Link to download Google Desktop:
Linky
This is rather interesting. Are Googles intentions altruistic? Or is Google position itself to be the next "evil empire" ?
O'Reilly Introduction
Google your desktop and the rest of your file system, mailbox, and instant messenger conversations--even your browser cache. .... The Google Desktop is your own private little Google server. It sits in the background, slogging through your files and folders, indexing your incoming and outgoing email messages, listening in on your instant messenger chats, and browsing the Web right along with you. Just about anything you see and summarily forget, the Google Desktop sees and memorizes for you.
One person writes on
Slashdot.org (nearly all the way at the bottom)
Does anyone remember the targetted advertising of Gmail and how it sorta browses your email to place "relevent" ads on your screen?
Now uhh.. they want to be on your desktop, integrating with the browser, your email, your chat clients and so on?
Am I the only one that didn't overlook that just maybe Google wants to get in on the ground floor of your computer so it can sell you sh*t you're only vaguely interested in? Now I know that it says it'll only send what you give it explicit permission to send (did you read that EULA carefully? I didn't, just considering the possibilities) Also says non-identifying statistics will be sent.. you can opt out of that. What statistics? The list really sorta goes on. I'm not slamming Google for doing this. I just don't trust them as far as baby pigs can hop.
I personally can't imagine me giving Google permission to browse my computer, email, and chats at will. That's some scary stuff. I can see Homeland Security rubbing their hands together and writing the "we want that info" letters now--cause we're all terrorists you know... it's only the degree of terror we're willing to inflict.
We already have to deal with security threats from virus, worms, and other malware. Imagine a worm that got into your computer, was able to index the Google desktop engine, and find out a whole bunch of crap about you. Not even a virus, but adware.
