Google Desktop 4 Beta with Google Gadgets

Google Desktop is a desktop search application gives you easy access to information on your computer and from the web. Google Desktop 4 Beta was announced today which allows users to personalize their desktops with the introduction of Google Gadgets.

These gadgets are mini-applications that reside on users’ desktops and deliver a variety of personalized information such as games, media players, weather and news. Google Desktop will recommend new gadgets and can also automatically create a personalized Google homepage for you based on the subjects you’re most interested in.

Google currently has hundreds of gadgets users can add to their desktops and with the new Google Desktop Gadgets API, developers can easily create and share their own gadgets with other users. Add Google Gadgets to customize your desktop and Sidebar. You might also look out for Google Mac Dashboard Widgets, and related Yahoo Widgets and Opera Widgets.

Google Desktop 4 now offers an option for network administrators to disable Search Across Computers on both the consumer and enterprise versions of the product at the network level by simply blocking access to a specific URL.