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Just search for Google Desktop on Google and it will pop up right away!

Last week Microsoft released a beta version of its Windows 7 operating system, the successor to the unpopular Vista OS. Many of the criticisms of Vista stem from its heavy use of system resources; one of the more taxing features of Vista was its sidebar and its utilities. The sidebar utilities serve as miniature calendars, notepads, games, weather and traffic alerts, media player controls, and more. Open source, community-driven alternatives to Vista’s intensive sidebar have risen in the form of the Google Desktop.

The Google Desktop was built on the foundation of a desktop search engine, which can comprehensively search through programs, files and digital media on your computer as well as internet results for the search. The utilities that accompany the Google Desktop (referred to as ‘Gadgets’ by Google) integrate other popular Google applications such as Gmail, Google Talk and feeding live updates from Google News.

When running the Google Desktop for the purposes of this article, I found it draining on my system’s resources, slowing overall performance on my already aging laptop. This is because all the small applications I installed run in the background. I ended up uninstalling the Desktop in favor of smaller select applications which I can choose to turn on and off when I need them.

I’d advise installing the Google Desktop for a user with a system with at least twice the RAM I run (2 Gigs or more) and who is already heavily invested in other Google applications. It ties your internet and desktop together more smoothly for a more integrated experience.