Google for Dummies

If you want to learn everything you can about the most powerful search engine on the Web, this is the book you need. It offers tips and strategies in an easy-to-learn and understand manner. I'm generally not a fan of "dummies" books, but this book made me change my mind. The book is excellent -- worth twice the money.

Buy this book for your aging parents rather than trying to teach them how to search the Internet. Saved me from so much frustration, I would have paid twice the price. I only wish I'd thought of this before I tried in the first place. I'll never have to research my mother's vacations or mutual funds for her online again.Plus, I consider myself a power searcher, and I even learned quite a bit I didn't know from this book.

Part how-to and part reference, Google for Dummies is Brad Hill's newest title in the For Dummies series. Hill, whose Internet Searching For Dummies has undergone three updates, says that if he does another, it will contain the single sentence "Go to Google." He cites Google's 36-word home-page design, its accuracy and ability to almost read minds, and its behind-the-scenes offerings. Google lets you access an enormous images database, as well as news, directories, and groups, get instant stock quotes, search pages of thousands of mail-order catalogues, look up words and translate text, find someone's phone number or address, search in only the titles of web pages, play Google games, navigate search results using keys rather than the mouse, become an expert at specialty searches, get answers with Google's for-pay research service, and try out Google Labs, an open testing area.Want to start your own weblog? Google helps you do it for free on its Blogger.com site. For Dummies fans know you will find concise information laced with humor - lots of it, loads of icons and other navigational aids, a tear-out cheat sheet that highlights the best features and shortcuts, and lists of tips. You're guaranteed to chuckle when you translate your favorite English words into these languages: Elmer Fudd, Pig Latin, Hacker, Interlingua, and Klingon.The downside is learning that the Google Toolbar, which the author says is guaranteed to change your life by streamlining and consolidating search abilities, is not available to Mac users. You won't be able to use the pop-up ad blocker or practice one-click blog posting from the Google Toolbar. This book may contain more about Google than you ever wanted or needed to know, and it's not cheap. But if you want to discover all the nuances of Google, which daily searches over 200 million queries in 90 languages and has better brand recognition than Coca-Cola and Starbucks, you'll want to own this title.

Wow! I heard that Google could do alot, but I had no idea there was this much. This book is enlightening! I looked at the Google Hacks book, but couldn't understand all the programming. This book has tricks that anyone can do, like searching government sites and using special words to find better sites. I never heard of Froogle before, or some of the other services that are kind of hidden. I feel like I'm becoming a power user, and the book is funny, too. Highly recommended! It's the kind of book where you can learn a little at a time, and keep coming back to it for more.