501 Web Site Secrets: Unleash the Power of Google®, Amazon®, eBay® and More [Paperback]

Michael Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 13, 2004 | ISBN-10: 076455901X | ISBN-13: 978-0764559013 | Edition: 1

• Shows Internet users how to get the most out of Internet searches, portals, and commerce sites
• Covers using Google to solve mathematical equations, making search engines safe for kids, harnessing the full power of Yahoo!, and getting the best bargains on shopping sites
• Explains how to search for street addresses and phone numbers, stock quotes and other financial information, MP3s and other digital music, computer programs and utilities, medical information, legal information, genealogical information, job listings, and more
• Reveals the secrets behind directory sites, indexing, and search result rankings

Editorial Reviews

Review

“…there are some interesting tips to be had…” (PC Utilities, July 2004)

From the Back Cover

Do more than you ever thought possible with search engines, portals, and e-commerce sites! Packed with insider tips, tricks, timesavers, and workarounds, this unique guide shows you step by step how to make the most of today’s most popular Web sites. From putting Google in your browser and personalizing Yahoo! to finding bargains on Amazon and winning eBay auctions, this book delivers all the secrets you need to get more done in less time, save money, and become an Internet power user.

The Insider’s Guide to:

• Listening to music, planning a trip, managing your schedule, and much more at Yahoo! (see Chapter 1)
• Tapping MSN for maps, movie tickets, dieting help, Internet radio, digital photo sharing, and more (see Chapter 2)
• Maximizing AOL, from creating a personal calendar to tracking investments to sending online greeting cards (see Chapter 3)
• Making Google safe for kids and using Google for math homework help (see Chapter 6)
• Getting CNN.com news alerts, contacting your favorite CNN anchors, and accessing CNN from your cell phone (see Chapter 11)
• Getting more out of eBay, from automated bidding and winning by sniping to accepting credit cards and blocking bidders from your auctions (see Chapter 16)
• Supercharging shopping at Amazon, from using advanced searches and fine-tuning Amazon recommendations to finding out about the latest products and earning Amazon commissions by linking your site to theirs (see Chapter 17)
• Using the new Napster 2.0 to build a personal radio station, burn music CDs, and share songs with other members (see Chapter 18)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (February 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076455901X
• ISBN-13: 978-0764559013
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,790,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Miller is the best-selling writer of more than 100 non-fiction books. He writes about a variety of topics, including computers, online selling, business, consumer electronics, and music. From his first book (Ventura Publisher Techniques and Applications, published in 1988) to his latest title, he has established a reputation for practical advice, technical accuracy, and an unerring empathy for the needs of his readers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tips are obvious; not innovative, September 25, 2004

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 501 Web Site Secrets: Unleash the Power of Google®, Amazon®, eBay® and More (Paperback)

There seems to be something akin to a credentials push between O'Reilly and Wiley. O'Reilly has a series of Hacks books, with 100 tips in each. Is that why we have this book, with 501 web "secrets"? One upsmanship?

Firstly, the secrets in the title is hype. None of the tips can really be called a secret. While Miller does admit this in his Introduction, it is irritating to see each tip labelled as a secret, throughout the book.

But let's leave this aside and look at the tips. Many are really obvious. Like tip 224 - "Fine tune your search with AltaVista's advanced Web Search page". People, the Altavista home page has an 'advanced' link right there. Or look at tip 27 - "Use Yahoo to get the latest news, weather and sports". Again, these links are right there on the Yahoo home page. Plus, the headlines of recent new articles are also shown on the page, as an inducement for readers to clickthrough.

These 501 tips are quantity stressed over quality. Many are stunningly obvious, like those above. And if we say "secrets", then they become inane. A far better approach would have been to reduce the number of tips, and give more detail on some truly innovative and nonobvious usages of the major websites. It would have required far more work and originality than evidenced here.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite secrets, November 17, 2004

By 

Jack D. Herrington "engineer and author" (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 501 Web Site Secrets: Unleash the Power of Google®, Amazon®, eBay® and More (Paperback)

I'm not sure how finding your local weather on Yahoo! is a secret. But it is worthwhile, and as long as you look at the book as 501 helpful hints and pointers, you will do alright.

The book is organized into chapters by site; CNN, ESPN, Google, Yahoo!, eBay, and more.

A good Christmas present for someone new to the Internet or just getting excited about it.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review, May 10, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: 501 Web Site Secrets: Unleash the Power of Google®, Amazon®, eBay® and More (Paperback)

The book, 501 Web Site Secrets, written by Michael Miller, is a "how-to" book that contains hidden tips, or "secrets," covering 20 of the most popular Internet web sites. It is about providing the consumer with more knowledge and skill at using the most popular web sites on the Internet.

Organized into 20 chapters, each covering a particular web site such as Google, Yahoo, and eBay, information is presented in small bites that fit the style of people who like their information in easily readable summaries. This style works very well.

Targeted at users of the Internet, which includes just about everybody from Internet-savvy people to beginners who are just learning how to use the Internet and all that it offers, the book meets it objective-showing people different, better, or "hidden" ways to use their favorite web sites. Experienced or casual browsers will find useful morsels of information to help better utilize these popular web sites whether they are browsing for specific data in support of their research or just having fun surfing the Internet. For instance, did you know that Google can perform a search on your subject that also includes words similar to your search word? On page 123, the author reveals a way to do this: just include the tilde as the first character of your search word, i.e., if you are searching for "elderly" type in "~elderly" and Google will find pages that not only use the word "elderly" but also related words so web pages containing the words "senior" and "older" would also be part of your search results.

The book's layout is easy-to-follow. Each web site is covered in a chapter by itself and the table of contents provides a quick reference to sections so the reader may go directly to the "secrets" of the web site they like the most. The author's writing style also contributes to an easy read. He uses plain language and does not use confusing, technical jargon, and his examples are very good.

There is one thing, though. In future editions, I would like to see some type of spiral binding so the book may lay open when a person is using it at the computer. Different methods of holding the book open, i.e., cordless phones, clipping heavy pens to the pages, etc., were used and this was just inconvenient.

Bottom line: Is 501 Web Site Secrets worth the read? Yes. Do I recommend it? Yes.

Bobby