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BETA
Find products for sale from across the web.
What is Ftpogle?
Apparel & Accessories Business & Industry Health & Persona
JewElrv. Men's. Wpmen's. ... Construction & Real Estate. Science & Technology. ... Fragrance. Makeup. SJ
Home A Garden
Home Furnishings. Kitr
Office
CiFica EquipmaM Offlc
Sports & Outdoor
Cycling GnlF Team Sp
Toys & Games
Dolls. Gantes. Video G
Figure 6-15: Use Froogle to find products you want to purchase.
|
Option |
Description |
|
Results |
Selects how many listings are displayed on the search results page |
|
Find products with all of the words |
Google's default search mode |
|
Find products with the exact phrase |
Searches for the exact phrase entered |
|
Find products with at least one of the words |
Searches for either one word or another |
|
Find products without the words |
Excludes products that contain the specified word(s) |
|
Price |
Displays products priced within the specified range |
|
Occurrences |
Searches for products where the keywords occur in the product name, description, or both |
|
Category |
Searches for products within a specified product category |
Arts S Entertainment
Ajt. Collectibles & Anti a u es. Crafts & Hobbies.
Auto & Vehicles
Aula Accessories Baals & Manne
Baby
L. SKci Iters
Books. Music & Video
Computers
Notebaaks. PDAs. Software. . Electronics
Audio. Cameras TV & Videa
Flowers
Airanpemems Rnsss
Food & Gourmet
Beverages. Food. Gift Baskets. ..
Searching Online Catalogs
Another shopping aid available from Google is Google Catalogs. This service makes catalogs from a variety of major merchants, such as L.L. Bean and Crate and Barrel, available for your online browsing. As you can see in Figure 6-16, you can search for a specific catalog or browse through all catalogs in a particular category. There's even an Advanced Catalog Search so you can fine-tune your search parameters; it works pretty much like the Advanced Froogle Search page.
Search and browse mail-order catalogs online
Help Google Add More Catalogs - Info For Catalog Vendors
Search and browse mail-order catalogs online
Help Google Add More Catalogs - Info For Catalog Vendors
Apparel & Accessories Computers Home & Garden
Keepsake Quilting Shar Music. ...
Automotive
Cannosnq Warld StySin Cgnca&ts. ...
Books, Muele & Film
Ac-.ftrfl Raft Rlmi
Figure 6-16: Browse online catalogs at Google Catalogs.
You access Google Catalogs at catalogs.google.com. When you access a particular catalog, Google displays thumbnails of each catalog page. Click a thumbnail to display the page full size.
#160: Look Up Dictionary Definitions
Want to look up the definition of a particular word, but don't want to bother pulling out the old hardcover dictionary? Not sure of a specific spelling? Then use Google as an online dictionary to look up any word you can think of.
All you have to do is enter the word in question into Google's search box and then click the Search Google button. When Google returns the search results page, the word you entered will be listed at the top of the page ("Searched the Web for keyword") and underlined. Click the word and Google will display dictionary information for the word, supplied by Dictonary.com. As you can see in
Consumer Electronics
EducaUon
Curriculum Associates Discount School Supply. ...
Food 81 Gourmet
Harry and Pajil Mackenzie Lamrted
Crate and Barrel. Gumps.
Lifestyle & Gift
Crazy Crow Tradtrtq Post. Red Envelope. ...
Sports & Outdoors
Bart's Waters ports Eastbay Golfsmrth. West Marine. ...
Toys & Hobbies
HearthSang Lsjfl.
Figure 6-17, this dictionary page includes the word's pronunciation and definitions, as listed in a variety of different dictionaries (The American Heritage Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, et al.).
4 entries found for superfluous.
superfluous ^ 0 Pronunciation Key (s°°-pùr fl00-^) adj.
Being beyond what is required or sufficient
[Middle English, from Old French superflucux, from Latin supcrfluus. from super fluere. TO overflow Z super-, super- +- flue re. to flow. see bhleu- in Trvdo-European Roots,]
super flu-ons-h' adv. super flu-mis-Bess it.
Synonyms: superfluous, excess, extra, spare, supernumerary, surplus
These adjectives mean being more than is needed, desired, required, or appropriate: delete superfluous words; trying to lose excess weight; found some extra change on the dresser; sleeping in the spare room; supernumerary ornamentation; distributed surplus food to the needy.
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language; Fourth Edition
Copyright •© 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. Ail rights reserved. rsijyjtl
Figure 6-17: Have Google search for the dictionary definition of a particular word.
insider Google Labs is working on a new dictionary service called Google Glossary. insight The Google Glossary (labs.google.com/glossary/) lets you enter a word or phrase and then displays a list of glossary definitions. It's a little more elegant than the standard dictionary search, but still in testing as of this writing.
#161: Solve Mathematical Equations
This is a neat one. When you can't be troubled to use the Windows Calculator, or to reach over and pick up the handheld calculator sitting on your desk, you can use Google as a calculator—the world's most overly complex calculator, to be sure, but a calculator nonetheless.
But I jest. It's actually quite convenient to enter an equation into the Google search box and get an answer right in your Web browser. I'm not sure exactly why Google added this functionality to their site, but I'm sure it's getting a bit of use.
Basic Calculations
To use Google as a calculator, all you have to do is enter your equation or formula into the search box and then click the Google Search button. The result of the calculation is displayed as shown in Figure 6-18. It's that simple.
Figure 6-18: Use Google as a giant Web-based calculator.
Figure 6-18: Use Google as a giant Web-based calculator.
You can use a number of algebraic operators to construct your calculations. Table 6-7 details the operators that Google recognizes.
Table 6-7: Google Calculator Operators
Function Operator
Addition +, plus, and
Subtraction -, minus
Multiplication *, times
Division /, over
Exponents to the (as in 2 to the 4th)
Let's work through an example. Let's say you want to add 2 plus 3. You enter the following equation into the search box: 2 + 3. (Either with or without spaces.) Click the Google Search button and you get your results.
If you want to divide 91 by 7, enter 91 / 7. If you want to multiple 12 times 5 divided by 4, enter 12 * 5 / 4.
You can also created nesting equations by using appropriately placed parentheses. So, to divide the sum of 4 plus 3 by 5, you'd enter (4 + 3) / 5.
And, even better, Google recognizes English-language queries as well as proper mathematical ones. For example, you can query 2 and 3 or 7 times 6 or even (4 plus 3) over 5.
Advanced Calculations and Constants
Google's calculator isn't limited to basic addition and multiplication. It can also handle more advanced calculations and functions, including:
♦ Binary, hexadecimal, and octal
♦ Trig and hyperbolic trig functions
♦ Logarithm
♦ Factorials
♦ Imaginary numbers
Google also knows a variety of mathematical and scientific constants, such as pi, Avogadro's Number, and Planck's Constant. It also knows the radius of the Earth, the mass of the sun, the speed of light, the gravitational constant, and a lot more.
Let's check this out. Not sure what the speed of light is? Enter speed of light, and Google returns 299,792,458 m/s. What about the radius of the earth? Enter radius of earth, and Google returns 6378.1 kilometers.
Now let's get fancy. Try dividing the radius of the earth by pi. Enter (radius of earth) / pi; Google's answer is 2030.21229 kilometers. Or how about multiplying the radius of the Earth by the speed of light and then dividing the answer by Avogadro's Number? I'm not sure why you'd want to do this, but the query looks like this: (radius of earth) * (speed of light) / (avogadro's number). (The answer is 3.17512652 x 10-09 m2/.)
#162: Convert Units of Measure
Another surprise is that Google's calculator also handles conversions. It knows miles and meters, furlongs and light years, seconds and fortnights, and even angstroms and Smoots—and it can convert from one unit of measurement to another.
Don't know how many feet equal a meter? Then enter the query 1 meter in feet. Not sure how many teaspoons are in a cup? Enter 1 cup in teaspoons. Want to find out your weight in kilos, or your age in seconds? Enter the queries 180 pounds in kg or 45 years in seconds. (The answers are 3.2808399 feet, 48 teaspoons, 81.6466266 kilograms, and 1.42006167 x 1009 seconds, respectively.)
That's right, all the formulas necessary for these types of conversions are hardwired into the Google search engine. Just state your query as clearly as possible and Google will do the rest.
Google even lets you do some nonsensical conversions. You can query speed of light in knots or 1 foot in smoots. You can also use these conversions to create nonsense calculations, such as (radius of earth) / 3 teaspoons. It doesn't make any sense, but Google can do it.
<#163: Ask Google the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything
Google's staff must have had some free time on their hands, because they hard-wired into their calculator the answers to some fairly complex—and often fanciful—calculations. My favorite is to ask the query the answer to life the universe and everything. Google's answer, shown in Figure 6-19, should delight long-time fans of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
the answer to life the universe and everything = 42
More abaul calculator
Figure 6-19: Let Google calculate the answer to life, the universe, and everything.
#164: Translate Foreign Words and Phrases
Ever get an e-mail from someone in another country—but don't know the language? Or maybe you've stumbled over a cool new Web site, but it's in German or French or some other language that's truly foreign to you? Have no fear— Google can translate that foreign text into English for you to read—or vice versa. Google's Translate tool will translate words and phrases from one language to another, and can even translate entire foreign-language Web pages.
Due to the subtleties of language, these translations aren't always perfect-but they're better than not being able to understand it at all.
To use Google's Translate tool, follow these steps:
1. Click the Language Tools link on Google's home page.
2. When the Language Tools page appears, as shown in Figure 6-20, go to the Translate section and enter the text you want to translate into the Translate Text box.
3. Pull down the From list and select the languages you want to translate from and to.
4. Click the Translate button.
- Figure 6-20: Use Google's Translate tool to translate words and phrases from one language to another.
You can also use the Translate tool to translate entire foreign-language Web pages. Just go to the Translate a Web page section of the Language Tools page, enter the URL for the page, and then pull down the From list to select the translation languages. When you click the Translate button, the page is automatically translated.
At present, Google offers the following translations:
♦ English to German
♦ English to Spanish
♦ English to French
♦ English to Italian
♦ English to Portuguese
♦ German to English
♦ German to French
♦ Spanish to English
♦ French to English
♦ French to German
♦ Italian to English
♦ Portuguese to English
<#165: Search Google from a Cell Phone or PDA
Google's search engine can be accessed from any number of wireless devices, including mobile phones, PDAs, and other Internet appliances. Complete information is available at www.google.com/options/wireless.html; Table 6-8 lists the basics.
Table 6-8: Google Mobile Instructions
Device Instructions
Table 6-8: Google Mobile Instructions
Device Instructions
|
Mobile phone (number search) |
At the prompt, enter www.466453.com |
|
WAP-enabled mobile phone |
At the prompt, enter |
|
i-mode mobile phone |
At the prompt, enter |
|
J-Sky mobile phone |
At the prompt, enter |
|
Palm handhelds |
Enter www.google.com/palm/ |
|
Handspring Organizer |
Tap the Google Search box and input query |
#166: Search Google from Other Web Sites
Google sells its search services to other Web sites—including some fairly well-known search sites—so you don't always have to go to Google to do a Google search.
Here's a short list of major sites that as of this writing were using Google to power their main search results:
♦ HotBot (part of that site's meta-search tools)
♦ Netscape
When you perform a search on these sites, the results you see come directly from the Google search index. So if you like to use My Yahoo! as your home page, but prefer Google for searching, you never have to leave the My Yahoo! site; when you search from the Yahoo! search box, it's Google's results you see.
By the way, these search partnerships tend to be short-term deals. For example, Yahoo! used to use Inktomi to power their search results; when the Inktomi deal was up, they switched to Google. (No telling which search engine Yahoo! will use when the Google contract runs out—especially since Yahoo! now owns AltaVista, AllTheWeb, and Inktomi!)
Google likes to get around. That's why Google makes it easy to add Google search to your own personal Web pages, at no charge to you. All you have to do is go to www.google.com/searchcode.html, copy the HTML code listed there, and paste that code into the code for your Web page. The result will be a Google search box and Google Search button that your visitors can use to search the Web from your site.
There are actually three different versions of Google search you can add to your Web page. Each comes with its own specific cut-and-paste HTML code:
♦ Google Free—the same basic Google search available on the Google home page.
♦ Google Free SafeSearch—the same as Google Free, but with the SafeSearch content filter activated to filter out inappropriate results.
♦ Google Free Web search with site search—the basic Google Free search, but with additional capability for users to search your own Web site, as well.
If you're running a professional Web site, Google offers Custom WebSearch for businesses and other large sites. See www.google.com/services/websearch .html for more information about this paid service.
#167: Put Google Search on Your Own Web Site insider Professional software developers can also add Google to their computer pro-insight grams and Web sites via the Google Web Application Programming
Interface (API). More information about the Google Web API is available at
#168: Discover the Latest Search Patterns and Trends
Google is used by so many users that examining query patterns can reveal quite a bit about society's latest patterns and trends. The Google Zeitgeist (www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html) tracks all the queries posed by Google users and lists a variety of interesting data-points that tell you what users are interested in at this given point in time.
At the top of the Google Zeitgeist page, shown in Figure 6-21, are lists of the Top 10 Gaining Queries and the Top 10 Declining Queries for the current week. The first list tells you what's getting hot, and the second what's growing cool. For example, for the week ending September 1, 2003, NASA and the U.S. Open were hot; the "Star Wars kid" and Mary Carey (candidate for Governor of California) were starting to cool down.
Google Zeitgeist - Search patterns, trends, and surprises according to Google
For both breaking news and obscure information alike people around the world search on Google at www.google.corn With a bit of analysis this flurry of searches often exposes interesting trends, patterns, and surprises
On a monthly, weekly, and sometimes daily basis this Google Zeitgeist page will be updated to reflect lists, graphs, and other ttdbits of information related to Google user search behavior
Archived information here
Top 10 Gaining Queries
Week Ending Sept. 1, 2003
1.nasa
2. us open
3. planets marte
4. mtv music awards
5. lord of the rings
6. do not call list
7. uefa
8. charles bronson
9. powerball 10. betina holte
Top 10 Declining Queries Week Ending Sept. 1,2003
star wars kid Z mary carey 3, mike gordon X. femando alonso 5„ kelowna fire
6. cricket
7. reading festival
8. mdia
9. notting hill carnival 10. aai tak
2002 Year-End Google Zeitgeist available here.
August 2003 Zeitgeist
Top 10 Gaining Queries
August 2003
1. msblast
2. mars fl
Top 10 Declining Queries
1. tour de francs
2. big brother
Operating Systems Used to
Access C
Figure 6-21: Find out what's hot—and what's not—with the Google Zeitgeist.
Below that are more detailed analyses of queries for the previous month; you'll find lists like Popular TV Shows, Popular News Queries, Popular Fictional Characters, Top Women Who Start with "C", and Popular Travel-Related Queries. (These lists vary by season, and by country.)
I'm not sure how accurate the Google Zeitgeist is as a measure of our current culture, but it's certainly a lot of fun to read!
Believe it or not, Google has even more search projects in the works. The latest cutting-edge research can be found at Google Labs (labs.google.com), which is where Google's search experts concoct all manner of search projects. Google Labs is where the next Google features are often found.
As this book is being written, Google Labs has eight projects in the works. These projects include:
♦ Google Compute: Uses your PC's idle processing power for peer-to-peer computing projects
♦ Google Deskbar: Lets you search Google from the Windows taskbar (see Secret #150 to learn more)
♦ Google Glossary: Displays definitions for words you enter (see Secret #160 for more information)
♦ Google Keyboard Shortcuts: Lets you navigate your search results with your keyboard, no mouse necessary
♦ Google News Alerts: Sends e-mail alerts to your desktop when new stories appear online (see Secret #158 for more information)
♦ Google Search by Location: Lets you restrict your search to a specific geographic area
♦ Google Sets: Creates a set of related items based on a list of words you enter
♦ Google Viewer: Displays your search results as images in a kind of scrolling slide show
♦ Google Voice Search: Enables Google searching by Web phone
♦ Google Webquotes: Displays quotes about the pages in your search
Go to the Google Labs page to learn more—and to test these and other new projects!
#169: Uncover Even More Secrets in Google Labs results
The researchers at Google Labs are always working on new projects, so the projects available when you're reading this book may be different from the projects listed here.
Continue reading here: Ask Jeeves at a Glance
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