A forward which i thought would be very interesting and helpful for many
Google - Tips and Tricks
Google Tips
Phrase your question in the form of an answer. So instead of typing, "What is the average rainfall in the Amazon basin?", you might get better results by
typing "The average rainfall in the Amazon basin is."
This is an old one, but very important: Put quotes around phrases that must be searched together. If you put quotes around "electric curtains," Google won't
waste your time finding one set of Web pages containing the word "electric" and another set containing the word "curtains."
Similarly, put a hyphen right before any word you want
screened out. If you're looking up dolphins, for
example, you'll have to wade through a million Miami
Dolphins pages unless you search for "dolphins
-Miami."
Google is a global White Pages and Yellow Pages.
Search for "phonebook:home depot norwalk, ct," Google
instantly produces the address and phone number of the
Norwalk Home Depot. This works with names
("phonebook:robert jones las vegas, NV") as well as
businesses. Don't put any space after "phonebook." And
in all of the following examples, don't type the
quotes I'm showing you here.
Google is a package tracker. Type a FedEx or UPS
package number (just the digits); when you click
Search, Google offers a link to its tracking
information.
Google is a calculator. Type in an equation
("32+2345*3-234=").
Google is a units-of-measurement converter. Type
"teaspoons in a gallon," for example, or "centimeters
in a foot."
Google is a stock ticker. Type in AAPL or MSFT, for
example, to see a link to the current Apple or
Microsoft stock price, graphs, financial news and so
on.
Google is an atlas. Type in an area code, like 212, to
see a Mapquest map of the area.
Google is Wal-Mart's computer. Type in a UPC bar code
number, such as "036000250015," to see the description
of the product you've just scanned in.
Google is an aviation buff. Type in a flight number
like "United 22" for a link to a map of that flight's
progress in the air. Or type in the tail number you
see on an airplane for the full registration form for
that plane.
Google is the Department of Motor Vehicles. Type in a
VIN (vehicle identification number, which is etched
onto a plate, usually on the door frame, of every
car), like "JH4NA1157MT001832," to find out the car's
year, make and model.
For hours of rainy-day entertainment, visit
http://labs.google.com. Here, you'll find links to
new, half-finished Google experiments-like Google
Voice, in which you call (650) 623-6706, speak the
words you want to search for and then open your
browser to view the results. Disclaimer: It wasn't
working when I tried it. (Ditto a lot of these
experiments.)
Poke around the "Services & Tools" link on the
Google.com home page and you'll find some of the
better-known lesser-known Google features, if that
makes any sense. For example, there's Froogle (product
search), News, Groups (Internet discussion boards),
Google Catalogs (hundreds of scanned-in product
catalogs), Images (find graphics and photos from other
people's Web sites), Blogger (publish your own online
journal), Google language translation, Google Answers
(pay a couple of bucks to have a professional
researcher find the answers for you) and much more.
Download and install the Google toolbar. Not only does
it put the Google search box into your browser
full-time, but it also blocks pop-up ads and fills in
forms for you. For Windows at
http://toolbar.google.com. (Ad blocking, form-filling
and Google's search box are already built into the
Apple's Web browser, Safari.)
Google Tricks
· To define a word, phrase or acronym, just
type define: and then your term into Google's search
box. The results include a variety of Web glossaries,
dictionaries and encyclopedias.
· Google tricks such as using quotes to search
for a specific phrase or the tilde to search for
synonyms of a word can be lifesavers, but not if you
can't remember them. The Google Cheat Sheet, a list of
commonly used operators, deserves a spot next to your
monitor. www.google.com/help/cheatsheet.html
· What does Google ''think" of you? Find out
at “Googlismâ€, where the search results for a word or
phrase are analyzed and your "who," "what," "when" or
"where" query is answered. www.googlism.com
· The Google Zeitgeist keeps track of what's
being searched for at that moment. Check out the
search terms gaining in popularity or head to the
archives to see what was hot a few years ago.
www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html
· Want to know when people are talking about
you? Create a Google Alert for your name and Google
will e-mail you whenever a news or search item pops up
with you in it. www.google.com/alerts
