Googlepedia: The Ultimate Google Resource, 2/e

Table of Contents

Introduction........................................................................................ 1

        What’s in This Book............................................................... 2

        Who Can Use This Book........................................................ 4

        How to Use This Book........................................................... 4

        There’s More Online…........................................................... 5

        Get Ready to Google!............................................................. 6

Part I:       Basic Searches

    1  Inside Google................................................................................. 9

        Getting to Know Google, Inc.................................................. 10

            Google’s Mission.......................................................... 10

            Google’s History........................................................... 11

            Google’s Revenues....................................................... 14

            Is Google a Search Company or an Advertising Company? 15

            Life at the Googleplex................................................... 16

        How Google Works.............................................................. 17

            How a Typical Search Works........................................ 18

            How Google Builds Its Database–And Assembles Its Index   19

            How Google Ranks Its Results...................................... 20

        The Bottom Line................................................................... 22

    2  Searching the Web........................................................................ 23

        Conducting a Basic Search.................................................... 23

            Navigating Google’s Home Page................................... 24

            Entering Your Query..................................................... 24

            Feeling Lucky?............................................................. 25

            How Google Displays Its Results................................... 25

            Universal Search Results............................................... 27

            Omitted Results............................................................ 28

            Extending Your Search................................................. 28

        Conducting a More Refined Search........................................ 29

            Don’t Worry About Capitalization….............................. 30

            … But Do Worry About Word Order............................. 30

            ”And” Is Assumed....................................................... 32

            Search for One or Another Word................................... 33

            Common Words Are Automatically Excluded................. 33

            Always Include Stop Words.......................................... 34

            Exclude Words from Results......................................... 34

            Take Advantage of Automatic Word Stemming.............. 34

            Search for Similar Words.............................................. 35

            Search for an Exact Phrase........................................... 35

            Use Wildcards to Search for Missing Words in an Exact Phrase          36

            Search for Words That Don’t Appear Together.............. 36

            Narrow Your Search to Specific File Types.................... 37

            Narrow Your Search to a Specific Domain or Website.... 38

            Narrow Your Search to Words in the Page’s Title.......... 39

            Narrow Your Search to Words in the Page’s URL......... 39

            Narrow Your Search to Words in the Page’s Body Text. 40

            Narrow Your Search to Words in the Page’s Link Text.. 40

            Search for a Range of Numbers.................................... 41

            Travel Way Back in Time for Your Search.................... 41

            List Pages That Link to a Specific Page......................... 42

            List Similar Pages......................................................... 42

            Find Out More About a Specific Page............................ 43

            Highlight Keywords...................................................... 43

        Using the Advanced Search Page.......................................... 44

        Narrowing Your Search Results with URL Parameters........... 46

            Understanding Google’s URLs...................................... 46

            Displaying the Most Recent Results............................... 47

            Displaying More (or Fewer) Results............................... 48

            Restricting Results to a Specific Filetype........................ 48

        Other Ways to Query Google................................................ 48

        Tips for More Effective Searches.......................................... 51

            Use the Correct Methodology........................................ 51

            Use the Right Keywords in Your Query......................... 51

            Save Your Results........................................................ 53

        The Bottom Line................................................................... 53

    3  Searching the Google Directory..................................................... 55

        What the Google Directory Is–And What It Isn’t.................. 56

            Why a Directory Isn’t a Search Engine, and Vice Versa. 56

            How the Google Directory Is Assembled........................ 58

            Why You’d Want to Use the Google Directory Instead of Google’s Web Search          60

        Navigating the Google Directory............................................ 61

            Searching Directory Listings.......................................... 61

            Browsing Directory Categories...................................... 62

            Searching Within a Category......................................... 64

        The Bottom Line................................................................... 66

Part II:      Specialized Searches

    4  Searching for People and Phone Numbers...................................... 69

        Searching for People by Name.............................................. 69

        Searching for People by Phone Number................................. 74

        Searching for Personal Information–And Home Pages.......... 74

        Googling Yourself................................................................. 75

        The Bottom Line................................................................... 77

    5  Searching for Financial Information................................................ 79

        Searching via the Standard Search Box.................................. 79

        Using Google Finance........................................................... 80

            Accessing General Financial Information........................ 81

            Accessing Specific Stock and Company Information....... 83

            Viewing Interactive Financial Charts.............................. 87

            Tracking Your Portfolio................................................. 88

        Discussing Finances in Google Finance Groups....................... 90

            Finding Google Finance Discussions............................... 90

            Reading and Rating Messages....................................... 91

            Creating a Google Finance Profile.................................. 91

            Replying to Messages................................................... 93

            Starting a New Discussion............................................. 93

        The Bottom Line................................................................... 95

    6  Searching Blogs and Blog Postings................................................. 97

        How Google Blog Search Works........................................... 98

        How to List Your Blog with Google Blog Search.................... 99

        Searching for Blogs–And Blog Posts.................................... 99

            Two Ways to Search................................................... 100

            Evaluating Blog Search Results.................................... 100

        Fine-Tuning Your Blog Search Query................................... 101

            Using Advanced Search Operators.............................. 102

            Using the Advanced Search Page................................ 102

        Subscribing to Blog Search Results....................................... 104

        The Bottom Line................................................................. 104

    7  Searching for Scholarly Information.............................................. 105

        How Google Scholar Works................................................. 106

            Identifying Scholarly Content....................................... 107

            Searching Beyond the Public Internet........................... 107

            Including Print-Only Content........................................ 108

        Understanding Google Scholar Search Results...................... 109

            Different Types of Results........................................... 109

            Listing Information...................................................... 111

            How to Use Google Scholar Results............................. 111

        Searching Google Scholar.................................................... 112

            Conducting a Basic Search.......................................... 112

            Using Advanced Search Operators.............................. 112

            Using the Advanced Scholar Search Page.................... 113

        Linking to Information at Your Library................................. 114

        Expanding Google Scholar................................................... 115

            Add Google Scholar to Your Website........................... 116

            Google Scholar for Libraries........................................ 117

            Google Scholar for Publishers...................................... 118

        The Bottom Line................................................................. 118

    8  Searching for Specialty Information.............................................. 119

        Using Google’s University Search........................................ 120

        Using Google’s Special Technology Searches....................... 122

        Using Google Patent Search................................................ 123

        Using Google U.S. Government Search................................ 125

        The Bottom Line................................................................. 126

    9  Searching for Words and Definitions............................................ 127

        Using a “What Is” Search................................................... 127

        Using the Google Glossary................................................... 129

        Finding Similar Words with Google Sets................................ 131

        The Bottom Line................................................................. 133

    10 Searching for Other Special Information....................................... 135

        Searching for Facts............................................................. 136

        Searching for Weather Information...................................... 137

        Searching for Travel Information.......................................... 137

            Viewing Airport Conditions.......................................... 137

            Tracking Flight Status.................................................. 138

        Searching for Numbers........................................................ 139

        Searching for Movies.......................................................... 140

        Searching for Music............................................................ 142

        The Bottom Line................................................................. 144

Part III:    Additional Search Features

    11 Customizing Google..................................................................... 147

        Setting Google Search Preferences...................................... 147

            Display Google in a Different Language....................... 148

            Search in a Different Language................................... 149

            Search Safely............................................................. 149

            Display More Results Per Page................................... 149

            Open a New Results Window...................................... 150

        Making Google Your Home Page......................................... 150

        The Bottom Line................................................................. 151

    12 Saving Your Searches with Google Notebook............................... 153

        Getting to Know Google Notebook....................................... 154

        Adding Notebook Content.................................................... 155

            Creating a New Notebook........................................... 155

            Adding a New Section................................................. 155

            Adding a New Note.................................................... 156

        Clipping Content from Web Pages........................................ 157

            Installing the Browser Extension.................................. 157

            Adding a Web Page as a Note..................................... 157

            Clipping Content from a Web Page.............................. 158

        Managing Notebook Content................................................ 158

            Managing Notebooks................................................... 158

            Managing Notebook Sections....................................... 159

            Managing Notes.......................................................... 159

        Sharing Notes..................................................................... 159

        The Bottom Line................................................................. 161

    13 Making Google Safe for Kids....................................................... 163

        How SafeSearch Filtering Works......................................... 164

        Enabling the SafeSearch Filter............................................. 164

            SafeSearch Filtering from the Preferences Page........... 165

            SafeSearch Filtering from the Advanced Search Page... 165

            SafeSearch Filtering from the Standard Search Box...... 165

            SafeSearch Filtering by Editing the Search Results URL 166

        When Not to Use SafeSearch.............................................. 166

        The Bottom Line................................................................. 168

    14 Using Google in Other Languages................................................ 169

        Searching for Language- and Country-Specific Pages........... 169

            Changing Your Default Language Search..................... 170

            Conducting a Language-Specific Search....................... 170

            Conducting a Country-Specific Search  ........................ 171

        Displaying Google in Another Language............................... 172

        Using Country-Specific Google Sites.................................... 174

        Translating Text and Web Pages from One Language to
Another.................................................................................. 176

            Languages Translated................................................. 177

            Translating Text Passages........................................... 178

            Translating Web Pages................................................ 179

            Translating from Google’s Search Results..................... 180

            Translating Web Pages from the Google Toolbar........... 180

            Translating Words from the Google Toolbar.................. 181

        The Bottom Line................................................................. 182

    15 Using Google as a Calculator and Converter................................. 183

        Performing Basic Calculations from the Google Search Box.. 183

        Performing Advanced Calculations....................................... 186

        Looking Up the Values of Constants.................................... 187

        Converting Units of Measure............................................... 190

        An Easier Way to Calculate................................................. 196

        The Bottom Line................................................................. 198

    16 Keeping Updated with Google Alerts............................................ 199

        Different Kinds of Alerts..................................................... 199

        Signing Up for Alerts........................................................... 201

        Customizing and Editing Your Alerts.................................... 202

        Deleting Google Alerts........................................................ 203

        The Bottom Line................................................................. 203

Part IV:    Shopping and Product Searches

    17 Searching for Bargains with Google Product Search...................... 207

        Google Product Search: It’s Different from Other Price Comparison Sites    208

            How Most Price Comparison Sites Work...................... 208

            How Google Product Search Works............................. 208

        Searching for the Lowest Prices.......................................... 209

            Basic Searching.......................................................... 209

            Understanding Google’s Product Search Results........... 210

            Advanced Searching................................................... 212

            Using Advanced Search Operators.............................. 214

        Using Google’s Merchant Reviews...................................... 214

        Creating Your Own Google Shopping List............................. 217

            Adding an Item to Your Shopping List.......................... 217

            Viewing and Managing Your Shopping List................... 218

            Creating a Wish List.................................................... 219

        Shopping Online with Google Catalogs.................................. 219

            Searching for Specific Catalogs.................................... 220

            Browsing by Product Category.................................... 220

            Viewing Catalogs Online............................................. 220

        The Bottom Line................................................................. 222

    18 Buying and Selling–Online and Locally–with Google Base.......... 223

        Understanding Google Base................................................. 224

        What’s Not Permitted on Google Base................................. 225

        Shopping for Items on Google Base...................................... 226

        Selling Items on Google Base............................................... 229

        Uploading Bulk Items.......................................................... 233

            Creating and Submitting a Bulk Upload File................... 233

            Using Google Base to Submit Store Inventory to Google Product Search           233

            Using Google Base to Submit Business Location Data to Google Maps 233

        The Bottom Line................................................................. 235

    19 Paying and Collecting Payments with Google Checkout................. 237

        Buying and Selling Electronically: How Online Payment Services Work        238

        Tracking a Typical Transaction............................................ 238

        Getting to Know Google Checkout....................................... 242

        Buying Items with Google Checkout..................................... 243

            Creating a Google Account.......................................... 243

            Using Google Checkout to Make a Purchase................ 244

            Reviewing Your Google Checkout Purchases–and Managing Your Account   246

        Selling Items with Google Checkout...................................... 246

            Setting Up a Google Checkout Account........................ 247

            Paying for Google Checkout........................................ 248

            Integrating Google Checkout with Google AdWords...... 248

            Evaluating Google Checkout’s Payment Services.......... 248

            Adding a Google Checkout Buy Now Button to Your Website 250

            Collecting Google Checkout Payments.......................... 251

            Withdrawing Google Checkout Funds........................... 251

            Google Checkout’s Seller Protection Policy................... 252

        The Bottom Line................................................................. 252

Part V:     Maps and Directions

    20 Using Google Maps..................................................................... 255

        Introducing Google Maps..................................................... 256

        Searching for Maps............................................................. 256

            Searching by Address.................................................. 256

            Searching by Landmark............................................... 258

            Displaying Google Maps by Entering a URL................. 260

            Displaying Street Maps from a Google Web Search...... 261

        Navigating a Google Map.................................................... 262

        Displaying Satellite Images.................................................. 265

            The View from Above................................................ 265

            Displaying Hybrid Satellite Maps.................................. 267

            Displaying Street View Photos..................................... 268

        Viewing Live Traffic Conditions........................................... 270

        Sharing Maps...................................................................... 271

            Linking to a Specific Map............................................ 272

            Emailing a Map........................................................... 272

            Printing a Map............................................................ 272

        Displaying Driving Directions............................................... 273

            Generating Turn-by-Turn Directions............................. 273

            Generating Multiple-Stop Directions............................. 274

            Following Directions.................................................... 275

            Getting Back Home Again........................................... 275

            Printing Your Directions.............................................. 277

        Saving Locations................................................................. 278

            Setting Your Default Location...................................... 278

            Viewing Other Saved Locations................................... 279

        Finding Nearby Businesses.................................................. 279

            Searching for Businesses............................................. 280

            Viewing Local Businesses........................................... 280

            Adding Your Business to Google Maps......................... 282

        The Bottom Line................................................................. 283

    21 Using and Creating Google Map Mashups.................................... 285

        Creating Simple Mashups with My Maps.............................. 286

            Creating a Custom Map............................................... 286

            Sharing Your My Maps Mashups................................. 290

        Creating More Sophisticated Mashups with Third-Party Tools 290

        Creating Complex Mashups with the Google Maps API......... 292

            Using the Google Maps API........................................ 292

            Creating a Basic Map.................................................. 292

            Adding Map Controls.................................................. 294

            Adding an Info Balloon................................................ 295

            Creating an Animated Map.......................................... 296

            Adding a Marker to Your Map..................................... 296

            Adding Multiple Markers from Your Own Database..... 297

            And Even More…...................................................... 297

        Finding Google Map Mashups on the Web............................ 298

        The Bottom Line................................................................. 304

    22 Using Google Earth..................................................................... 305

        Which Version Is for You?.................................................. 306

        Introducing Google Earth..................................................... 306

        Navigating Google Earth...................................................... 307

        Navigating with the Onscreen Navigation Controls................ 308

        Navigating with the Mouse.................................................. 309

        Pan and Zoom Navigation Mode.......................................... 309

        Flight Control Navigation Mode............................................ 310

        Click-and-Zoom Navigation Mode........................................ 310

        Navigating with the Keyboard.............................................. 310

        Taking a Quick Tour of Google Earth................................... 311

        Making Google Earth More Three-Dimensional..................... 315

        Configuring View Options.................................................... 319

        Setting View Preferences.................................................... 319

        Using Full-Screen Mode...................................................... 320

        Displaying a Latitude/Longitude Grid.................................... 320

        Displaying the Overview Map.............................................. 321

        Saving and Printing a View.................................................. 322

        Searching for Locations to View.......................................... 322

        Displaying Driving Directions............................................... 324

        Getting Directions............................................................... 324

        Touring Your Route............................................................ 325

        Printing and Saving Directions.............................................. 325

        Displaying and Using Layers................................................ 325

        Displaying Points of Interest................................................ 326

        Creating Custom Placemarks............................................... 327

        Measuring Distance Along a Path........................................ 329

        Using Google Earth with GPS Devices................................. 331

        The Bottom Line................................................................. 331

Part VI:    Communications

    23 Sending and Receiving Email with Gmail....................................... 335

        What Makes Gmail Unique.................................................. 336

        Signing Up (It’s Free!)........................................................ 338

        Getting to Know the Gmail Interface.................................... 338

        Sending and Receiving Email............................................... 339

            Reading Messages...................................................... 340

            Viewing Conversations................................................ 340

            Replying to Messages.................................................. 342

            Forwarding Messages................................................. 343

            Composing and Sending New Messages....................... 343

            Attaching Files............................................................ 344

            Opening or Viewing Attached Files.............................. 345

            Deleting Messages...................................................... 346

        Searching Your Inbox.......................................................... 346

            Basic Search.............................................................. 346

            Searching with Search Options..................................... 346

            Searching with Advanced Operators............................ 348

        Other Ways of Organizing Your Email Messages.................. 349

            Starring Important Messages....................................... 349

            Applying Labels.......................................................... 350

            Archiving Old Messages.............................................. 351

        Filtering Incoming Mail........................................................ 352

        Dealing with Spam and Viruses............................................ 353

            Blocking Spam Messages............................................ 353

            Scanning Your Attachments for Viruses....................... 354

        Working with Contacts........................................................ 354

            Adding a New Contact................................................ 354

            Importing Contacts from Another Program................... 356

            Displaying Contacts..................................................... 357

            Searching for Contacts................................................ 357

            Using Contact Groups................................................. 357

            Sending a Message to a Contact or Contact Group........ 358

        Using Gmail with Other Email Programs and Accounts......... 358

            Retrieving Email from Other Accounts......................... 359

        &nbs