Google has presented a Mac OS version of its desktop search software, helping Mac users find files and emails on their own computer. But how does it compare with Apple’s own Spotlight program?

Google Blogoscoped has drawn our attention to the new Google Desktop software for the Mac.

As Mac users we must admit that we didn’t really expect Google to present a Mac version of its popular PC file searching software. After all, the Mac OS has Spotlight included — a search program for finding files and emails on your own computer.

How does Google Desktop compare to Spotlight?

Apple has been very proud of this software, and rightly so; they were able to give Mac users an efficient file finding applications as early as 2005, years before Vista, and the underlying technology is amazing.

So if there is to be any point in giving Mac users an alternative to Spotlight, there has to be some value added. Does Google give us additional benefits?

Mike Pinkerton, Software Engineer at Google says:

Google Desktop for Mac takes many of the features from the Windows product, such as indexing Gmail and web history, Google.com integration, finding content in past file revisions and deleted files, and fast application launching. But we know that simply “porting” to the Mac is not a good idea. So we took the time to develop a product that deeply integrates into Mac OS X and maintains its high standards of usability.

And indeed, Google has managed to combine the two objectives: Making the software an integrated part of the Mac OS experience, as well as seamlessly intergrating the Google Desktop Search into the Google search results.

Two ways of presenting results

This is done by presenting search results in two ways.

1. You may hit the Apple key twice to open up the Quick Search Box, an Apple like “widget” with a large search field. Type a few letters or words into the search box and your top results pop up instantly, including applications.

The results are sorted according to relevance, but you cannot distinguish between files, emails, or media files. You may click on a link for Web searches, though, bringing up personalized web search results in a regular browser window.

2. Clicking on “see all results” opens up a Google Desktop Search browser window (in your default browser) with a Web page that is very similar to the regular Google search engine result page.

Here you find links that helps you isolate emails, files, media files or personalized Web search results. You may also go directly to the browser based service, by going to google.com. You will find that Google has inserted an additional alternative over the familiar search field called “Desktop”.

The Quick Search Box compared to Spotlight

The Quick Search Box is visually different from the Spotlight equivalent. The box and the type is much bigger, though. Unlike Spotlight, Google will not sort the Quick results into categories.

Still, Google will give you a link to the relevant folder on your Mac. A click on that link will open the folder. In Spotlight you will have to go to the “full view” mode, mark the relevant file, right click and select “show info” in order to see the path fo the file. And there is still no link that opens up the relevant folder. This alone has killed our love for Spotlight.

Google Desktop browser view compared to Spotlight’s full view window

The Google Desktop browser view option has the same functionality as the Spotlight “full view” alternative.

However, while Google lets you narrow your search down to — let’s say — emails only, Spotlight will show you a selection of results from each category (documents, folders, emails, PDFs, pictures etc.). You may click on a small triangle next to the relevant category to see all results, but the overall impression is that of a much more cluttered and hard to navigate interface than Google’s.

This may be matter of taste, but we prefer the Google variant. If Apple could come up with a more uncluttered view, though, with links to the relevant folders, Google will loose its lead.

Files included

Both alternatives will search the same type of files and folders (including text files, Microsoft Office files, Apple mail files and much more). Both applicatios can be used to launch a program (search for iTunes, select the file and hit enter). (We suspect that Google is making use of Spotlight’s functionality here).

Unlike Spotlight Google Desktop may include results from your Gmail account, which is a big bonus if you use Gmail.

Google Desktop Search will also keep copies of files in its cache. As Google points out, this means that you can often use Desktop to find previous versions of your files or ones you’ve accidentally deleted. The next version of the Google OS will include a time machine that will help you retrieve deleted files, but until then Google has the advantage.

What’s missing?

So far we have mentioned a few features that are missing in Spotlight and that some Mac users will find so useful that they switch to Google. We are — for instance — particularly enthusiastic about the ability to open folders directly from the results. Still, we do not think that differences alone will make Mac users abandon a fully functioning desktop search engine like Spotlight.

What could have made a difference was for Google to implement the full functionality of the Windows version. We have never been fully convinced that the Mac OS “widgets” are as useful as many think. You have to push the F12 button to bring them up, and that takes time.

Google Desktop Search for Windows has its own gadgets (i.e. mini-applications placed in a separate right hand column on the screen) that are always available. If Google would allow us to make use of these gadgets as they call them on the Mac, and — even better — move Mac widgets into the Google Desktop column, it would gain a lot of new friends.

The following screen shot shows you the Google Desktop search result page as well as the special Google Quick Search:

Google Desktop home page
More desktop search tools.