While many a techie has dreamed of working at Google, not many people give a thought to the idea of putting the Google team to work for them. Yes, I know that you can already do this by using the Google search engine, but their usefulness goes far beyond their web site.

Enter Google Desktop 2, the latest beta version of Google's popular desktop search engine. While it still works great as a personal computer search engine, it's also got some great new features that give users quick access to a variety of tools. Need to keep a constant eye on the news, weather, stocks and your favorite RSS feeds? The new Sidebar feature goes beyond your basic ticker. Add in one-click access to email, frequently used sites and a scratch pad and you're doing better. Start adding innovative plug-ins like a handy to-do list and an AdSense profit ticket and you're really talking.

The new program has quite a few features, all of which are outlined in today's featured article: "Google Updates Desktop Search."