Even the king of all search engines can be throttled up with a few simple tricks. From finding flights to discovering new music, here are 13 ways to hack Google.
Ever since the Internet's dozens of Web crawlers (AltaVista, anyone?) were whittled down to a single alpha engine, pinpointing your online destination has been a relative breeze. But it turns out even Google can be juiced up with a few simple tricks. We were inspired by a thread on Quora sharing tips to make searches work better. They’re simple and infinitely useful. And when it comes to muddling through the ever-expanding sprawl of the Internet, you can never have too many tricks.
Set Timers
Type in “set timer for” followed by a number of minutes, or a specific hour you’d like an alert, and Google will graciously comply with an obnoxious beeping once the moment has arrived. Just make sure the volume’s on.
Wild Card
Sometimes a memory lapse leaves you searching for the right word. Instead of guessing, put an asterisk in the vacant spot and have the search engine figure it out for you.
Similar To
To encompass a wider definition than you’re currently searching for, add a “~” in front of the word, and Google will pull up results from similar terms as well.
Flight Times
Instead of slogging through your airline’s website, just type in your flight number and get an easy look at all the important stuff: flight status, times, terminal, and gate.
Search a Website
For a search you want specifically from a certain site, just type your term and then “site:” with the desired outlet.
Exclude Words
Sometimes, especially after a big news event, what you’re really looking for gets buried. To unearth what you need, put a minus sign in front of any terms you want excluded from your search.
Convert Units
Skip doing math in your head and punch in the units you want to convert. Like “10 euros to dollars,” or “3 meters to feet.”
Either/Or
Divide terms with the word “or” or use the “|” key to make your search more fruitful if you’re not looking for something specific.
Search a Date Range
This one’s a little touch-and-go, but entering two dots (“..”) between years will confine your search to that date range. Translate
For an easy toggle between languages, Google has one of the best translators around. Type in “translate” along with your desired phrase and language to get the translation and phonetic guideline right in front of you.
Global Timepiece
Just like Siri, Google responds well to questions. Ask “What time is it” in whatever city piques your curiosity.
Find New Content
For better or worse, the Internet is a hotbed of professional and amateur reviewers. On the prowl for a new artist or book? Punch in“reminds me of” or “sounds like” and include a favorite of yours to get some new suggestions.
Track Packages
Because sometimes finding the number-tracking line on UPS is too much effort, just copy and paste your package number into Google’s search, and it’ll take you straight there.
If you liked this post, Dont forget to BOOKMARK it for others as well. Please CLICK your favorite SOCIAL BOOKMARKING ELEMENT:
Google Chrome has a whole bunch of extensions meant to make browsing the Internet better, faster, and more secure. But which ones do you really need? Start with these nine.
Released in September 2008, Google’s Chrome Internet browser has wasted no time in dominating the Web. It was swiftly adopted by users looking for a cleaner, more intuitive interface for visiting their favorite websites. By May 2012, Chrome had surpassed Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, claiming 310 million users and nearing 40 percent of all Internet browser users.
Today, according to W3Schools, a popular web developer information website, Chrome users make up 54.1 percent of all Internet users who visit a major browser (a list which also includes IE, Firefox, Safari, and Opera). It’s a rate that continues to grow.
For most, it’s a simple user experience. You open your browser, check your email, maybe read The Daily Beast, check Facebook, and sign off. But for some Chrome power users, like yours truly, there exists a suite of available Chrome extensions that can make all the difference.
I’m here to tell you my favorites.
Simply download these nine Chrome extensions to hack your Internet browsing experience and make it better, faster, and more secure. And if you’ve got a few favorites of your own, I’d love to hear all about them in the comments.
1. Keep your web surfing experience ad-free withAdblock Plus.
The pitch: “Enjoy surfing the web without obtrusive ads cluttering your screen!” Adblock Plus is probably the first extension I ever downloaded for Chrome. As someone who is visiting various websites all day long, this one’s a must-have. Said to be the world’s most popular browser extension, the open-source Adblock Plus will block those pesky YouTube video ads, Facebook ads, various web pop-ups, and any intrusive banner you get sick of seeing on your favorite websites. Now we at The Daily Beast are in the ad-supported publishing space, so tools like Adblock Plus actually might keep some dollars out of our pockets—and so I probably shouldn’t even be telling you about this—but this extension is too good to keep from you. More than 10 million fellow users agree.
2. Take those longer articles on the road withPocket.
The pitch: “The best way to save articles, videos and more.” I used to be a diehard Instapaper user, which let me take the longer-form articles I wanted to read, on the road, so I could read them during my evening commute home. Pocket has the same functionality, but more. With Pocket, you can save entire web pages, videos, and tweets. All the content is displayed beautifully on any device—it works particularly well on my iPad—and is synced from desktop to smartphone in real-time. I also really like the tagging feature, which lets me group #recipes together, or #sports reads, for easy discovery later down the road.
The pitch: “Enlarge thumbnails on mouse over.” Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, Flickr, Amazon, Netflix, Google; the Internet’s biggest websites are full of thumbnails—those tiny photographs that usually give way to bigger photographs if you click on them. The idea behind the Chrome extension Hover Zoom, then, is to make seeing those images a heck of a lot more simpler. Just mouse-over. The thumbnails are enlarged when you move your mouse over each photo, meaning you don’t have to click and open a new page to see it in full size. It’s nice. And it’s really sped up my consumption of photographs on image-heavy websites. I loveHover Zoom.
4. Never lose text in a web form again withLazarus.
The pitch: “Autosaves everything you type so you can easily recover from form-killing timeouts, crashes and network errors.” Lazarus is a god-send. I couldn’t guess how many times I’ve been filling out some form on the web only to have my browser freeze, or my cat accidentally hit the refresh button, only to lose it all. Thanks to this handy extension, that’ll never happen again. Working silently in the background, Lazarus auto-saves everything you are typing just in case you happen to lose it all. It’s all encrypted, and is saved locally on your machine, according to the extension’s listing.
The pitch: “Encrypt the Web! Automatically use HTTPS security on many sites.” Every time you visit a website your computer communicates with a web server on the other end, which is hosting the website. Unless you’re using your email, a bank’s website, or, say, Twitter, the exchange point between your computer and the server is mostly unsecured. Using HTTPS, however, changes that, and makes sure your information is protected and encrypted as you happily surf across the web. Released by the non-profit Electronic Frontier Foundation, in partnership with the Tor project, the extension promises “it will protect you against many forms of surveillance and account hijacking, and some forms of censorship.” Bonus: Aaron Swartz, the open-Internet activist who tragically took his own life in January of this year, gets a “special thanks” from the EFF for his work on the extension.
The pitch: “Protect your privacy. See who’s tracking your web browsing with Ghostery.” They know when you are sleeping. They know when you’re awake. They know if you’re being bad or good on the Web for goodness sake! Want to know who “they” are? Ghostery makes that possible. Ghostery, the company says, sees the “invisible” web. This means the extension helps you detect all the various “trackers, web bugs, pixels, and beacons placed on web pages by Facebook, Google Analytics, and over 500 other ad networks, behavioral data providers, and web publishers” that follow you as you surf. And in doing so, Ghostery gives you the ability to go dark—or at least helps you watch the watchmen.
7. Turn all those unwieldy tabs into one manageable list withOneTab.
The pitch: “Save up to 95% memory and reduce tab clutter.” I have a confession. I am a chronic sufferer from the too-many-tabs-ititis. What’s that, you ask, healthy Web surfer? A clear indication of my disease is that within minutes of firing up my Internet browser my screen is riddled with as many as 45 “tabs” in the same window. It’s habit. I open one, then open another, then another then another then another and before you know it I’m up to my neck in resource-draining nonsense I’ll never actually read. *takes breath*. That’s why I have OneTab, which converts all those nasty tabs into one easy-to-manage list. You should have it too. Trust me.
8. Always know the meaning of those big words withGoogle Dictionary.
The pitch: “View definitions easily as you browse the web.” The Google Dictionary extension is pretty self-explanatory. You see a word, but are perhaps unclear as to it’s meaning. And so, you highlight it. Bam! A pop-up appears with the full definition, an option to hear the word pronounced, and a link for “more,” which leads to the word’s definition in the context of Google’s search results. It’s an all-around minimally-invasive plug-in that’s endlessly helpful for people who do a lot of reading on the Web. Next time you encounter “pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis,” you’ll know exactly what to do.
9. You’ll never forget another password again withLastPass.
The pitch: “LastPass is a free online password manager and Form Filler that makes your web browsing easier and more secure.” LastPass is a dream come true. We wouldn’t want to know how many hours of our lives we’ve spent filling in the same credit card number, the same shipping address, our phone, email, password, again and again and again, every website wants the same exact information! With LastPass, that problem is no more. The free extension stores this information locally on your machine, where it’s encrypted, meaning not even LastPass knows what’s being entered into those forms. If you do a lot of online shopping, or signing up for new Websites, this extension should most definitely be in your toolkit.
Those are the nine I’ve been getting the most use out of these days, but there are many, many more. If you have an extension you’d love me to try, leave a note in the comments. I’d love to know. A special thanks to the Redditors in this thread, who got me thinking of doing this post, and John Corpuz, over at Tom’s Guide, whose 40-strong list proved a valuable resource in compiling this shortened group of nine.
If you liked this post, Dont forget to BOOKMARK it for others as well. Please CLICK your favorite SOCIAL BOOKMARKING ELEMENT:
Google Chrome has a whole bunch of extensions meant to make browsing the Internet better, faster, and more secure. But which ones do you really need? Start with these nine.
Released in September 2008, Google’s Chrome Internet browser has wasted no time in dominating the Web. It was swiftly adopted by users looking for a cleaner, more intuitive interface for visiting their favorite websites. By May 2012, Chrome hadsurpassed Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, claiming 310 million users and nearing 40 percent of all Internet browser users.
Today, according to W3Schools, a popular web developer information website, Chrome users make up 54.1 percent of all Internet users who visit a major browser (a list which also includes IE, Firefox, Safari, and Opera). It’s a rate that continues to grow.
For most, it’s a simple user experience. You open your browser, check your email, maybe read The Daily Beast, check Facebook, and sign off. But for some Chrome power users, like yours truly, there exists a suite of available Chrome extensions that can make all the difference.
I’m here to tell you my favorites.
Simply download these nine Chrome extensions to hack your Internet browsing experience and make it better, faster, and more secure. And if you’ve got a few favorites of your own, I’d love to hear all about them in the comments.
1. Keep your web surfing experience ad-free withAdblock Plus.
The pitch: “Enjoy surfing the web without obtrusive ads cluttering your screen!” Adblock Plus is probably the first extension I ever downloaded for Chrome. As someone who is visiting various websites all day long, this one’s a must-have. Said to be the world’s most popular browser extension, the open-source Adblock Plus will block those pesky YouTube video ads, Facebook ads, various web pop-ups, and any intrusive banner you get sick of seeing on your favorite websites. Now we at The Daily Beast are in the ad-supported publishing space, so tools like Adblock Plus actually might keep some dollars out of our pockets—and so I probably shouldn’t even be telling you about this—but this extension is too good to keep from you. More than 10 million fellow users agree.
2. Take those longer articles on the road withPocket.
The pitch: “The best way to save articles, videos and more.” I used to be a diehard Instapaper user, which let me take the longer-form articles I wanted to read, on the road, so I could read them during my evening commute home. Pocket has the same functionality, but more. With Pocket, you can save entire web pages, videos, and tweets. All the content is displayed beautifully on any device—it works particularly well on my iPad—and is synced from desktop to smartphone in real-time. I also really like the tagging feature, which lets me group #recipes together, or #sports reads, for easy discovery later down the road.
The pitch: “Enlarge thumbnails on mouse over.” Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, Flickr, Amazon, Netflix, Google; the Internet’s biggest websites are full of thumbnails—those tiny photographs that usually give way to bigger photographs if you click on them. The idea behind the Chrome extension Hover Zoom, then, is to make seeing those images a heck of a lot more simpler. Just mouse-over. The thumbnails are enlarged when you move your mouse over each photo, meaning you don’t have to click and open a new page to see it in full size. It’s nice. And it’s really sped up my consumption of photographs on image-heavy websites. I loveHover Zoom.
4. Never lose text in a web form again withLazarus.
The pitch: “Autosaves everything you type so you can easily recover from form-killing timeouts, crashes and network errors.” Lazarus is a god-send. I couldn’t guess how many times I’ve been filling out some form on the web only to have my browser freeze, or my cat accidentally hit the refresh button, only to lose it all. Thanks to this handy extension, that’ll never happen again. Working silently in the background, Lazarus auto-saves everything you are typing just in case you happen to lose it all. It’s all encrypted, and is saved locally on your machine, according to the extension’s listing.
The pitch: “Encrypt the Web! Automatically use HTTPS security on many sites.” Every time you visit a website your computer communicates with a web server on the other end, which is hosting the website. Unless you’re using your email, a bank’s website, or, say, Twitter, the exchange point between your computer and the server is mostly unsecured. Using HTTPS, however, changes that, and makes sure your information is protected and encrypted as you happily surf across the web. Released by the non-profit Electronic Frontier Foundation, in partnership with the Tor project, the extension promises “it will protect you against many forms of surveillance and account hijacking, and some forms of censorship.” Bonus: Aaron Swartz, the open-Internet activist who tragically took his own life in January of this year, gets a “special thanks” from the EFF for his work on the extension.
The pitch: “Protect your privacy. See who’s tracking your web browsing with Ghostery.” They know when you are sleeping. They know when you’re awake. They know if you’re being bad or good on the Web for goodness sake! Want to know who “they” are? Ghostery makes that possible. Ghostery, the company says, sees the “invisible” web. This means the extension helps you detect all the various “trackers, web bugs, pixels, and beacons placed on web pages by Facebook, Google Analytics, and over 500 other ad networks, behavioral data providers, and web publishers” that follow you as you surf. And in doing so, Ghostery gives you the ability to go dark—or at least helps you watch the watchmen.
7. Turn all those unwieldy tabs into one manageable list withOneTab.
The pitch: “Save up to 95% memory and reduce tab clutter.” I have a confession. I am a chronic sufferer from the too-many-tabs-ititis. What’s that, you ask, healthy Web surfer? A clear indication of my disease is that within minutes of firing up my Internet browser my screen is riddled with as many as 45 “tabs” in the same window. It’s habit. I open one, then open another, then another then another then another and before you know it I’m up to my neck in resource-draining nonsense I’ll never actually read. *takes breath*. That’s why I have OneTab, which converts all those nasty tabs into one easy-to-manage list. You should have it too. Trust me.
8. Always know the meaning of those big words withGoogle Dictionary.
The pitch: “View definitions easily as you browse the web.” The Google Dictionary extension is pretty self-explanatory. You see a word, but are perhaps unclear as to it’s meaning. And so, you highlight it. Bam! A pop-up appears with the full definition, an option to hear the word pronounced, and a link for “more,” which leads to the word’s definition in the context of Google’s search results. It’s an all-around minimally-invasive plug-in that’s endlessly helpful for people who do a lot of reading on the Web. Next time you encounter “pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis,” you’ll know exactly what to do.
9. You’ll never forget another password again withLastPass.
The pitch: “LastPass is a free online password manager and Form Filler that makes your web browsing easier and more secure.” LastPass is a dream come true. We wouldn’t want to know how many hours of our lives we’ve spent filling in the same credit card number, the same shipping address, our phone, email, password, again and again and again, every website wants the same exact information! With LastPass, that problem is no more. The free extension stores this information locally on your machine, where it’s encrypted, meaning not even LastPass knows what’s being entered into those forms. If you do a lot of online shopping, or signing up for new Websites, this extension should most definitely be in your toolkit.
Those are the nine I’ve been getting the most use out of these days, but there are many, many more. If you have an extension you’d love me to try, leave a note in the comments. I’d love to know. A special thanks to the Redditors in this thread, who got me thinking of doing this post, and John Corpuz, over at Tom’s Guide, whose 40-strong list proved a valuable resource in compiling this shortened group of nine.
If you liked this post, Dont forget to BOOKMARK it for others as well. Please CLICK your favorite SOCIAL BOOKMARKING ELEMENT:
Pantene Philippines has launched a powerful campaign pointing out how identical behavior often earns men and women different labels in the workplace.
In this spot by BBDO Guerrero in Manila, a lovely cover of "Mad World" by Tears for Fears plays while each scene displays a double-standard in a working environment. A man is the "boss" while a woman is "bossy." A man is "persuasive" while a woman is "pushy." He's "neat" but she's "vain." He's "smooth" but she's a "show-off." "Don't let labels hold you back. Be strong and shine," says the copy at the end.
There's nary a shampoo bottle in sight, although glossy hair certainly features here. But the video delivers, and the #whipit campaign has inspired discussion on both the YouTube video and Facebook.
• "Too bad they couldn't find a male equivalent of 'bitch.' This is the one I hear the most about strong women in the workplace." • "Sell product by convincing your target market that you are more invested in contributing to emotionally charged, globally relevant women's image issues than you are in advertising your product."
While it is disappointing that they used only light-skinned models—a long-standing trend in the Philippines—it's a potent spot with an important message criticizing gender stereotypes. Oh, and Sheryl Sandberg is a fan.
If you liked this post, Dont forget to BOOKMARK it for others as well. Please CLICK your favorite SOCIAL BOOKMARKING ELEMENT:
Read it: 'The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind' teaches perseverance
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon
Dial, $16.99; ages 7-9
What it's about: This is the inspiring true story of William Kamkwamba, a boy with big dreams who built a windmill from junkyard scraps in order to help feed his village. William always dreamt of magic -- the magic of Ghost Dancers and witch planes, but also of the magic that made radios play music and trucks rumble by the fields his family farmed. When famine hits their village, William is forced to drop out of school and eat only one meal a day. Undeterred, he studies science books from the library and learns how to unlock the magic of a windmill, a magic so strong that it will help him feed his people.
Why read it: Readers are introduced to the culture of Malawi and see what it is like to live in a country very different than their own. The main character is a boy full of curiosity and can-do spirit who persevered even when people said he was crazy. Children see that hard work pays off and learn the importance in believing in their dreams. The illustrations are worthy of this empowering and hopeful tale, rich and warm and accented with cut-paper collage details. It's an inspiring story of courage in the face of hardship, and ingenuity with limited resources.
William Kamkwamba was born in Malawi, a country where magic ruled and modern science was mystery. It was also a land withered by drought and hunger, and a place where hope and opportunity were hard to find. But William had read about windmills in a book called Using Energy, and he dreamed of building one that would bring electricity and water to his village and change his life and the lives of those around him. His neighbors may have mocked him and called him misala—crazy—but William was determined to show them what a little grit and ingenuity could do.
Enchanted by the workings of electricity as a boy, William had a goal to study science in Malawi's top boarding schools. But in 2002, his country was stricken with a famine that left his family's farm devastated and his parents destitute. Unable to pay the eighty-dollar-a-year tuition for his education, William was forced to drop out and help his family forage for food as thousands across the country starved and died.
Yet William refused to let go of his dreams. With nothing more than a fistful of cornmeal in his stomach, a small pile of once-forgotten science textbooks, and an armory of curiosity and determination, he embarked on a daring plan to bring his family a set of luxuries that only two percent of Malawians could afford and what the West considers a necessity—electricity and running water. Using scrap metal, tractor parts, and bicycle halves, William forged a crude yet operable windmill, an unlikely contraption and small miracle that eventually powered four lights, complete with homemade switches and a circuit breaker made from nails and wire. A second machine turned a water pump that could battle the drought and famine that loomed with every season.
Soon, news of William's magetsi a mphepo—his "electric wind"—spread beyond the borders of his home, and the boy who was once called crazy became an inspiration to those around the world.
Here is the remarkable story about human inventiveness and its power to overcome crippling adversity. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind will inspire anyone who doubts the power of one individual's ability to change his community and better the lives of those around him.
What bamboo poles and bicycle chains have to do with sparking the spirit of entrepreneurship.
When he was only 14 years old, William Kamkwamba dreamt up a windmill that would produce electricity for his village in Malawi. The trouble? As Malawi was experiencing the worst famine in 50 years, William had to drop out of school because his family could no longer afford the $80 annual tuition. This meant he not only had no money to purchase the parts, but also no formal education to teach him how to put them together. Determined, he headed to the local library and voraciously devoured its limited selection of textbooks, then gathered some scrap parts — a bicycle dynamo, bamboo poles, a tractor fan, rubber belts, a bike chain ring — and brought his vision to life, building a functioning windmill. He spent the next five years perfecting the design and went on to found theMoving Windmills Project in 2008 to foster rural economic development and education projects in Malawi.
In 2009, Kamkwamba shared his moving story of perseverance, curiosity, and ingenuity in the memoir The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope. Now, this modern-day entrepreneurial fairy tale is being adapted for young hearts and minds in the beautifully illustrated children’s bookThe Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Young Readers Edition. Kamkwamba’s story shines with all the more optimism and tenacity in the hands of 27-year-old artistElizabeth Zunon, whose rich, lyrical, almost three-dimensional oil-and-cut-paper illustrations, reminiscent of Sophie Blackall’s, vibrate with exceptional whimsy and buoyancy.
Coupled with the launch is a wonderful literacy effort — for every book parents, teacher, and children read online on We Give Books, the Wimbe community lending library, where Kamkwamba’s journey began, gets a new book, up to 10,000. Despite serving some 1,500 pupils, the library currently has no picture books.
Beautiful, moving, and immensely inspirational, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Young Readers Edition tells the kind of story that helps budding entrepreneurs relate to the world through a lens of infinite possibility — the kind of message that might, just might, empower them to harness if not the wind the future itself.
At age 14, in poverty and famine, a Malawian boy built a windmill to power his family's home. Now at 22, William Kamkwamba, who speaks at TED, here, for the second time, shares in his own words the moving tale of invention that changed his life.
To power his family's home, young William Kamkwamba built an electricity-producing windmill from spare parts and scrap -- starting him on a journey detailed in the book "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" and the new film, "William and the Windmill." Full bio »
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/02/01/3701622/read-it-the-boy-who-harnessed.html#storylink=cpy
If you liked this post, Dont forget to BOOKMARK it for others as well. Please CLICK your favorite SOCIAL BOOKMARKING ELEMENT: