Personalizing desktops everywhere

Posted by Mendel Chuang, Product Marketing Manager

Starting today, Google Desktop 4 is coming out of beta in 26 languages (including Romanian!); a Japanese version is now available in beta too. It's easier than ever to search and personalize your computer no matter what language you speak. In version 4, we've aimed to improve Desktop's performance and have added a few features you've asked for:

• Easier to add international gadgets - Use the new Add/Remove gadgets interface to easily find gadgets in other languages; choose the language you want in the top right corner
• Configurable Taskbar "gadgets" button - Just click the arrow to the right of the Google Desktop "gadgets" button, and hover over "Taskbar Button" to change the display - with text, or without, or remove it altogether
• Change the Sidebar font size - Cick the "Options" button located at the top of the Sidebar, and hover over "Font Size" to change the setting

The Google Desktop Gadget Designer is now available in French, Italian, German, Spanish, Simplified Chinese and Japanese, and can be downloaded as part of the Google Desktop SDK. This should make it easier for developers everywhere to create great Google Gadgets. There are also new Developer Guides in each of these languages to help you better understand how to use our APIs.

We also want to thank all of you who sent something in to the Google Desktop Gadget Contest. We're reviewing all of the submissions now, and will announce the winners here on September 5th. Even though the contest is over, you can still submit your gadget to share it with millions of other Google Desktop users around the world. If approved, you'll also receive a Google hat, Google pen, and Google Desktop Developer T-shirt while supplies last.