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Tips for effective Google Search
Several of us use Google through out the day for simple stuff, but we've never quite grasped the power of this tool. So, I am copy/pasting some tips from an article that David Pogue published in NY Times. (Pogue is a column writer for NY Times' weekly Circuits e-magazine.) Enjoy!
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• 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.)
• 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." (Thanks to the Google Blog,
http://google.blogspace.com ,
for this tip and the next couple.)
• 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.