Google is quietly bringing its signature search experience to the Windows desktop with an experimental app that unifies results from your PC, Google Drive, installed applications and the web — all summoned with a simple Alt + Space shortcut.
Background
Google has long treated search as a...
ai mode
alt space shortcut
drive
enterpriseenterprise controls
google
google app for windows
lens
lens ocr translation
local file indexing
multimodal ai
oauth scopes
privacy
privacy and security
security
spotlight like search
unified local drive web search
windows
windows desktop app
windows search labs
Google has quietly dropped an experimental, Spotlight‑style search app for Windows that aims to make web, cloud and local file search a single keystroke away — summoned by Alt + Space by default — and bundled with integrated Google Lens and an optional AI Mode powered by Google’s generative...
ai mode
alt space
data privacy
desktop search
enterprise
google
google drive
google lens
google search labs windows
local search
multimodal ai
multimodal search
privacy
search labs
spotlight style search
spotlight-like
unified results
visual search
windows 10
Google has quietly pushed a compact, Spotlight‑style search overlay to Windows as an experiment — a one‑keystroke gateway that stitches together web results, Google Drive, installed apps and local files while folding in Google Lens and an AI Mode for conversational answers.
Background
Google’s...
ai mode
ai-mode
alt-space
data governance
drive integration
enterpriseenterprise controls
google
google lens
google windows labs
labs
local file search
on-device indexing
privacy
privacy and enterprise
productivity
spotlight style search
unified search
windows overlay
Google is quietly rolling a new Windows-native search experience into its Labs program that brings the company’s web search, Google Lens, and its AI-powered AI Mode onto the desktop — reachable instantly with an Alt + Space hotkey and designed to search your local files, installed apps, Google...
Windows 11’s taskbar just gained a one‑click “Perform speed test” control — but instead of spinning up a native diagnostic engine, the button opens your default browser and lands on Bing’s internet speed test (the same Speedtest technology Ookla powers in Bing).
Background
Microsoft has been...
Google has quietly placed a Spotlight‑style search overlay on the Windows desktop, and this experimental app — available through Google’s Search Labs — promises to bring unified local, Drive, and web search plus Google Lens and AI Mode to a single, summonable interface reached with the Alt +...
Google has quietly begun testing a new desktop search experience for Windows that looks and feels like macOS Spotlight but with Google’s distinctive multimodal and generative-AI capabilities layered on top, bringing web search, Google Drive, local files, installed apps, and Google Lens into a...
ai
ai mode
alt space
cross-platform
desktop search
enterprise
google
google drive
google lens
installed apps
local files
multimodal ai
privacy
productivity
search labs
security
spotlight style
ux design
web search
windows
Google has quietly brought a Spotlight‑style search overlay to Windows, launching an experimental Google app that lets you summon a floating search bar with Alt + Space to query the web, local files, installed apps and Google Drive — and it combines that with built‑in Google Lens and Google’s...
ai-mode
alt space hotkey
alt-space
drive
enterprise
google
google app windows labs
integration
labs
lens
local-search
multimodal
privacy
productivity
search
spotlight
spotlight like search
telemetry
windows
windows desktop
Google’s experimental Google app for Windows lands as a compact, Spotlight‑style overlay that promises to unify web search, local file search, Google Drive access, Google Lens visual queries and a conversational AI Mode — all summoned from anywhere on the desktop with the Alt + Space hotkey...
ai mode multimodal
ai-mode
alt space shortcut
alt-space
desktop-search
enterprise
gemini ai
google
google app windows
google drive integration
google lens desktop
labs experiment
lens
privacy
productivity
spotlight
unified local and web search
web-search
windows
windows spotlight like search
Windows 11 gives you more than one way to open the Settings app — and knowing the right method for the moment can save minutes or avert a full restart when you’re troubleshooting. The platform exposes the app everywhere: Start, Taskbar, Quick Settings, File Explorer, Run and command-line tools...
accessibility
automation
command prompt
deep linking
enterprise
file explorer
it pros
keyboard shortcuts
ms-settings
powershell
quick settings
run dialog
settings app
start menu
task manager
taskbar
troubleshooting
uri schemes
windows 11
windows+i
Raycast’s Windows beta already improves two of the most frequently used — and often frustrating — pieces of Windows input: the emoji picker and the clipboard history, delivering smoother search, persistent storage, and a more keyboard-centric workflow that will matter to power users and...
Google quietly dropped an official, experimental Windows app that behaves like a Spotlight- or PowerToys-style launcher — press Alt + Space and you can search local files, installed apps, Google Drive, the web, and even select on-screen content with Google Lens — a direct play into the launcher...
ai mode
ai mode google
alt space
alt space shortcut
command palette
desktop search
enterpriseenterprise privacy
gemini ai
google drive
google drive integration
google lens desktop
google windows launcher
multimodal search
powertoys run
privacy
search labs
spotlight-like launcher
web and local search
windows desktop search
Google’s new experimental Windows desktop app lands as a compact, Spotlight‑style overlay you summon with Alt + Space, promising unified search across local files, installed apps, Google Drive and the web — and it brings Google Lens and the company’s AI Mode into the same lightweight workflow...
Microsoft has pushed fresh Release Preview updates for both Windows 11 and Windows 10 this week, delivering targeted reliability fixes for real‑world scenarios and a terse Windows 10 rollup aimed at keeping late‑life devices stable while organizations complete migration plans.
Background /...
Microsoft is quietly testing a new, built‑in internet speed test for Windows 11 that places a one‑click network diagnostic into the taskbar’s system tray and Wi‑Fi quick settings — but the convenience comes with important trade‑offs: the shortcut opens Bing’s web‑based speed tester rather than...
bing speed test
bing-speed-test
browser
enterpriseenterprise it
insider preview
insider-preview
internet speed test
native vs web
privacy
privacy implications
quick-settings
speed-test
taskbar
taskbar speed test
telemetry
web based speed test
windows 11
windows-11
Microsoft’s consumer Copilot is quietly evolving into a more ChatGPT‑like assistant — one that can remember user preferences and access third‑party files — with a new memory management toggle and the promise of Google Drive as a connected data source for the assistant.
Background / Overview...
admin controls
ai assistant
cloud storage
connectors
copilot
copilot memory
cross-document
deep research
ediscovery
enterprise
google drive
governance
graph connectors
memory
microsoft 365 copilot
onedrive
privacy
purview
rollout
windows copilot
Google’s experimental Windows app aims to remove the friction of switching windows to look something up — a floating, Spotlight‑like search bar you summon with Alt + Space that can search local files, installed apps, Google Drive, and the web, and that folds in Google Lens and the company’s AI...
accessibility
admin controls
ai assistant
ai mode
ai-assistant
ai-assisted
ai-mode
ai-powered launcher
aimode
alt plus space
alt space
alt space hotkey
alt space launcher
alt+space
alt-space
altspace
app
app-experiment
beta
closed-source
cloud search
cloud-ai
cloudsearch
command palette
cross surface search
cross-platform
dark mode
data privacy
data-flow
data-privacy
desktop
desktop search
desktop-app
desktop-search
desktopsearch
drive
drive integration
drive-integration
driveintegration
end-user
enterpriseenterprise it
enterprise privacy
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enterprise-it
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everything vs google
experimental
filesearch
gemini
gemini ai
generativeai
google
google app for windows
google app windows
google app windows labs
google apps
google drive
google drive integration
google lens
google lens desktop
google search
google search labs
google-drive
google-lens
googledrive
googlelens
governance
installed apps
integration
itadmin
keyboard first
keyboard shortcut
keyboard shortcuts
keyboard-first
keyboard-launcher
keyboard-shortcut
keyboard-shortcuts
keyboardshortcuts
labs
labs experiment
launcher
launcher overlay
launcher tool
launchers
lens
lens integration
lens ocr
lens-capture
local and cloud search
local and web search
local files
local indexing
local search
local search windows
local-and-web
local-files
local-search
localsearch
microsoft copilot
multimodal
multimodal ai
multimodal search
multimodal-ai
ocr
open-source
opt-in
os integration
os launcher
os search ux
os shell
osintegration
overlay
overlay app
overlay launcher
overlay ui
performance
permissions
power users
powertoys
powertoys run
privacy
privacy and security
privacy concerns
privacy-safety
privacyconcerns
productivity
productivity tools windows
screen capture lens
search
search labs
search-ecosystem
search-labs
searchlabs
security
spotlight
spotlight style
spotlight style search
spotlight-like
spotlight-like launcher
spotlight-like search
spotlight-style
spotlight-style search
spotlightlike
spotlightstyle
start menu
telemetry
translation
unified results
unified search
unified search results
unified-search
unifiedsearch
user interface
ux design
visual search
visual-search
visualsearch
web results
web search
web search integration
web-search
webresults
websearch
windows
windows 10
windows 10+
windows 11
windows desktop
windows desktop app
windows launcher
windows search
windows search alternative
windows ux
windows-10
windows-11
windows-app
windows-labs
windows10
workflow
workspace support
Mozilla’s latest stable cycle, Firefox 143.0, arrives as a pragmatic, platform-focused update that finally restores a long-requested desktop convenience—pinning web sites as taskbar apps on Windows—while folding Microsoft Copilot into Firefox’s AI sidebar, expanding fingerprinting protections...
Cerence’s new in-car agent, built with Microsoft cloud services, has just crossed the line from concept demo to a usable — and commercially tempting — feature set: your car can now read and reply to Outlook and Teams messages, summarize what you missed, pull calendar locations and route you...
Windows 11 now puts a quick internet speed check one click away in the Taskbar — but it’s a launcher to Bing’s web tool, not a native measurement engine, and that choice has real implications for accuracy, privacy, and enterprise control.
Background
Microsoft quietly began testing a new...
bing
bing-speed-test
browser-based test
diagnostics
enterprise
insider
internet speed test
internet-speed-test
microsoft
networking
ookla
privacy
speedtest
taskbar
taskbar-speed-test
telemetry
web-widget
windows 11
windows-11