Don't want Google search but still want Gadgets? No problem

I'll admit that I was a fan of Google Desktop at first, what with the rapid browser previews of searched email and the ability to crunch through web histories and past searches. Over time, unfortunately, GD's reindexing began to feel a mite sluggish, and I eventually regretfully uninstalled it in the interest of better performance.

Now, with the announcement of native access to Google Gadgets bundled in with Desktop, allowing me to put my favorite Gadgets right in the Dashboard with no mussing about, I figured I'd give GD another shot, and take the reindexing hit or simply turn the search features off.

Guess what? As noted in this comment, a subtle "Choose your own features" link on Google's download page lets you split up the two functions of GD, and just install the Gadget manager without the desktop search component. Very nice!