Slashdot Log In
Favorite Hidden Google Features?
Posted by
Cliff
on Sat Feb 21, 2004 02:02 AM
from the have-fun-with-it dept.
from the have-fun-with-it dept.
fredtheshingle asks: "Google now seems to allow you the option to track your FedEx and UPS shipments! Search using the tracking number for either carrier and a page that offers to track the package appears. Simply follow that link and the carrier's current status report is displayed. Nice! So what's your favorite hidden Google feature?"
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Full
Abbreviated
Hidden
Loading... please wait.
Define: (Score:5, Interesting)
My favorite Google Feature (Score:4, Funny)
But then, given the /. debates here, I'm sure you all know that already.
Re:My favorite Google Feature (Score:5, Informative)
-Adam
Parent
The Standards (Score:5, Funny)
But of course, the best hidden feature is the ability to search for "litigious b******s" and to have the most relevant link appear first. In fact, you can leave off the word "litigious" and it still works, now that so many people have put links with that phrase on their web pages.
Re:The Standards (Score:5, Interesting)
Turns out that it's a numeric variable built into Calculator! Search for:
10 * answer to life the universe and everything + 5
and you'll get back:
(10 * answer to life the universe and everything) + 5 = 425
The Ghost of Douglas Adams would smile at that one. Or he'd be sick of hearing about 42 and slam the door in their face. Who knows which? I guess we'll never know
It sure brightened up my morning, on a chill rainy day, and that must count for something.
D
Parent
Fave "hidden" feature (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Fave "hidden" feature (Score:5, Informative)
I, too, prefer not to let Google set cookies. So far Google has been -- so far as I know -- a good respecter of privacy, but their insistence on recording all searches, along with the requesting IP address, gives me serious pause.
It's not that Google is evil, but that reposing that much information in any hands is a temptation to evil -- either on Google's part, or on the part of whomever ends up controlling it when and if Google goes public, or on the part of whatever government can issue subpoenas, or whatever lawyer can get subpoenas issued.
I'd feel much more comfortable if Google would purge its records of searches, or at least remove the IP addresses, but I suppose they have their reasons. I'll let you guess what those reasons might be.
Imagine Microsoft subpoenaing Google for the IP of whomever searched for "leaked Microsoft source" and then using that to allege an open source project is built on top of proprietary Microsoft code.
This is why I won't use the Google toolbar, and why for especially sensitive searches, e.g., "STD symptom" or "John Ashcroft calico cat" [snopes.com], I go through an anonymizing proxy.
But while the easiest and permanent way to set image search SafeSearch off is through a cookie, I believe it can also be set per individual search using a check box that is sent to Google in the http GET as a parameter, bypassing cookies.
Parent
Set preferences without using Google's cookie (Score:5, Informative)
1. Enable cookies. 2. Go to http://www.google.com/ 3. Click on "Preferences" on the right side of the search box. 4. Set your preferences and click "Save Preferences." You're back to the search box. 5. Click on "Advanced Search" on the right side of the search box. 6. Do not fill out anything, but just click on "Google Search." 7. Bookmark this new search page. 8. Delete your Google cookie. 9. Disable all cookies, or at least your cookies for Google. Now when you use your new bookmark for Google searches, your preferences are passed to Google in the URL, without a cookie.
(Reference: http://www.searchguild.com/printer/fm1/792)
Parent
Re:Fave "hidden" feature (Score:5, Insightful)
Things once legal tend to become otherwise. If you feel you've got nothing to hide because you've never done anything illegal, you better pray that none of the things you've done ever becomes illegal. Or even immoral, especially if you might one day run for public office or be involved in a lawsuit.
Me having sex with my SO is legal. That doesn't mean I want information about it out in the open.
Me buying large numbers of left-wing books from Amazon is also perfectly legal, but could put me on a no-fly list if I ever travel to the US.
But above all - YOU will not decide what I should or should not hide, nor will any company or any government. That choice is mine.
Parent
Re:Fave "hidden" feature (Score:5, Informative)
Here's what I use. If you use Mozilla, make a bookmark out of the following (fix the spaces Slashdot inserted):Give the bookmark a keyword such as "gis". Now, when you type "gis foo" into the address bar, it goes to this URL, replacing the "%s" in the URL with "foo".
[Those other parameters are language, input encoding, and output encoding, respectively.]
Parent
Evil Cookies (Score:5, Insightful)
Oh, you don't want anybody keeping track of your activities and transactions? Then you can't use a credit card, you can't write checks, you can't ever show anybody your driver's license or social security card. Which means you can't legally hold a job in the U.S.!
I think cookie-phobia is a sort of an inverse example of what Bruce Schneir calls the Line-Item Fallacy of Security. He's refering to people who think the solution to their security problems is to just buy a bunch of magic technology that will solve their problems for them. But there also seems to be an attitude that some technology is tainted by the evil anti-security/anti-privacy boojum, and by avoiding it you also solve your security problems. Not true. As Schneir keeps saying, security is not a product, it's a process. And of course privacy is an aspect of security.
Cookies are presumed to be evil because they can be used to gather information. But you can't avoid giving out information. The best you can do is avoid giving information to people you don't trust.
What, you don't trust Google? Fine, then configure your browser to only allow cookie settings to trusted sites, and don't add google.com to the list. That way you can at least use Slashdot without logging in.
What, you don't trust Slashdot? Then why are you even using it? They're perfectly capable of tracking your activities on their site without using cookies.
You don't trust your browser to enforce your cookie policy? Then you're already screwed, cause you've been trusting your browser not to not use cookies at all.
It's not about what technology is evil and what isn't. It's about who you trust and who you don't.
Parent
unit conversion (Score:5, Interesting)
In the google search box type "80 calories in joules" and voila.
Google's Best Feature (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Google's Best Feature (Score:4, Interesting)
See: jargon kibo [google.com]
Or better yet: Who's got the biggest ego? [google.com]
Parent
Google Calculator (Score:5, Funny)
gravitational constant
speed of light in cubits per fortnight
mass of jupiter in stones
radius of earth * 2 * pi in light years
It's enough to keep a science nerd occupied for hours.
Re:Google Calculator (Score:5, Funny)
But I do like the speed of light in cubits per fortnight. The history geek in me is still laughing.
~UP
Parent
Re:Google Calculator (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Google Calculator (Score:5, Interesting)
found through google of course.
Parent
Travel information (Score:5, Informative)
Google knows all, ask the google, google will know....
non-hidden features (Score:4, Informative)
NOT (Score:4, Interesting)
I used to like AltaVista's old logical operators, which included parentheses for nested operations. I could do things like
((foo AND bar) OR (foo AND baz))
but I don't think Google supports anything like this.
Parent
meanin' o' liff (Score:4, Funny)
~stuff (Score:5, Informative)
linux ~tutorial [google.com]
Also, I think this list of google tricks [pcmag.com] was listed on
bork bork bork! (Score:5, Funny)
Spell Checker (Score:5, Insightful)
It's probably so often used, it's practically overlooked as feature.
feature preview (Score:5, Informative)
Reverse Phone Lookups (Score:5, Informative)
It's a little picky on format (you have to do (555) 555-4444, not 5555554444 or 555-555-4444), but in general very awesome.
Re:Reverse Phone Lookups (Score:5, Insightful)
It's probably really picky because of the Google calculator [google.com]. The other versions of the phone number you have there are valid mathematical expressions.
Parent
Froogle for the frugal. (Score:5, Informative)
Froogle [google.com], for those who like to be careful with money.
UPC barcode lookup... (Score:5, Informative)
works great if you have one of those modified cue cats [ebay.com]
Searching in Klingon, Swedish Chef, or Elmer Fudd (Score:5, Funny)
Dave
Regular Expressions (Score:5, Funny)
My favorite feature is the ability to search for items using regular expressions. Just type the string "site:/^[cs].*?edu$/" and BAM! You get jack squat.
Some day our Linux search engine heros will grace us with regular expressions.
Open Source Industrial Music. [naquadria.org]
Michael. [michael-forman.com]
OT: My favorite quote about regular expressions (Score:5, Funny)
--Jamie Zawinski, in comp.lang.emacs
Parent
This "hidden" category... (Score:5, Interesting)
I have no idea, why it is always hidden (even if the content filtering is turned off) or how to reach it from the toplevel.
Have you seen (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Have you seen (Score:5, Funny)
I bet this person was typing with one hand.
Parent
kewl languages (Score:5, Interesting)
Google Wireless (Score:5, Informative)
Wildcard searches (Score:5, Informative)
Google ~Guide (Score:5, Informative)
2 things (Score:5, Interesting)
1. The Dot. Instead of "search string", search.string works.
2. Search By Location [google.com] (currently in google labs, hopefully to be released soon). I made a mycroft plugin [glayven.com] for it. Download and unzip to your mozilla/firefox searchplugins directory, edit googleloc.src to reflect your zip code, restart browser, and it'll appear in your search dropdown. Just choose it from the dropdown and enter a query, say "pizza hut" or whatever, and bang, you get your nearest pizza huts with map and distances. (It'll stop working when search by location is eventually moved out of labs.google.com, obviously)
It's not really a feature, per se... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Calculator and spell checker (Score:5, Interesting)
Google Calculation [google.com]
And the ever popular Question [google.com]
Parent
Re:Calculator and spell checker (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re:Calculator and spell checker (Score:5, Funny)
How about this one [google.com]?
Parent
Re:Calculator and spell checker (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.google.com/help/features.h
Parent
Re:Calculator and spell checker (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Calculator and spell checker (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Calculator and spell checker (Score:5, Funny)
Google can help you find some pretty cool things.
I just learned that with my internet service I can theoretically download 11 terrabytes per year. [google.com]
I really need a bigger hard drive
Parent
Re:something I miss from altavista: (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent