Ooh. Deja-vu!
April 7, 2007
The great God that is Google rolled out a beta version 5 of its Desktop product, including updates to the desktop search, sidebar and Google Gadgets - and I think I’m probably not the first to note just how similar it suddenly looks to the Vista Sidebar!
In addition to a more polished appearence, other features in v5 include a “Preview” feature in desktop search (enabling users to quickly glance at documents without opening them fully) and improved security with warnings popping up about links in documents, emails and messaging logs that may lead to a malicious Web site.
But the big change in the new beta is the sidebar (holds mini-applications that perform tasks like stream news feeds or display the weather - just like Vista). Google has redesigned many of its gadgets so they are easier on the eyes and fit the look and feel established by Microsoft with the Vista release.
The “Add Gadgets” interface is activated by clicking the “+” button at the top of the sidebar. This displays gadgets by categories, and allows users to search locally for available gadgets, rather than connecting to the Google website to do so.
Now in my humble opinion this all sounds remarkably familiar, right? So, the question is, “did Microsoft rip off Apple, and did google do the same?”
Personally, I think everybody’s take on it (Microsoft, Apple, Google, Stardock etc etc) is different enough that comparisons shouldn’t even be made! Plus, it all really started with OS/2 and the sidebar that it offered - and Google (not to mention Vista) wasn’t even a twinkle back then!
If you’re interested, then you can download the beta from FileForum.
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