iGoogle Gets Gadgets From Google Desktop

Yesterday Google announced the release of Google Desktop 5.5 Beta, and along with it come new features for its personalized homepage service, iGoogle.

Google Desktop has made it very easy for users to personalize their desktop with gadgets that show the latest news, weather forecasts, and various other information, but according to Google, people want to be able to also put those gadgets on their iGoogle homepages.

Now, with the new version of the Desktop software, Google has added this very feature along with other minor updates, such as a better looking Quick Search box, improvements to Outlook search, various Vista auto-update and bug fixes, and support for multiple copies of a gadget.

Once upgrading to Desktop 5.5 Beta, users can easily find gadgets in the iGoogle Content Directory and add to their startpage by simply clicking on the “Add It Now” button. According to Google, "You can check your wireless signal, grow a beautiful plant, or play music right from iGoogle."

Without the new software installed, users are offered a streamlined Google Desktop with only the gadget functionality enabled. In addition, first-time installations of gadgets that were originally designed for the Desktop sidebar prompt users to download a browser extension to handle the non-web code.

This news should help increase the user base of both offerings, as I am sure there are many people who use either one or the other since the two services are essentially similar (except for the fact that one works through a browser and the other works independently on your PC). Personally, I have been using Google Desktop for a few months, but have yet to get into the details of what iGoogle offers.

It is great to see Google remove what has probably been the sole divider between the two services. I have not personalized my own iGoogle homepage just yet, but now that the integration with Google Desktop gadgets is available, that process should take no time at all.

Are you a user of both services, just one, or neither. If you use just one, do you now plan on using the other?

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