14 DAY TRIAL // The final version of Google Desktop 2 (download here: http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/OS-Enhancements/Google-Desktop-Search.shtml) was launched, and the main enhancements are the Google Sidebar and a desktop search through which users can find files, e-mail messages and other data in their computers.
This version will be available for free in both end user and enterprise editions. Other improvements include a new API (Application Programming Interface), which will allow developers to write search plug-ins for scanning e-mail applications like Lotus, Eudora, Yahoo Mail and Hotmail, files from iTunes, StarOffice and other formats, Web history from browsers like Opera, AOL and others, and even IM applications.
The support for JavaScript can help developers create plug-ins for the Sidebar, which can be used to display personalized content in a new Sidebar panel, notify of important, current events in real time and customize a Sidebar panel's response to user actions. Apparently, Google claims that over 100 Sidebar plug-ins have already been created.
The new tool also has a personalized maps panel, which shows maps related to the Web pages visited by a user as well as his or her location.