So Google finally release Google Desktop for Mac OS X. I downloaded it on my MacBook and let it install and index the hard drive. It's very similar to Apple's built in Spotlight (and Google Desktop uses the same file scanning plugins as Spotlight) but I've heard claims of it being faster and easier to launch programs from, etc. It also integrated with Google search and GMail, but I don't keep any files on my laptop and I don't use GMail. I just wanted to try it out and see how well Google Updater works on OS X. Everything worked as advertised but my poor MacBook basically ground to a screeching hault. Opening programs took insanely long, Waking from sleep was taking minutes instead of seconds, and all in all performance was awful. VMware at the same time was an absolute no-no. I rebooted, made sure it was done indexing, and disabled most of the feature but still no good. After an uninstall all was well and performance was back up to as expected. It just doesn't make sense to have to daemons running that are constantly indexing everything on a laptop hard disk! This would probably be great on a RAIDed Mac Pro but for MacBooks, I wouldn't recommend it. Also, I got a neat email from Google Checkout today: In celebration of upcoming Earth Day, Google will be hosting a clean energy promotion on the Google Checkout Thank You page. During this promotion, from 4/20 to 4/30, customers will see a link on the Thank You page that enables them to purchase a Wind Power Card to help support clean energy. Each card represents a guarantee that the electricity they use will be replaced by carbon free and environmentally friendly wind power. Customers will only see this page after they have completed their purchase from your store. This will not interrupt the purchase process. If you would prefer that this not be displayed to your customers, please let us know by responding to this email by Monday, April 16th. How cool is that! So everyone watch out that week(s) when using Google Checkout and support alternative energy!