Google’s Puffin Flys In

You heard it here last. The web is pretty much buzzing with the news that Google’s new desktop search (once referred to as Puffin) has been released. Just hit any of the folks on my blogroll, and there’s a pretty good chance they’re mentioning it. Kottke, in particular, has a good read along with some solid user comments on the release. It needs at least a gig to work, so I had to move some stuff around on my Windows 2000 box, but it installed nicely.

Couple of thoughts:

1. It’s apparently working off its own embedded web server, b/c my results are served up via the localhost address in my browser (127.0.0.1). This opens up some potentially interesting functionality – i.e., can I do a port forward with my router and search remotely? – but also some potential security concerns. Need to know more here.

2. No support for Firefox yet. Or non-Windows platforms for that matter. I understand the reasoning, but that does limit its utility for me. And given the lack of an official Google Toolbar for non-IE browsers, I’m inclined to think this is not likely to change in the near future.

3. Piecing together the Google Deskbar, this release, and Adam Bosworth’s presence, it seems clear that not only does Google have desktop ambitions, but that the direction for Google is going to include intermittent connectivity scenarios rather than a straight network OS play as has been speculated.

4. No PDF search? Before I saw that, I was considering housing all of my research PDF files on my Win 2K box to be indexed by Google Desktop, but I’m surprised by that. Google Web can obviously do this, however, so I’d expect it’s just a matter of time. Other desired indexable file types: Open/Star Office and OneNote files, MP3/AAC’s, and images (image metadata).

But overall, seems pretty good for a first release. The initial indexing for me has been less taxing than X1‘s equivalent, and I’ve found things I forgot I had.

But until they come out with support for Firefox (A) and Linux (B) this will be of limited utility to me. And even then, Beagle/Dashboard seems a better way of presenting the information to me.