How to Do Everything with Google [Paperback]

Fritz Schneider (Author), Nancy Blachman (Author), Eric Fredricksen (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0072231742 | ISBN-13: 978-0072231748 | Publication Date: November 21, 2003 | Edition: 1

Get inside the massive search engine and learn how to make Google’s enormous power work for you to find exactly what you need. Discover what librarians and researchers know and learn the best tactics and strategies for finding information on the web using Google search. Includes coverage of little-known Google features such as the bargain-searching Froogle, a news service, an image search service, and more.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Go beyond Google's deceptively plain interface to explore the many features of this powerful tool. The new user and the Web-savvy alike will benefit from the many simple and advanced tactics and strategies the authors share for finding information on the Web with Google. Save time with tips to narrow or broaden your Web searches, choose effective search terms, utilize Google search syntax, and understand your search results. Discover useful services such as Images, Answers, Groups, News, Google's bargain-finder Froogle, and much more. And along the way, get fun facts about the company and the people behind Google.

• Find useful information more quickly
• Locate phone numbers, maps, stock information, and get answers to mathematical calculations
• Configure your Web browser to facilitate easier searching
• Filter out sexually explicit content with SafeSearch
• Discover an array of features such as the bargain-finder Froogle, Google News, and Google Images
• Set preferences to specify a search and interface language, the number of search results shown per page, and more
• Learn how the Google search engine works and how new features are created in Google labs
• Use Google's search syntax to narrow your searches
• Formulate questions that get the best results from researchers at Google Answers

About the authors:

Fritz Schneider is a software engineer at Google. He is co-author of JavaScript: The Complete Reference and holds an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of California at San Diego.

Nancy Blachman gives workshops on searching with Google and wrote an online tutorial, Google Guide. She is an author, and holds an M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University, where she has taught for eight years.

Eric Fredricksen has been a software engineer at Google for more than three years. He holds an M.S. in Mathematics from Stanford University.

About the Author

Nancy Blachman (Mountain View, CA) is president and founder of Variable Symbols, a company that specializes in consulting and training on technical software. Her books include Mathematica: A Practical Approach, the Mathematica Graphics Guidebook, and the Mathematica Quick Reference. Blachman holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Birmingham in the UK, an M.S. in Operations Research from the University of California at Berkeley, and an M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University, where she has taught for eight years. Eric Fredricksen (San Francisco, CA) has been a software engineer at Google for over 3 years. He holds a B.A. in Mathematics from the University of California at Berkeley and a M.S. from Stanford University, also in Mathematics. Fritz Schneider (San Francisco, CA) is a software engineer at Google, Inc. headquarters in Mountain View, CA. Schneider is co-author of JavaScript: The Complete Reference (McGraw-Hill/Osborne) and holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering from Columbia University and an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of California at San Diego.

Product Details

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media; 1 edition (November 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072231742
• ISBN-13: 978-0072231748
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,411,726 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Perfect Overview of Google, March 19, 2004

By 

K. Yagi (Cupertino, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Do Everything with Google (Paperback)

Did you know Google can find you best prices, do translations, or even fill out online forms for you?

"How to Do Everything with Google" by Fritz Schneider goes over everything from how to enter a query all the way to configuring your Google toolbar. Whether you are a complete beginner or an advanced web browser, Google will help you use Google to it's fullest capability. The book is very friendly. Has plenty of pictures with notes and does not use technical terms. The chapters were straight to the point and kept short.

To nitpick, the book could have shown examples on some advanced topic such as "advanced operators" to give a better understanding of how to use it. This was probably not included to keep the book beginner friendly.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone that thinks Google is just another good search engine.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Make the Web Your Own Resource, January 18, 2004

By 

Laura Gable (Menlo Park, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Do Everything with Google (Paperback)

Much more than a guide to a user interface, this book increases your internet savvy. Just a few examples: (1) Learn how to browse newsgroups to find the one best suited to your interest; (2) Learn about phonebook and financial information searches; (3) Do unit conversions instantly with Google's calculator. More than anything, this book will make you a more comfortable web searcher. One reading of it is worth hours of experimentation. Go directly to the internet fast lane!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars People's "Primer" for 21st Century, November 24, 2005

By 

Robert D. Steele (Oakton, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: How to Do Everything with Google (Paperback)

I completely disagreed with the "know it alls" that trash this book. This is in fact the people's "primer" for the 21st Century. In the industrial era one needed to learn reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic. Today one needs to know how to find the needle in the haystack. While Google is still in the 4th grade, it will evolve quickly in the next few years, and the Google founders appear well on their way to making all of the world's information available to anyone anywhere. This will itself change the world.

This is a tremendous resource, and I do not consider it outdated because it is still the best available orientation to Google. I do agree that there are online supplements that can update the knowledge in this book and cover emerging capabilities from Google.

Bottom line: Google is central to all our lives now, this book is a useful jump start to anyone who wishes to leverage all of Google, not just the 10% most people see. For advanced IT people, I recommend Stephen Arnold's book, "The Google Legacy," available from Infonortics.co.uk, or at IOP '06 in January 2006.