Google™ Desktop is like a tool kit that you can put onto your computer desktop (the start screen with all the icons). It is a wide bar that features, among other tools, a search engine that will search your own computer along with the web pages you’ve visited.
When you download the Google Desktop to your computer, you can choose from a number of gadgets you’d like to include.
Search Feature: The Google™ Desktop search box is one of the gadgets that could be a great help to students as they research and perform other school activities. The search tool will find any photos, chats, bookmarked pages, documents, and emails that hold information related to a search term.
If you’ve ever forgotten to bookmark a great internet source while researching, you’ll certainly appreciate the ability to find lost pages and sources with the search tool.
Index and Cache Feature: Another great feature of the search engine is that it creates cached copies of files that you view and use. This means the search engine could generate a copy of a file that you’ve lost or deleted accidentally. The advanced search tool lets you isolate a time period to make your search a little easier.
Clocks: When you download the desktop tool, you specify which gadgets you want to include. There are two types of timekeepers that you can choose from, either a clock face or a digital clock, depending on your preference.
These tools stay right there on your screen at all times, so you can keep an eye on the clock as you do your homework. Visible clocks are constant reminders to keep your mind on your work, which means they are great time management tools!
Scratch Pad: One of the best gadgets for the desktop tool is, perhaps, the simplest. The scratch pad is a little application that looks like a note pad. You can use it to jot down reminders, a to-do list, and homework deadlines. The pad stays right there on your screen (unless you minimize it), so you won’t forget those important tasks and assignments!
Drawback: There is one drawback to loading the Google™ Desktop on your computer, and it’s the same drawback you find when you add any application to your computer: it slows it down.
But the slowness isn’t as bad as it seems to be, upon first glance. When you first download the desktop, it starts a process of indexing everything on your computer. The tool has to do this in order to conduct its amazing search (and find) feature.
The indexing process can take several hours, so it makes the slowdown seem worse than it really is. You can get around any inconvenience that occurs by suspending the indexing process for an hour at a time. Simply right-click on the Google icon and select "suspend for an hour."
