After Dave Winer linked to my post about how the new beta of Google’s desktop search lacks support for indexing non-microsoft e-mail and browser history, someone criticised my rush to judgement.

It’s a fair-point that this is a beta, but what is the point of a beta, if not to be a subject for criticism?

So, while I may ultimately be very happy with the Google Desktop Search product when it is eventually released, I remain disappointed in the beta. Google cachet aside, in its current form it is no better for me than the desktop search beta MS previewed this summer. Both tie me to MS browsers and e-mail. The fact that the MS product is as yet unavailable really doesn’t matter, because I’m not going to use either of them.

Others seem to share my wait-and-see attitude.