The Google Iceberg
January 2nd 2008 07:37
I came across a site called LifeHacker today which I’d never encountered before. It’s subtitled Tech Tricks, Tips and Downloads for Getting Things Done. Plainly ‘getting things done’ is one of their catch phrases as it occurs several times on the page I read.
I’d been alerted to this site because they listed ten of Google’s lesser-known utilities, and I thought it would be interesting to see what else Google had on offer. (In spite of a post I wrote recently carping about Google, I still have admiration for their innovations).
I’d only ever come across one or two of these utilities before, such as the WYSIWYG web page builder, and never actually used them. But most of the items are worth a look, and the LifeHacker site discusses each one in turn, and gives immediate links to them. (Google’s utilities aren’t always so easy to find, unless you go searching for them on Google Search, which seems a slightly odd way of looking for them.)
I won’t go into detail about the ten here, because I’d only be repeating what LifeHacker has done much better. However, to give you a taste of what’s available, this is the list:
Trend History. I don’t think most of us will have much use for this; it told me my name wasn’t big enough on search results to bother with!
Google Code Search. People with an interest in the inner workings of programming will find this immensely useful. Unfortunately, programming isn’t my area of expertise.
Google Base. This provides direct access to recipes, vacation rentals, job listings and the like. Could be worth a look for us common folk.
Google Alerts. I’ve used this in the past, to see where my name was coming up on the Net. (Egotist to the last!). It gets a bit irritating at times, because you often get alerts about people who share your name – I imagine it would be worse if you had an even more common name.
Google Book Search. Takes you to online books that have been scanned by Google. There’s also a Google Scholar which gives you access to academic papers and such.
Page Creator. The web page builder mentioned above.
Google Notebook. This is supposed to allow you to make notes as you surf the Net, notes that you can refer back to from any computer that will access your Google account.
Flight Simulator. Hmm. Something I really want to try. Not.
There’s a Google way to put the mouse aside entirely and use nothing but shortcuts when you’re surfing the Net. I use their shortcuts on Gmail, and it looks as though these ones are pretty similar.
And finally, something that is probably only useful once in a while (unless you’re an inveterate house-designer). This is Google Sketchup, in which you can plan the house of your dreams.
Apparently these ten are only the tip of the iceberg. LifeHacker gives a link to a much bigger list at the bottom of their ‘top ten.’
And as well, they also have a link – over to the right of the page – which leads you to a way to back up your online mail (such as gmail), your blog, and other such necessities. Check the site out: it’s full of helpful material.
I’d been alerted to this site because they listed ten of Google’s lesser-known utilities, and I thought it would be interesting to see what else Google had on offer. (In spite of a post I wrote recently carping about Google, I still have admiration for their innovations).
I’d only ever come across one or two of these utilities before, such as the WYSIWYG web page builder, and never actually used them. But most of the items are worth a look, and the LifeHacker site discusses each one in turn, and gives immediate links to them. (Google’s utilities aren’t always so easy to find, unless you go searching for them on Google Search, which seems a slightly odd way of looking for them.)
I won’t go into detail about the ten here, because I’d only be repeating what LifeHacker has done much better. However, to give you a taste of what’s available, this is the list:
Trend History. I don’t think most of us will have much use for this; it told me my name wasn’t big enough on search results to bother with!
Google Code Search. People with an interest in the inner workings of programming will find this immensely useful. Unfortunately, programming isn’t my area of expertise.
Google Base. This provides direct access to recipes, vacation rentals, job listings and the like. Could be worth a look for us common folk.
Google Alerts. I’ve used this in the past, to see where my name was coming up on the Net. (Egotist to the last!). It gets a bit irritating at times, because you often get alerts about people who share your name – I imagine it would be worse if you had an even more common name.
Google Book Search. Takes you to online books that have been scanned by Google. There’s also a Google Scholar which gives you access to academic papers and such.
Page Creator. The web page builder mentioned above.
Google Notebook. This is supposed to allow you to make notes as you surf the Net, notes that you can refer back to from any computer that will access your Google account.
Flight Simulator. Hmm. Something I really want to try. Not.
There’s a Google way to put the mouse aside entirely and use nothing but shortcuts when you’re surfing the Net. I use their shortcuts on Gmail, and it looks as though these ones are pretty similar.
And finally, something that is probably only useful once in a while (unless you’re an inveterate house-designer). This is Google Sketchup, in which you can plan the house of your dreams.
Apparently these ten are only the tip of the iceberg. LifeHacker gives a link to a much bigger list at the bottom of their ‘top ten.’
And as well, they also have a link – over to the right of the page – which leads you to a way to back up your online mail (such as gmail), your blog, and other such necessities. Check the site out: it’s full of helpful material.
| 56 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
Subscribe to this blog
