Let's get it started

Posted by Satish Sampath, Software Engineer

We're post-beta! Google Desktop 4 is available in English. Plus there are now beta versions of Google Desktop in 27 languages (up from 16). So now just about everyone will be able to use the latest and greatest Google Gadgets.

And if you're a developer, more power to you. Check out the Google Desktop Gadget Designer, a new developer tool for creating, maintaining and debugging gadgets faster than before. You can now easily manage your projects and files, visually design your gadget UI (no need to handcode the xml), edit your script code and preview changes instantly (no more restarts), view debug messages with the built-in debug console, automatically generate the gadget package and manifest and much more in an integrated development environment. The designer is available for download as part of the latest Google Desktop SDK.

But wait, there's more! We're announcing a Google Desktop Gadget Contest for developers, with $8,000 in cash prizes. The contest is only open for the next month, so put on your coding hat and start churning out those cool gadgets you've always wanted. Good luck and have fun!

Soccer fever

Posted by Mendel Chuang, Product Marketing Manager

Every 4 years, football (a.k.a "soccer" in the U.S.) fans from around the world focus their attention on one event. Swept up by the frenzy, some of the Google Desktop team have harnessed their passion to create a Soccer Scores gadget. Track your favorite teams with it, get live World Cup scores right on your desktop, and customize it by selecting a team color from the options menu. Add the gadget to your desktop and let us know how you like it.