MARC'S TECHNOLOGY BLOG - SIT, GOOGLE, SIT! THERE, GIRL . . . GOOD SEARCH ENGINE!
TIPS ON USING TECHNOLOGY TO YOUR ADVANTAGE, FROM A USER-FRIENDLY GUY!
Everybody knows Google is the most awesome thing ever. Seriously - Ever! But knowing how awesome Google is is only half of KNOWING how awesome Google is.
First things first. One that I am surprised isn't more widely known because it couldn't be more obvious that it is there. Go to Google see the search box where you type in what you are looking for? Just to the right of that box are three phrases: Advanced Search, Preferences, and Language Tools. Those three options are extremely powerful, use them!! Advanced Search gives you a multitude of options to make your queries more powerful. Preferences allows you to change how you search and how the results are displayed. Language Tools will translate text for you and allow you to search international Google sites!! Check all three of those out!!
Here's a cool little search string. Say you are a big Ben Folds fan and you'd like to add some of his wonderful music to your music library, go to Google (http://www.google.com/) and in the search box type: -inurl:htm -inurl:html:"index of" mp3 "ben folds" (it's messy, I know...don't forget the " - " at the beginning. Hit search, and your results will contain links to websites providing suggested venues for sampling Ben Folds music...cough cough.
Uncle Dean coming in from Denver? United Flight 42? Would you like to know when his flight is scheduled to arrive? Type in: United 42, and you'll see that he landed four hours ago. This works for any domestic flight and is way easier than trudging to the airlines website or talking to the computer voice on the phone.
Buying a used car? Want to know if it was caught under the Irving Park under pass in four feet of water during the storm we had here in Chicago a few weeks ago? Type in the VIN and get the CarFax report (example: JH4NA1157MT001832).
Too shy to ask your mortgage broker what in the world he's talking about? Google is an awesome dictionary! Just type in: define: amortization, (or any other word) and you'll be able to translate all his money talk gobbledygook. (Note to self: define: gobbledygook).
Have you seen Google Moon?? Moon.google.com. Zoom all the way in! It really is made of cheese!! This feature is rumored to be re-launched in the near future.
This is no where near everything you can do with Google. It's just a sampling! In blogs to come I will talk more about Google Maps, Google Earth, and iGoogle. Stay tuned because there is lots to cover.
Got a Tech Tip or two you would like to share with the world, perhaps the moon? Just drop us a line!
Happy Browsing!
FROM THE DEAN'S TEAM TECH DESK,
MARC MILBAUER
