Six Google tips anyone can learn
Mikey 6 commentsGoogle is more than a good tool for finding web sites. These tips are well documented but I hardly know of any people who use them outside of my tech-head colleagues.
The list below are just a handful of very basic tools I use regularly on Google. Feel free to add more in the comments if you have any.
Conversion Units
Typing in any conversion you want performed can be achieved using plain English. Example: convert 20 Celsius to Fahrenheit
...and Google will display the result: 20 degrees Celsius = 68 degrees Fahrenheit
Some other examples are:
- convert 20 kilometres to miles
- convert 20 minutes to hours
- convert 20 grams to ounces
Currency Conversion
Very similar to the conversion units noted above, to convert Australian dollars into American dollars type in: 100 Australian dollars in US dollars
..and you will see the result: 100 Australian dollars = 94.21 U.S. dollars. You can of course substitute for any currency.
Calculator
This is a lot easier than trying to find the calculator in your programs menu. Google accepts calculations of any length. Example: 100+35+50-10+45*3
...and Google will display the result: 100 + 35 + 50 - 10 + (45 * 3) = 310
Dictionary Definitions
Dictionary.com is good, but Google can give you definitions from several standard accepted dictionaries by using define: in combination with any other word. Example: define:obtuse
...and the standard accepted definitions with links to where they were sourced from.
Custom Searches
Let's say you want to search for 'star wars' but you don't want your search results to include the term 'george lucas'. Type in: "star wars" -"george lucas"
...and your search results will contain information about Star Wars with no mention of George Lucas.
International Times
What time is it in Sydney? Type in: what time is it in sydney
...and Google will display the time in Sydney along with an image of a clock that shows the actual time.
5:23pm Sunday (EST) - Time in Sydney, New South Wales
I hope you find these as helpful as I do.
No way
Monday 17th March 2008 | 07:22 PMI didn't know any of those. Cheers.
wufle
Tuesday 18th March 2008 | 01:01 PMThis reminds me of the days when Ask Jeeves was popular. You could ask him "What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?" and he would respond with "What do you mean? An African or European swallow?".
Nate >.>
Friday 28th March 2008 | 10:51 AM...in response to this comment by wufle. HA HA, that's gold, although Google doesn't answer THAT particular important question, it does give you "The Ultimate Answer".... go ahead, ask Google "What is the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything?"
I'll give you a hint, it's treated like a mathematical question.
Enjoy :)
Anders
Friday 28th March 2008 | 11:00 AM...in response to this comment by Nate >.>. The answer you seek is 42!
Andrea L
Sunday 11th May 2008 | 08:04 AMDefine: Why didn't I know about define?!
Thanks Michael!
Muzza
Sunday 16th March 2008 | 09:03 PMGoogle rocks...so much cool stuff hidden in that simple little page!