Google Desktop API Released 19
aarbear writes "Airbear Software has just released an API to Google Desktop, a free tool from Google to search your own computer. In short, the API allows access to Google Desktop through the command line. Results are outputted to a file formatted with either XML, CSV, or custom formatting. The API is implemented through Airbear Software's popular Google Desktop add-on, gdSuite, so the API also adds advanced search options to Google Desktop. Google Desktop Search allows you to instantly find emails (from Outlook and Outlook Express), chats (in AOL and AOL Instant Message [AIM]), and web pages you've viewed in Internet Explorer. In addition, you can find any file by filename and can search inside Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files. However, before gdSuite and this API, users could only search from their web browsers."
It's only a matter of time... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Spyware? (Score:1)
Re:Spyware? (Score:1)
Also, any developer with any common sense will realize that the APIs as I have them on the web site
a) cannot legally be redistributed
b) have a number of pesky dependencies built in that make it harder to redistribute and increase the file size.
c) To actually work, the API must show a wizard to configure it. This is almost certainly not sneaky enough for spyware or a
Slashvertisment (Score:4, Interesting)
Who would realistically use this API for anything serious? Google will probably break it on the next program update anyways (GMail notifiers, anyone?)
Re:Slashvertisment (Score:1)
First of all, even though this is self-promotion, it is still news, no matter who says it. That's the whole idea of press releases! If the slashdot editors thought it was inappropriate to post this because it was self-promotion, they wouldn't have posted it. It's that simple. Plus, the API is freeware, so I'm not making money on this.
Who would use this API? I devloped this API mainly because a handful of developers asked me to. They want to use this API to extend Google Desktop farther than I did. Plus,
Re:Slashvertisment (Score:1)
Now it looks like you don't charge for the API? Then why not release the source?
Re:Slashvertisment (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Slashvertisment (Score:2)
Google has a GMail notifier utility [google.com]. Or are you talking about something else?
Kudos to the creator. Google hired the guy who wrote a POP interface to GMail. congats, I think its a great idea
Spyware Aspects - Google desktop only searches what it has access to. In a windows environment, if you can get to a file/data, then a process on your behalf can. Solve THAT problem, and this won't be a problem.
Fulltext search in 2005 (Score:1)
I still cannot get why Microsoft has to buy another company (Lookout Software) to be able to do something as simple as fulltext search on file formats they all mostly own.
Re:Fulltext search in 2005 (Score:2)
Re:Fulltext search in 2005 (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Fulltext search in 2005 (Score:1)
Now I know the poster above said just "Outlook', but I've got to think Outlook Express is at least as accommodating as the full Outlook.
And I'm not even mentioning how spam-free they (Hotmail accts) are, co
Re:Fulltext search in 2005 (Score:1)
Microsft, Google, and the search wars (Score:1)
Re:Microsft, Google, and the search wars (Score:2, Insightful)
'Do no evil' is not equivalent to 'Do for those that also do no evil'.
Re:Microsft, Google, and the search wars (Score:3, Interesting)
First and foremost, Google is a business. What you call "put[ting] the market above the glory" they call "turning a profit." I won't pretend to know their business in any way, but it's safe to say that targetting the 90% marketshare over the 10% is a better idea.
Note also that other OSes already have, and have had for years, excellent search tools. An avid *nix user who has
Re:Microsft, Google, and the search wars (Score:2)
Of course Windows has symlinks. Whether or not you want to actually use them is another story [shell-shocked.org].