Saturday, June 2, 2007

Google - The King of Hidden Services

When someone says Google, I think at least 60%-70% of people reply that it's a "Search Engine". Do you know that Google has so much thing going on that we don't even know it exist? Google has the ability to search for images, news, blogs, music, video, maps, products, answers, notebook, linux, apple, movies, definitions and the list goes on...

One thing I don't understand is why when we visit Google's URL (www.google.com), we only see a very simple and clean search page instead of a full featured page like Yahoo? At least now it's much better with a navigation bar where it shows Web, Images, Video, News, Maps, Gmail and more but it's still NOT complete.
Google free stuff
Here's a quote taken from Don Norman's "The Truth About Google's Simplicity".

Why are Yahoo! and MSN such complex-looking places? Because their systems are easier to use. Not because they are complex, but because they simplify the life of their users by letting them see their choices on the home page: news, alternative searches, other items of interest. Yahoo! even has an excellent personalization page, so you can choose what you wish to see on that first page.

Take another careful look at Google's front page. Want a map? You have to click once to be offered the choice, then a second additional time to get to the map page. Want to use Google Scholar to check references? Um, well, is that "Advanced Search" or "more." What about their newly announced blog search? Why is Google maps separate from Google Earth? (Oh, those were purchased from different companies. Yes, but why should I, the user, care about the history of Google's acquisitions?)

Anyway, continue reading to check out the list of free and hidden services offered by google in ONE page.

Simply Google has created a page that includes every Google hidden feature.
List of google free services

If your web browser's start page is Google.com, you might want to change it to Simply Google because it's more complete than the original and simple Google.com page.

Visit Simply Google

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