Showing posts with label Google. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Google. Show all posts

Feb 22, 2013

Google Mirror

Try typing the website elgoog.im into Internet Explorer or whatever browser you use. You can then choose from a number of other interesting options, such as underwater, gravity, pacman, etc.

For another game, type "zerg rush" (with the quotes) into the Google search bar and watch.  Both are a  fun and interesting waste of time.

Jan 11, 2013

Computer Generated Books

The first book completely written by computer was published in 2008, in Russia and was a love story.

Now, Philip M. Parker, Professor of Marketing at INSEAD Business School, has created a computer system that can write books about specific subjects in about 20 minutes. The patented algorithm has so far generated hundreds of thousands of books. Amazon lists over 100,000 books attributed to Parker, and over 700,000 works listed for his company, ICON Group International, Inc.

Although his work is more of a compiler rather than writer, the end result is written and published books. The book categories include specialized technical and business reports, language dictionaries, rare disease overviews, and crossword puzzle books for learning foreign languages. They are automatically generated by software.

The system automates this process by building databases of information to source from, providing an interface to customize a query about a topic, and creating templates for information to be packaged.

A US patent was issued in 2007. The invention provides for the automatic authoring, marketing, and or distributing of title material. A computer automatically authors material. The material is automatically formatted into a desired format, resulting in a title material. The title material may also be automatically distributed to a recipient. Meta material, marketing material, and control material are automatically authored and if desired, distributed to a recipient. Further, the title may be authored on demand, such that it may be in any desired language and with the latest version and content.

To avoid copyright infringement, the system is designed to avoid plagiarism, but the patent aims to create original, but not necessarily creative works. In other words, if any kind of content can be broken down into a formula, then the system could package related, but different content in that same formula.

I looked at a number of the (expensive) books and they follow the same formula of headline lists followed by scores of reference sites. The problem is, as with all printed material the content is static as the world moves on. Think of the books as Google searches as of a specific date and time.

Dec 27, 2012

Google Fun

Type in the word askew and see the results. Type in the word sphere and see the results.

Type in "the loneliest number" then click on images and see the results.

Sep 26, 2012

Free Google Calculator

When you type in any formula into the Google search box, like 1+1 or 20/40 (/ is for divide) or 2*2 (* is multiply), Google shows a calculator as the response and it includes the answer.

Jun 1, 2012

Free Google Calendar

Free online calendar application called Google Calendar. If you have a Google account, you can create a Google Calendar. If you don't have one, you can register for a free account.

You can use Google Calendar to schedule events and invite people to participate. By sharing folders, you can compare your schedule with other users. If everyone keeps his or her calendar up to date, it's easy to avoid conflicts. A single user can open multiple calendars and view all the scheduled events in a single window. Google displays each calendar's events in a different color.

Google includes its search feature within the Google Calendar system. You can search for specific calendars. Calendar owners can choose to keep a calendar private or share it openly with everyone. you can also set it up to send you an email to remind you of events in the calendar.

Jan 10, 2012

PC TV

Had to add this last one about the PC TV from this weeks Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Google's Android operating system version 4.0, better known by as "Ice Cream Sandwich" (an alternative to Microsoft Windows), is used in a smart television, a 55-inch 3-D (240Hz refresh rate) LED.

The TV lets you switch among video on demand, Internet apps, and regular TV. You can share music, videos, pictures, etc., from tablets and phones and computers. It has a dual core processor, 1 gig of RAM, a hard drive and 2GB SD card. There is also a built-in 5 megapixel camera for video chats. The remote control features a touchpad, 5-way keys and a motion sensor. It can also respond to voice commands.

Nov 22, 2011

Google and Facebook

Google will now begin adding Facebook comments that are public and your comments could end up in a Google search. One more reason to watch what you type on Facebook, especially when you type personal information or names. This stuff lasts forever on the web, so it pays to think ahead before you type.

Sep 30, 2011

Ngrams

Google has digested over 15 million books to date and has come up with an interesting way to plot the usage of words over time. Ngrams are line charts that show the usage of words over time.  Try some neologisms, like 'went missing' , which is relatively new to American English or laser, etc., to track when they came into everyday use. You can also pick two words to compare and you get to decide the time-line.

It does not filter out any words, including four letter words. It also has proper names. Think about interesting words and see how they relate to each other. There is a timeline on the bottom that lets you click to read the books used in the analysis. It is a fun way to pass some time and may be a site to bookmark so you can go back when a new word intrigues you, like extoplasm.
LINK

Aug 26, 2011

Google Maps Amazon Style

Most of us are comfortable with using Google maps and clicking on the little man to get a street view. Google has been expanding that for the whole world and last year even began an adventure to map the oceans.

Lately, it sent tricycles, like the one to the right to the Amazon to begin street maps there. Tricycles are used for stability and because there are no streets for automobiles. It also began hooking the same 360 degree cameras unto a boat to give us a water view of the Negro River. So, the next time you plan to vacation in the Amazon, you will be able to get a street view before you leave.

Jul 19, 2011

Google What Do You Love

Here is another Google feature that is fun. It is called What Do You Love, or WDYL. Looks like a Google search page, but shows results in categories. It has latest news, books, start a discussion group, pictures, dates for events, blogs, 3D, translation, maps, patents, and more. You can enter a name, word, topic, such as bacon, or anything you can search for in Google. Just another fun way to find out about those things you love.  LINK

Apr 26, 2011

Encyclopedia of Life

This site plans to out Google Google. It plans to eventually have a page for every species of life on earth. The site has a very long way to go, but is making an interesting start. If you are interested in the creatures around us, take a look. It has been updated since the last time I mentioned it. LINK

Apr 1, 2011

Speed

We have become so accustomed to speed for our internet play time that we get upset when things slow down. All Internet Service Providers (ISP) do not measure their speed equally.

ISPs are the big name companies, like Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, etc., that offer you service and provide an on-ramp to the internet and email from your phone or wireless access for your laptop, or iPad. They tout claims of 3G (3rd generation cellular wireless), 4G (4th generation), etc., but the claims are not truly living up to the legal descriptions of those services. For instance, the original ITU-R requirements of data rates approximately up to 1 Gbits ( 1 gigabit = a billion bits per second) for 4G systems. Average phone users get speeds of about 1Mbps (1 thousandth of a Gbits) and the minimum is 400Mbps.

Bottom line, don't believe any of the hype. All providers these days are good enough, unless your are a power user and download large amounts of data or play games with users around the world. Be happy that, for the most part, we no longer have to rely on dial-up service for our home PCs.

Here is a site where you can test your speed. LINK  It takes about 30 seconds and you can see how your home system compares to others. Below are my results with Verizon FIOS.

Google's internal studies show that introducing a delay of 100 to 400 milliseconds (thousandth of a second) when displaying search results led users to conduct up to 0.6 percent fewer searches.

Feb 5, 2011

Photo Tagging

Google and Facebook have options called photo tagging. When someone posts a picture, then names you as being in the picture, you have been tagged. Behind this is new cutting-edge facial-recognition software to enhance their photo editing and sharing services.

Both firms encourage users to assign names to people in photos. Facial-recognition software then goes to work indexing facial features like a fingerprint expert indexes swirls in a thumbprint. Once you are tagged in a photo, the software looks for similar facial features in untagged photos. This allows users to quickly group photos in which you appear. Google and Facebook say privacy is protected because photo tagging is designed strictly for use by individual consumers within their personal accounts. May be fun, but also scary. Caveat Emptor.

Jan 13, 2011

Blekko

Those of you who read my missives know how much I like Google, but I have found something that might provide some more relevant and limited results. It is called Blekko and the way it works is with use of slash tags. Those are those words preceded by a slash / to narrow your results. Many of us never get past the first few pages of results, so the limited pages is not an issue, and it does a fairly good job of filtering out spam pages. Super for searching business information.

If you want to search for pneumonia, and follow it with /health, you wind up with only 200 or so sites, but they are relevant sites. Each result also has a 'spam' button, so you can click the button to forever ban that site from your results. There is a few minute demo on the upper left side of the screen. It is in beta, but working now. Not completely ready for prime time, but getting close. Very cool stuff. LINK

Dec 14, 2010

Another Google Search Tip

Use a minus sign right before a word to eliminate it from your search results. For example, if you are looking for cowboys, but not the team, you would type "cowboys -dallas -football" without the quotes. This trick goes a long way toward eliminating information that you are not interested in reading.

Nov 27, 2010

Free Reverse Phone Number Lookup

Doing a reverse number lookup on Google is free and easy. You use Google's main search box and add the phrase "phonebook:" in front of the number. Sometimes it shows the address of the owner as well. Works for cell and home phones, as long as they are not  unlisted.

Your search should look like this (no spaces) phonebook:xxx-xxx-xxxx

If you would like to remove yourself from Google's phonebook, do a reverse number lookup on yourself, and you'll see a link to remove your entry.

Nov 19, 2010

Another Google Tip

When you look at Google results, check the left side of the page and click on "show search tools" button. A list of options about time will appear. These are very handy if you are just looking for some news or other items that are current or maybe even older. Since web pages seem to live on forever, it is a quick way to get information that is timely for the subject.

Sep 9, 2010

Google Realtime Search

For those news junkies, or tweet followers, or just those who want an up to the minute (or look back in time) look at breaking stories or topics, Google has a new tool.

You can access Google Realtime Search at its own address, www.google.com/realtime There is a link just under the search box "Learn more about realtime search" that has a video and some tips for using the new feature.

On the new homepage you’ll find some great tools to help you refine and understand your results. First, you can use geographic refinements to find updates and news near you, or in a region you specify. So if you’re traveling to Las Vegas this summer, you can check out tweets from Vegasonians to get ideas for activities happening right where you are. You can check out other things, like earthquakes, etc. and follow the stories from real people in real time.

In addition, there is a conversations view, making it easy to follow a discussion on the real-time web. With the new “full conversation” feature, you can browse the entire conversation in a single glance. Tweets, or other conversations, are organized from oldest to newest and indented so you quickly see how the conversation developed.

There is also an update to Google Alerts, making it easy to stay informed about a topic of your choosing. You can create an alert specifically for “updates” to get an email the moment your topic appears, or you can set alerts to email you once per day or week. The web may have much useless and useful information, but it also provides honesty and truth that is not available from politicians or the media. In the future, it will be difficult to rewrite history when it is available from the web, as it actually happened.

Aug 27, 2010

How Many Books

How many books have ever been published in all of modern history? According to Google’s advanced algorithms, the answer is almost 130 million books. Yes, that number includes my books.

In order for Google Books to successfully catalog the world’s supply of printed knowledge, the company needed an estimate of the amount of books it needs to scan. That’s why Google set out to find the number.

First it had to define what a book is and agreed on ‘tome', an idealized bound volume. A tome can have millions of copies, like a bestseller or can exist in just one or two copies, such as a rare 'Tom Sawyer' first edition. ISBN, or International Standard Book Numbers, are designed to be unique identifiers for books but have only been around for  about 40 years and are mostly used in Western countries.

The company poured over a billion raw records and used many and various algorithms to determine and discard duplicates. Of course the absolute number needs to be constantly, because new books are being published every day. In fact, I have a new one that should be out within about a month. "Flowers, Foreplay, Facelifts, Flatulence - A humorous romp through the four stages of relationships."

Jul 30, 2010

Five More Great Google Tips

Look for keywords that could be similar to the one you are using. "vizio ~ tutorial". (The tilde ~ is usually the left top key, next to the numeral one.) Google will search for similar keywords like guides, how tos, manuals etc.

Have a math problem, type "sqrt(100)" for the square root of 100.

How to find a site that your company has blocked - "cache:shubnell.com". (of course none would block my site.)

Looking for a specific title - "intitle: papamurphys".

Looking for pictures, type in something like "shadows" then click on the 'images' word on the left of the results page. It will show all pictures, instead of web pages.