Filtering Google Searches By Freshness

One of the more useful Google advanced search features is the date filter, which limits results to recent pages. Results can be limited to the past day, week, month, year, etc. Google’s Matt Cutts and GoogleOperatingSystem wrote about it late last year.

You can access the search via the URL as well, by simply adding “&as_qdr=d” to the end of any query (Apple v. Apple in last day). simply change the =d to d5 for 5 days, or w5 for five weeks, or y5 for 5 years, etc. With Google indexing sites so regularly now, it would be great if they let users refine searches down to the hour as well.

One other thing I like about the feature is that once you’ve searched by date, it stays as an option next to the search bar for that session, so you don’t have to keep adding it.

Google may also be testing date searches with some users even without them voluntarily setting it. Our Israel correspondent Roi Carthy resports that it appeared in one of his searches without him using the URL string or advanced search. A quick poll to my Twitter followers asking if anyone saw it yielded mixed results. A few people said they saw it without setting advanced search, but they may have just seen it stay in the session after they set it.

If anyone sees the data box in Google search and they didn’t set the URL string or advanced search, please let us know in the comments. And try to take a screen shot that includes the entire URL string, preferably even before you’ve done a search.

Something about Google Earth 4.3

Google Earth lets you fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings and even explore galaxies in the Sky. The new Google Earth 4.3 promises photo-realistic buildings from cities around the world, dawn to dusk views with the Sunlight feature and swoop navigation from outer space to street-level.

You can now enjoy the photo-textured cities and towns, and thousands of user-contributed buildings around the world with greatly improve performance and realism of 3D data. The amazing as well as controversial Street View, a well-known Google Maps feature is now part of Google Earth with version 4.3 and will let you easily find, discover, and plan activities relevant to a location.

Understand more about Street Views in this video

Play with the Sunlight feature and control the sun’s location relative to the Earth. While zoomed into a given city, you can watch the sunrise and sunset! This video explores the amazing new features of Google Earth 4.3.

Things you can do with GOOGLE

Nifty Google Features

Calculate This: You can use Google Calculator to crunch numbers and figure out conversions. Try entering 12*12 and see what happens; you can also run more complex equations, like G*(6e24 kg)/(4000 miles)^2). Google Calculator handles conversions of all types, such as 3 ounces in tablespoons, 16 dollars in euros, or 19999GB to MB.

Find That Number: You can track FedEx, UPS, and U.S. Postal Service shipments just by sticking the tracking number into Google’s search field; do the same with zip and area codes, vehicle IDs, patent numbers, airplane registration numbers, and even UPC codes.

Make Me Special: Google has special search sites just for you. There’s one for Firefox users, another for Linux users, and a spot for those of you who can’t get enough of Microsoft.

Sights on Google: My buddy Leo F. sent a note asking if I wanted to create a quick Web page, or something fairly complex, with just novice skills. “Google Sites is fun to play with,” Leo said, “and even makes a useful Web page, too. Of course, it’s free.”

Ongoing Experiments: If you like poking around with Web tools, you need to explore Google Labs. For instance, Experimental Search gives you five new ways to search, each aimed at tightening and focusing on specific results.

BTW, Goog411 is a Google Labs graduate and a great service.

Alert Me! Google sends me an e-mail every time it sees a new occurrence of “steve bass PC World,” “steve bass PC Annoyances,” or keywords about my various hobbies and interests. If you haven’t tried Google Alerts, you’re missing out on a terrific service.

Hello, Google? If you’re using Firefox and find something cool on the Web, you can use Google Send to Phone to pass the info along to a U.S.-based cell phone. It’s a nifty service that’s really useful for, say, sending a map to a lost buddy. Check the FAQ for details.

Even More Fun With Google

You probably think there’s not much more to say about Google. Nope, there’s still lots.

Start by downloading the Google Cheat Sheet, a two-page PDF with lots of valuable Google shortcuts, search and query examples, and services.

Even better is 55 Ways to Have Fun with Google, a free e-book with Google trivia, games, and nonsense, enough to kill an afternoon (I did). The more I explored, the better I liked this 228-page book. For instance, I wasted time with The Image Quiz, which has you guess the Google search term for a bunch of images. I also picked up a nifty Google magic trick, learned how to find world records, read IRC chat logs people didn’t know were public, and browsed to some very funny Google parody sites, such as UnderGoos, the underwear search site, and Cthuugle, the Lovecraft search engine.

Google Analytics : New Graphing Options

Sometimes trends can hide pretty well, and one of Google Analytics' jobs is to make the most actionable trends as apparent as possible so you can surface them to your colleagues and management (and get a promotion). And we realize that most management reporting is done in weekly and monthly time buckets.



With that in mind, we've made it even easier for you to use Google Analytics to create clear and effective management dashboards without having to extract data into other programs. You can use the rich Google Analytics UI and present your promotion-worthy numbers in all their vibrant glory by clearly visualizing trends in weekly or monthly units, in addition to day by day. Have fun with this feature! Watch the patterns come into focus.



Let's look at how the weekly and monthly graphing views can be used by comparing them with viewing the data by day, which used to be the only option. It's very interesting to open up one or two years worth of data to look at your site over time. (Click on the images below for larger views.)



Graph by Day







Strategic insights come from analyzing long term trends. This is the default view in Google Analytics. It hints at something interesting going on in terms of Visits on your site.






New: Graph by Week



Try this cool thing. Click on the Week link on top of the graph, it is newly available in your reports! Suddenly it is more clear what the trend in Visits is. Cooler!





New: Graph by Month

Click on Month and you are now really cooking. Months and months of data visually represented in a way that allows you to clearly show a positive trend, highlight the key points, and yes even ask for a bonus.



Of course all other visualization features in Google Analytics are even more useful now as you use these new time buckets. For instance, take a look at the compare to past visualization.






Comparison in Day view



Comparing two different time periods is a great way to get context to your current performance...



New: Comparison by Month





...but you can highlight the trends in your performance much more optimally by simply clicking on the Month link. This works great for your management reporting and moves you into that corner office. :-)

Google's Android Closer To Reality?

The launch of the iPhone (shortly followed by the iPod Touch) seemed to fuel developer's desires to create mobile-specific web applications despite the device's ability to access the entire internet (without the WAP/WML limitations of most mobile devices). Many mobile web users find the wireless application protocol (WAP) too restrictive and slow, greatly limiting what WAP browsers can access on the internet. On the other hand, all mobile devices (even the iPhone) have small screens and excessive scrolling can be annoying (not to mention EDGE speeds until a 3G version is released). Even still, both the iPhone and iPod touch have spurred movement in the mobile web.



Now, with Google's Android platform even closer to reality, developers could find themselves with a new, open source mobile platform to develop apps for (both native and web-based), if the Open Handset Alliance becomes as revolutionary as many are expecting. The news today is that T-Mobile USA is already preparing for the release of an Android handset to hit stores before the end of this year.



Recently, Joe Sims, VP and general manager of T-Mobile's broadband and new business division, stated that not only has he already seen prototypes of the "impressive" Android-based phone, but that T-Mobile "will have more than one product…(The move to an open platform) will be innovation across the board, not just one device."



As far as manufacturers, the T-Mobile prototype spoken of could be from Motorola, Samsung, HTC or LG, as these are the four handset manufacturers that have joined up with Google. Sprint and Verizon are the other major U.S. carriers who are members of the alliance but neither has yet to announce plans for the release of Android devices. This could work out to T-Mobile advantage, as the Deutsche Telekom-owned company has long lagged behind other services in terms of added features (mobile television, high-speed internet, etc.).



Personally, I see the development of the Android platform as a 'step forward' (even if it's not the perfect solution), because the days of carrier restrictions and outrageous prices for upgraded features should end. Who wants to keep paying by the MB for access to a carrier when free wi-fi is available? And who want to pay $5+ to their phone company for each game they download when their are open source developers around the world itching to create fun games and useful apps for people worldwide… for FREE. All they need is the ability, the platform, and some incentive. That is what Google is trying to accomplish, especially considering that they have $10 million up for grabs for developers.



Though what will come of the impending release of Android and compatible handsets is still unknown, it should defintely help garner some change in the mobile market and help further develop a universal mobile web. My only concerns deal with how the change will affect contract terms, the prices of handsets, and monthly rates for the carriers involved.

Offline access comes to Google Docs

Since Google Gears was initially released the most prime candidate for offline access must have been Google Docs.
To have the freedom to edit documents offline, and the flexibility to access documents from anyhwere online or through a mobile device is wonderful. My Google Docs recently got the Gears upgrade enabled. Synchronising documents is quite fast, although I have not yet given the offline access a good trial, the only major lacking feature is the inability to create new documents whilst offline, though this can be easily overcome by creating a few empty documents before going offline and hottong the road. It would be nice to see my Gmail on Google Apps upgraded to the new version, surely in time. Google's rollout of new features to Apps seems to be sporadic and somewhst chaotic at times.

Everything Google

Cool features Google offers to take advantage



Google Earth

"Explore, Search and Discover" reads the homepage for Google Earth. Now the power to search satellite images, maps, foreign lands and any 3D terrain, building, or structure imaginable is just one click away. Going on a vacation? Type in the location and see a street view of the area surrounding your hotel. The images on Google Earth, say of a neighborhood or public building are 1-3 years old via satellite imaging, and some search listings are limited in international countries. The images displayed in Google Earth are not "real time" images. However, the newest version of Google Earth has a time of day option where one can scroll to see the location at any time of day, noon to midnight. The new version also offers a flight simulator feature. Currently Google Earth is available in the free version, Plus version and Pro version. It is also supported in 13 languages, and working towards being accessible in more languages. Google Earth also has searchable astronomical images available.



Google Desktop

The new download from Google makes organizing and searching your computer even easier. Now searching your desktop is as quick as searching the Internet, and the application also allows users to organize their desktop with useful gadgets like personalized searches, e-mail previews, weather, news updates and a handy sidebar that keeps all the gadgets organized. Very similar to Mac's dashboard application, Google Desktop also features smart indexing that organizes web browsing history, and multiple file types.



Google Talk

Google Talk is free. It hosts instant messaging, PC to PC voice calls, gmail notifications and fast file transfers. There is no download needed to use Google Talk and it is accessible on any computer. It can be added to iGoogle, a web-page, and is automatically accessible through any gmail account. Google Talk also allows media previews of videos, URL's and slideshows from multiple media-based sites.



Google Books and My Library

Google Books offers readers access to thousands of titles, and virtually all genres imaginable. This feature allows readers to scroll through and read limited previews of all books, or as much as the copyright holder of each title has released to be seen, by making the books available through PDFs. The Google Book search works by simply typing in a keyword, the title, or author, and a preview of the book covers search results appears. By clicking on a book cover, another page opens that has images of the book front and back, reviews, author info, popular pages, subjects in the book, and links to Amazon.com to buy the book if a reader wishes to have access to the entire book. Users can also create their own personalized library where they can rate, label, review, and organize their own library of favorite book previews.



Google Groups

Now anyone can create a discussion group on any topic fast and hassle free. Google Groups users can discuss topics through e-mail, webpages, and customized discussion boards. Google Group members can share files, and easily share access to a wide variety of info. The newest version of Google Groups is now available with new and improved features: collaborative webpage creation, customization, file sharing and personalized member profiles to learn more about other users in shared groups.



Google Scholar

Although Google Scholar may not be as exhaustive as other scholarly databases, especially those with emphasis in specific subject areas, it offers users "a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature" spanning a wide variety of disciplines. Google lists the sources for GS: "peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations." GS provides links to the full text of much of the searchable scholarly literature. Where the free full text cannot be provided, GS



Google Video

Like Youtube, Google Video allows users to upload and share video content. What makes Google Video special is its search engine, which incorporates results from Google Video itself, youtube, and other third-party websites. According to Google, The Google Video index is "the most comprehensive on the web," making it the most powerful video searching tool currently available.



Google Docs

Free to Google users-Google Docs is a basic and easy to use online word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation application. Google Docs gives users the ability to create new documents or upload existing documents, users can store and share documents online with ease. The most innovative and useful feature in Google docs is real time collaboration. Users can invite people to collaborate on a document, which allows multiple users to edit a single document at the same time. A chat-window keeps track of revisions made and displays which user made specific changes. Google Docs are stored securely online where they are far removed from the risk of computer crashes and accessible from any computer with an Internet connection. Frequent auto-saving mitigates data loss in the event of a browser crashing or disruptions in Internet connections. Docs requiring more advanced features can be exported in popular formats like .doc, .xls, .pdf, and .rtf and used popular document production programs.



Gmail

Back in the invite-only days of Google's e-mail service, having a Gmail account was a status symbol of sorts around the web. Since then, the fervor has died down, but users remain faithful. Using Ajax and JavaScript, Gmail implements a user-friendly interface that was one of the first to boast the feature of archiving. Archiving means that instead of users deleting their mail permanently, "read mail" is saved-a feature that can come in handy in the clutch.



GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411)

Think directory assistance done right-and free. GOOG-411 uses speech-recognition technology to allow users to search and connect to businesses in the U.S. and Canada. GOOG-411 also allows users to have the telephone number and address of a given business text-messaged to any text-accepting cellular phone. The best feature of GOOG-411 is that it is free of charge.



Google Reader

Google Reader utilizes Atom and RSS feeds to aggregate a personalized news feed. Google Reader serves as an "inbox for your news," bringing in stories and posts from the user's choice websites and blogs into a slick interface that makes staying up to date simple. Google Reader is also available on mobile phones that support XHTML or WAP 2.0 and the Wii web browser.



Google Finance

Google Finance features Business News headlines as well as in-depth stock information. Adobe Flash powers the stock charts and feature real-time quotes during trading hours.



iGoogle

Similar to Netvibes and My Yahoo! iGoogle is a personalized start page that offers users a variety of helpful ways to begin their web-browsing experience. iGoogle works in a three-column layout with web-based widgets that focus on a variety of different topics. Some of the most popular widgets include "Google Reader," "Quotes of the Day," and "Youtube: Top Rated."



Google Page Creator

Like the name suggests, Google Page Editor will allow users easily compose, edit, and publish web pages. Frequent auto-saving fast publishing, and a user-friendly interface could make this yet another popular ingredient in the Google mix.



Google Mars

The same concept as Google Earth, this Google feature still in development is the result of a collaboration with NASA researchers at ASU and according to Google, provide "some of the most detailed scientific maps of Mars ever made."



Google Ride Finder

Based in Google Maps, Google Ride Finder offers real time tracking of participating taxi and limousine services using GPS technology. So far, Ride Finder only gives users up-to-the-minute locations of vehicles in the following cities: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.