Google Desktop is a desktop search application that runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. But the Linux version has always been a bit behind the curve. While all three clients let you search the web or files on your computer, the Mac and Windows versions have long supported Google Gadgets, which are desktop widgets that let you do everything from checking the weather to controlling your media player software.
Now Google has released an update that brings gadgets to Google Desktop for Linux. Installation is kind of a pain at the moment, since there’s no .deb or .rpm package. You need to download the source code and compile the application yourself, which often means finding out that you don’t have all of the necessary prerequisites installed on your system.
Fortunately Google offers a “how to build” page which lists all of the prerequisites. But if you read the comments on that page, you’ll notice that dozens of people have complained about their inability to install the application properly. So you might want to wait until Google simplifies the install process.
[via Google Blogoscoped]