I used Google desktop to find things on my hard drive in seconds instead of minutes or more. But I rarely used it, and running in the background (required to function properly) has slowed my system. I didn’t realize how much until I uninstalled it.
Holy moly! Windows actually close when I click the “x” now instead of halfway through a game of Reversi. I can even open Outlook in a few seconds instead of having to leave the room and grab a meal. No, I’m not kidding — it was that bad, to where my hard drive was spinning almost every second of th day, even when there was nothing to index!
So now it will take a few minutes to find a file with the text “whatever” in it. But I’ll be able to open that file without having to swear at the screen for the same amount of time, and can do other things while it searches. My computer can now BREATHE.
And I can’t wait until Vista comes out … I suspect they’ve imrpoved search.