a glance. This sidebar can be set up to automatically disappear, which I like. The Google News plug-in is supposed to become smart enough to bring me the news I really am interested in. To quote from the About information for this plugin: “For example, if you read lots of sports news, you’ll see more sports articles. If you read technology news less often, you’ll see fewer of those articles.” As some others have noted, this doesn’t seem to be happening to me, or if it is, it isn’t obvious. This plug-in remains pretty dumb and doesn’t appear to be learning much from my browsing habits. Overall, though, Google Desktop is an invaluable tool for me in the Windows world that is my workplace. At home, I rely upon Mac OS X Tiger’s built-in (and far superior, in my opinion) Spotlight technology.