Google: The Missing Manual

Rating:
Summary: Great manual for Google!
Review: Who would think a mere "search engine" would need a manual, especially one 289 pages long (including index)? Well, the Google website is indeed a web-based application that is sophisticated and complex enough to justify a full-fledged volume such as "Google: The Missing Manual".

This book is yet another of the well-received "Missing Manual" series by Pogue Press/O'Reilly Media Inc. It covers some of the same ground as O'Reilly's 2003 book, "Google Hacks: 100 Industrial Strength Tips and Tools". That book emphasized the mechanics of searching, especially power-searching, often using script-driven and programming techniques and tools to improve and fine-tune search results. This volume covers a much broader range of elements involving the Google web site.

The introduction briefly describes the newest Google element, GMail, which is Google's entry to web-based email services, but which more importantly incorporates its keyword-based search algorythms with email text to link sponsored ads to individual email transmissions. This promises to be a major new business model. That dovetails well with Google's recent IPO - a new investment opportunity projected to be worth multi-billions of dollars.

The book has five parts including sections on search techniques, Google's image, news, and directory databases, search tools, a special section for webmasters, and an appendix. The search sections describe basic and advanced searching and how to interpret results. A later section covers Google Groups which are databases of newsgroup entries, modeled after the defunct DejaNews site, which Google acquired. A little known component of Google is the Answers Site where Google-administered experts answer user-submitted questions, for a fee.

Customizing Google via preferences, installation of the Google toolbar, bookmarklets, and other settings are covered in full.

For webmasters, the authors describe briefly site optimization for the Google crawlers, how to hide a site from the crawlers, and how to add Google searching to your site. The most interesting sections for webmasters likely are those on the advertising elements, Adsense and Adword. The book describes how the programs work and how webmasters can profit from their use.

There are times when Google is NOT the right search tool. The authors describe the limitations of Google and where else one can turn to for information.

Like the rest of the volumes in the "Missing Manual" series, this book provides comprehensive and coherently-written material for helping users obtain the fullest benefit from their applications.

Rating:
Summary: Another great Missing Manual
Review: A 299-page manual for Google? You've got to be kidding! C'mon, how hard is it to type a word or phrase, hit a button, and get almost instantaneous and nearly always satisfactory results? But I'm a big fan of the Missing Manual series, and have several on my shelf. So I decided to check out "Google - The Missing Manual", and was won over once again after reading only the first few pages. Like every other one I've looked at, this Missing Manual is very well-written. It's logically organized, informative and at the same time entertaining to read

Sure, a simple Google search is easy. But as this manual says (p. 18), performing a simple search is using only 1% of Google's power (and that's as much as 99% of us ever use). If you'd rather be one of the 1% of the people that know how to use 99% of its power, this manual is for you.

Since I rarely read a manual cover-to-cover (and wouldn't remember everything I'd read if I did), two of the first things I check are the Table of Contents and the Index. At first blush, both appear to be complete and easy to use. But beware if you bought an early copy of this book. Due to a printer's error, the first print run went out with "an incomplete and unpleasantly weird index." If you got one of these, go to www.missingmanual.com to download a copy of the correct index.

The book is logically divided into four parts:

Part 1 deals with searches, from simple to complex. If you read this section only, you will learn much. Did you know that Google only recognizes the first ten words when you do a search? So don't bother typing any more than that (the manual has suggestions for how to maximize your use of words in a search). This manual is not just a promotion for Google-I was pleased to see suggestions for other resources to use when Google is NOT the best tool available.

Part 2 is called "The Unknown Google" and covers the Images, News, Directory, Groups, Answers, and Froogle sections of the web site. Images helps you to search a bank of over 880 million images. News collects articles from 4500 news sources. While we think of Google as an excellent way to search the Internet (which it is), Groups and Answers are actually services designed to help put people in touch with other people. Groups allows you to access 20,000 active newsgroups and search the archives of 100,000. Answers provides a way for you to ask questions (for a fee) if you haven't been able to find the answer elsewhere. Froogle is not a store but it searches for products available online and compares them by price. (A subset of Froogle is Catalogs which allows you to search through 6500 conventional catalogs.)

Part 3 "Search Tools" discusses in depth the Google Toolbar and other "Cool Google Tools". Did you know that you can perform Google searches and actually browse the web from your PDA or wireless phone? As the manual says "This feature is serious magic."

Part 4 is titled "Google for Webmasters". Since I'm not one, and don't have a business or website of my own, I did not spend much time reviewing this part. But it appears this section would be especially useful for someone who wants to get their site higher in Google's ranking, or who wants to have Google put advertisements on their website.

A short appendix lists a number of third-party sites that build on Google. Check out the one that lets you type in a list of ingredients, select a food genre, and then spits out a bunch of recipes. For those who are "Google-obsessed" there are links to a number of Google-themed blogs, including one for "those who believe....that Google is evil."

Rating:
Summary: An outstanding guide to the Google search engine...
Review: Last summer, I had the surprise of receiving and reviewing the Google Pocket Guide. I thought it was for people who didn't know how to use a search engine, but was quickly corrected in that misconception. Google's power is phenominal. Because of that, I decided to read and review Google: The Missing Manual (O'Reilly). Once again, I continue to be amazed at what Google has put together. The service, and this book, are great.

This book is split out into five parts with the following chapters: Introduction; Google 101; Superior Searching; Googling Further: Images, News, and the Directory; Googling With Others: Groups and Answers; Shopping with Google; The Google Toolbar; More Cool Google Tools; Becoming A Search Result; Making Money With Google; Appendix: The Google Wide Web

Due to fewer space constraints than a Pocket Guide would have, Milstein and Dornfest can take more time to explain and illustrate the various features that make up the current Google universe. If you did nothing more than read the chapters on Google 101 and Superior Searching, you'd know more than the average Google user. You'd also give yourself a huge edge in finding relevant content on the web without slogging through thousands of results. Using their tips, you quickly pick up the separating line between searching science and searching art. All the remaining chapters go into features that are less known and used, but that will blow you away once you find them. Even if you already know about a feature, like Google images, the chapter can help you figure out how those image indexes are created, and how to use the Google search syntax to narrow down your results more quickly.

Another feature I really appreciate about this book is the instruction on how to manage and design your site to maximize it's Google interaction. The authors go into the robots.txt specification and how to either block off your entire site or just certain pages. In addition, they give you a great overview of how Google crawls and indexes pages, so you can make sure your site is Google-friendly for the best search results possible.

You may think you're a Google wizard, but chances are you're not tapping the full potential. With this book, you can learn how to turn Google into your second brain and personal research assistant.

Rating:
Summary: An outstanding guide to the Google search engine...
Review: Last summer, I had the surprise of receiving and reviewing the Google Pocket Guide. I thought it was for people who didn't know how to use a search engine, but was quickly corrected in that misconception. Google's power is phenominal. Because of that, I decided to read and review Google: The Missing Manual (O'Reilly). Once again, I continue to be amazed at what Google has put together. The service, and this book, are great.

This book is split out into five parts with the following chapters: Introduction; Google 101; Superior Searching; Googling Further: Images, News, and the Directory; Googling With Others: Groups and Answers; Shopping with Google; The Google Toolbar; More Cool Google Tools; Becoming A Search Result; Making Money With Google; Appendix: The Google Wide Web

Due to fewer space constraints than a Pocket Guide would have, Milstein and Dornfest can take more time to explain and illustrate the various features that make up the current Google universe. If you did nothing more than read the chapters on Google 101 and Superior Searching, you'd know more than the average Google user. You'd also give yourself a huge edge in finding relevant content on the web without slogging through thousands of results. Using their tips, you quickly pick up the separating line between searching science and searching art. All the remaining chapters go into features that are less known and used, but that will blow you away once you find them. Even if you already know about a feature, like Google images, the chapter can help you figure out how those image indexes are created, and how to use the Google search syntax to narrow down your results more quickly.

Another feature I really appreciate about this book is the instruction on how to manage and design your site to maximize it's Google interaction. The authors go into the robots.txt specification and how to either block off your entire site or just certain pages. In addition, they give you a great overview of how Google crawls and indexes pages, so you can make sure your site is Google-friendly for the best search results possible.

You may think you're a Google wizard, but chances are you're not tapping the full potential. With this book, you can learn how to turn Google into your second brain and personal research assistant.

Rating:
Summary: Super Resource
Review: Mostly when people think of Google, they think of a search engine that has become extremely popular and one that allows them to find topics they're searching for at a moment's notice. But Google is so much more, and this book shows exactly how much more. The goal of any search is to search effectively with as many relevant answers as possible to any query and that's what the book's first chapter discusses, from specific words and/or phrases to the famous "getting lucky." Chapter 2 builds on that with tricks for advanced searching, by refining your search, searching specific titles or text or even specific URL's. You can also search Google for images as well as text, just the thing if you're looking for specific clip art or a nice picture to send to a friend. You can also use Google to search for various net news articles, or even the Google directory which separates web sites into different categories, everything from Sports and Art to World Affairs and History and countless other topics.

There's also a chapter about Google answers, which is a service you do have to pay for, but may be worth it if a question you have still remains unanswered after an exhaustive search. Want to go shopping? Then Froogle may be for you, it lets you do searches on various products and their prices.

There's a lot of answers in this book to various questions about using Google and the many features the average Google user may not know about. This is a good book to have even if you only use Google rarely, but an absolute must to have if you're an avid Google user.

Rating:
Summary: Great resource, full of surprising information
Review: My initial reaction when I picked up this book was that as a power user of Google it would only contain a few items that I didn't already know. I could not have been more wrong. I soon realized that although I have used Google regularly for several years I know very little about how to use it efficiently to get the results I want. But that situation has changed thanks to this book. If you have an Internet connection and you do anything with Google you should get a copy of this book. When you are done reading it you will have a new respect for Google and how it can make your life easier is so many ways, including a lot of different uses besides as an Internet search engine. There is even some humor in the book, like changing the language to Elmer Fudd for some humorous spellings. "Google: The Missing Manual" is highly recommended and truly the missing manual.

Rating:
Summary: Recommended guide to Google
Review: The super search engine has a multitude of features many don't know about. The authors do a first-rate job of describing its features and demonstrating how to use them.

When I start a search, Google is often the first place I go. Over time, I've learned of its new features and applyied tricks here and there. I have found the words to a song when I could only remember a handful of words. The song is no rock 'n roll hit or anything played on the radio.

Heck, save money with Google. A search engine that saves money? Indeed. Froogle is the word. Enter the item and it provides results with prices. I use it for comparison shopping to ensure I get the best deal. Thanks to Froogle, I located a hard to find item for my niece's birthday gift.

The book covers every trick I've learned and read about and taught me a few more. A call comes through, but the person doesn't leave a message. The CallerID shows the phone number and a company name, but it doesn't ring a bell. When I enter the phone number in Google, it provides three results (boy, talk about bad luck as a couple of companies who had the phone number went out of business) and I learn who called as the name that appeared the telecommunications company who provided the service.

The Google API (application program interface) is not covered although it is mentioned as a resource. The purpose of the book is to show how to use Google from a non-programming and non-techie perspective. The authors have accomplished the goal. They briefly cover using Google on Web sites as a search tool and for Ad Sense.

Those looking for hard-core Google tips using the API obviously won't find it in this book. This is a book for all the non-programmers and non-Web designers. Scanning the book takes little time and it's an excellent reference since it's well organized in five parts: techniques, unknown Google, search tools, Google for Webmaster, and an appendix with resources. Also extra nice is the authors' use of other browsers besides Internet Explorer when discussing tools.

One of the reasons the company is popular is for its simplicity. Its home page has hardly anything other than its logo and a search box. The book continues the theme by keeping it simple.

Rating:
Summary: Make the most of Google
Review: This missing manual is O'Reilly version of Google Hacks for normal people. Where Google Hacks gives Perl scripts for bending and twisting the Google API at the code level, the Missing Manual covers how to use Google from the web site to find the information, news or images you are looking for. if you don't know that the word Perl is spelled correctly, and you are having trouble finding what you are looking for on Google, this is the book for you.

That's not to say that there isn't some high end stuff. Part four has useful information for web professionals looking to optimize their presence on Google and even to make money from it.

So if all you know about Google is what you see on your browser, and you think you could be getting more out of Google, this book is worth the look. I gave this book five stars because the overall construction of the book is focused, and the content is useful and well written.

Rating:
Summary: Another Great Book from The Missing Manual series...
Review: Who would buy or need a computer book on how to use a web search engine? Maybe a person who has ever been to Yahoo.com and is hit with a hundred or so choices of where to click to make an attempt to get what you need, but to write an entire book on how to use Google, the world's simplest and most accurate search engine. What a waste was my first thought?

I knew and use some of the features that lie in the menu above that search box like "Images" when I am looking for a certain picture or "News" for "Up to The Minute" stories but since the book was part of O'Reilly's "Missing Manual" series so I knew it would be well written and good so I figured it would be worthwhile reading. Google: The Missing Manual goes into detail about how this "magical" search engine works and some amazing (and scary) things it can do.

The book opens with a bit of history about Google, which was a concept of two Stanford College grad students in 1995 that had an idea to create a search engine that would rank search results not on data that could be manipulated by web masters but would return results based on the strength of the Internet itself.

The rest of the book is divided into four parts, "Search Techniques", "The Unknown Google", and "Google For Webmasters". Almost all computer users will learn something new from the "Search Techniques" part of the book while "The Unknown Google" goes into detail on Images, News Groups, Shopping and Directory searches. "Search Tools" is an excellent section on how to easily get the most out of your Google searches although much of the info offered relates to Windows users (not Mac) and I found "Google For Webmasters" most interesting since I dabble in webdesign as a hobby.

Overall the book is an interesting read and very informative for anyone who wants to save time and use their time online more efficiently or for a person who relies heavily on the Internet as a source of information. If you are person with a webpage or website, the book is worth the price of admission to increase your Google (and other search engine) rank.

Art Payne - Michigan Apple User Group

Rating:
Summary: Obscure but useful abilities of Google
Review: You use Google, don't you? With the plethora of print spilled about it, can anything useful be added? Well, Milstein and Dornfest have. They show many options that most users are simply unaware of.

Nifty capabilities that deserve wider knowledge. Perhaps the best is that you can search for an essentially arbitrary alphanumeric string. How is this useful? The string may be an ISBN. The results will often show the book listed under major booksellers like BookFinder, Booksmatter, eCampus and Amazon. Or the string might be a tracking number issued by USPS, DHL, Fedex or UPS. Or course, you could go to those websites and type it there. But if you are a heavy Google user, it may be quicker to start in it. Other useful cases are where that string is a US Patent Number or a Universal Product Code or a Vehicle Id.

But this book is independent of, and not endorsed by, Google. The authors demonstrate this by describing contexts where Google might not be suitable, and other search engines might be more fruitful. Like, if you want to see clustering of results, Google leaves you out of luck. Try Vivisimo instead. In this case, I don't know why Google doesn't offer this capability. Altavista had it in 1998. It surely can't be a technical limitation of Google.

Such examples of when to look elsewhere are reassuring. The authors DO recommend Google. After all, that is what this book is all about. But they are not bedazzled, and readily share with you its boundaries.

A crucial minority of you (Web administrators) may be intensely attracted to the discussion at the end of the book. AnSense and Adwords. These are ways to put ads on your website and (hopefully) derive revenue, and how to advertise on Google, respectively. For some merchants, the latter has lead to heavy sales to a global audience.