Google Finance - Late to the Party

If you haven't already heard, Google rolled out their own Finance site today to rival that of Yahoo's and Marketwatch.

After spending a few minutes using the site, I have to say that I am very unimpressed. The design of the site is far inferior to that of Yahoo's or Marketwatch, with a clunky layout that makes finding what you are looking for rather difficult. They display a few financial stats, but not any wheres near what the others offer their users. The portfolio tools are very rudimentary and outdated feeling, and their charts are nothing special. The whole site just feels rushed in my opinion.
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One feature that I do like is the inclusion of real-time quotes, something that the others don't offer. Also, they display links to blog posts on the respective companies. Unfortunately, it doesn't display links tovery many blogs, none of my posts on specific companies are indexed nor are those of many of my peers. The majority of the links are to the Seeking Alpha Network, to which I am a contributor, but these are merely repubishings of other's works. If Google can figure out a way to include a more extensive list of blog submissions, it would be a nice touch, but unfortunately I don't forsee them devoting the neccessary time to accomplish this.
Tip! Doing searches on Google show up a lot of anomalies. Many top ranking pages have PR 0.

I will give Google the benefit of the doubt here, as the site is only in beta, but Google Finance is nothing to write home about. Reminiscient of many of their most recent offerings, such as Google SiteCreator and Google Video, the site appears to be lacking the innovation and quality that used to set Google apart, a disturbing trend if you are a Google shareholder. Unless they are able to make some extreme improvements, I don't see many Yahoo Finance users or Marketwatch users converting. Not only is Google late to the party, but they left the gifts at home as well, nothing fashionable about their entrance here.

Originally published in The New Wall Street, a proud member of the Wall Street 2.0 Network.

http://www.thenewwallstreet.com

Destination: Desktop for Google

First we had the original Google search that evolved into the leader in its class. In fact, it became so popular that the word "google" worked its way into our everyday language as a verb, as in "to google" something. Google later introduced a toolbar that was plug-in for some browsers like Internet Explorer. The Google toolbar features a direct Google search box with quick access to image and group searches, a pop-up blocker, and for Internet marketers mostly, a PageRank (PR) indicator.
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With competition like Yahoo and MSN threatening to start nipping at Google's heels, Google has introduced several new services to try to stay ahead of the pack. Recently they introduced Gmail, their web-based free email service (currently offered by invitation only). And still in the Google lab is the Google Deskbar (for Windows users only).
Tip! Submit it to Google at http://www.google.

The Google deskbar is a plug-in that resides in the Windows taskbar, the little control panel that contains your start button, perhaps some quick launch icons, the clock, and the system tray. Search engines and marketers have realized that to maintain and increase their competitive status, they will need to find ways to get surfers and customers to invite them to their desktops.

The deskbar features quick access to Google's results, no matter which application you're currently using. Researching a class report? Check facts and sources quickly. Working in Excel? Look up the formula to calculate the volume of a tube easily. Following breaking news? Check it from the deskbar without leaving Photoshop! You'll be able to preview your search results with the small "floater" window that will close automatically.

From students to senior executives, from casual surfers to serious Internet marketers, the Google Deskbar may add to your productivity and fun online. It's worth a look.
Tip! The higher your click-through rate (CTR), the higher you ad will be shown. Even if you are bidding less money than the person above you, if your ad gets a higher CTR Google will show yours higher.

About The Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.sitetube.com. Visit his website for the latest on planning, building, promoting and maintaining websites.

Google Brings the Earth to Your Desktop

Google Inc. has launched a new software package that allows you to see satellite images on your desktop.

Google Earth lets you search for locations anywhere on earth and display 3D aerial images of major cities and tourist attractions. Google Earth is in development, but a free beta version is available for home users. Locations can be searched by address, intersections, cities, zip codes or countries and the images can be zoomed in close enough to see streets and buildings.
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The images generated are 3D - you can rotate the view to see different sides of an object. You can navigate using a mouse or the keyboard, and view selectable layers to display information about local features such as roads, terrain, schools or golf courses.

Images of 38 US cities can be viewed from "the ground up" allowing you to see 3D representations of buildings and terrain. Measurement functions include distances between two locations, perimeters, radius and area.
Tip! Overall, Google Analytics provides you a very cheap service on gaining more customers, if you utilize its results.

Search results can be saved, printed and emailed. Driving directions can be automatically generated and you can trace the route using the "Play" button located underneath the directions tab.

Google Earth is based on technology from Keyhole Corp., a digital mapping company acquired by Google in 2004. The database that drives Google Earth is based on images from satellite and airplane photographs. The database is said to be "multi-terabytes" in size.
Tip! Page titles that contain 'Internet Marketing' will give Google a hint that they are more relevant than others.

Google Earth is available in several versions. The free version is for personal use. Google Earth Plus costs $20 and integrates data from your GPS device. Google Earth Pro costs $400 and is designed for businesses who need a research and collaboration tool. Finally, there is Google Earth Enterprise Solutions for on-site deployment of Google Earth.
Tip! Log into your account (http://google.

The technology behind Google Earth is not new, and smaller companies such as GlobeXplorer LLC have been offering 3D aerial views for several years. Google has the marketing clout, however, to bring the technology to the consumer level and integrate it into its advertising programs.

Users can search for local businesses and receive a viewpoint of 10 search results within a specified area. Clicking on a business listing brings up its address, phone number and driving directions.

Copyright 2005 by Ross MacIver

This article may be redistributed freely on the Internet or in ezines as long as the resource box and hyperlinks remain intact.
Tip! Fast, Convenient, and Safe. Combining Google Base with Google Checkout provides your customers with a quick and easy to use method for buying your products.

Ross MacIver is the director of Best Online Content. We provide quality content for your web site and offer a full range of design and SEO services.

Google Desktop - Safe to Use

Google has been taking a lot of heat for its new desktop software. It allows a user to search files on multiple computers by storing the information on google servers. The criticism here is that google then has access to your information. People are afraid that their privacy will be violated. They are also afraid for general security of their data.

I for one use google desktop and am not afraid for my privacy or security. Google is fighting the federal government for search results that have no user data involved. If they are fighting given out that information you can be assured they would not allow personal files to be shown to anyone but authorized users. Also, identity theft is most likely a result of some sort of credit card fraud not from doing a search on google. People will give out their credit card number out on the internet but refuse to use google software. That seems odd to me. If there is one company out there that I feel safe leaving my data with is google.
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With all the plug ins to the google desktop sidebar and now with the availability to search files on multiple computers, this software is definitely worth a try. I use it to quickly check my gmail account, check my adsense, and search for files on and off the web. It's a great time saver and secure.

The bottom line is google is secure. Their success depends on it.
Tip! Using unauthorized automated software to submit pages, check rankings, etc. Such programs violate Google's terms of service.

Matt Christensen http://www.mattchristensen.net

Google Calendar - Best Calendar Program Hands Down

Google has released its calendar feature. As with most things google releases I love it. I know what you're thinking. What's the big deal its just an ordinary calendar program. Oh on the contrary. Google realizes we are becoming web social people. The google calendar not only lets you manage your own events but you can share and control others as well. You can make your events public so others can search for them, or leave them as private if you do not want anyone to know what you're up to. There is a feature to import other calendars. For example I imported US holidays and the Chicago Cubs Schedule. Another great feature is the ability to send updates to your cell phone in the form of a text message. Most major cell phone providers are supported. This is perfect for the person on the go. For me it means I do not need a palm pilot or hand held of any kind. As long as I have my cell phone (don't leave home without it) I have my schedule.
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To use google calendar you need to have a google account. To get a google account you need to be invited or I believe you can sign up with a mobile device. Or if you are really having trouble visit my website and I will try to help you out.

This is a great new feature offered by google. I highly recommend giving it a try. There are plenty of other perks that I did not mention here.

Matt Christensen http://www.mattchristensen.net

New Google Software: 13 Free Downloads that You're Gonna Love

IIf you've not downloaded the newest free software bundle from Google yet, then you've gotta read this...

This package includes the latest powerful tools with countless features that will benefit you in a number of ways. There's text, photo, music, and video applications, programs that address security issues, and things to assist you in exploring the web. There's handy desktop applications and other useful, timesaving goodies. A couple of these programs have potential limited only by your imagination. This is a great collection for anyone, whether you're building websites, doing research, or just surfing the web, and, best of all, it's completely free!
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Here's what's included...

GOOGLE SOFTWARE --

* Google Earth is a "3D Earth browser" that lets you view actual photos of the earth from space to street level. Create maps, find driving directions, or look at your own house. A bird's-eye view of the world...
* Picasa is a photo organizer that allows you to find all of the photos stored on your computer, and organize, edit, and share them with others.
* Google Pack Screensaver allows you to convert photos from your personal collection into screensavers that may be set up as collages or full screen pictures.
* Google Desktop is a desktop companion with a TON of features. It features a sidebar that gives you instant access to a number of useful applications -- a real timesaver!
* Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer also come with a ton of features. With it, you can run a search from any webpage, autofill forms, or list the Google page rank of any webpage.

Tip! Use effective tools and software for your Google Adwords keyword research.

ADDITIONAL SOFTWARE --

* Mozilla Firefox with Google Toolbar is a quick and secure web browser. It allows you to browse using tabs rather than separate windows and has many useful plug-ins, add-ons, and extensions available. If you don't have Firefox yet, I would highly recommend it!
* Norton Antivirus 2005 Special Edition is an AV program that protects your PC from viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. The Google Pack includes a 6-month subscription and updates.
* Ad-Aware SE Personal is an antispyware utility that safely detects and removes spyware to protect your privacy.
* Adobe Reader 7 allows you to view, print, and search PDF files. This version claims to launch up to 50% faster than Reader 6.0

Tip! Fast, Convenient, and Safe. Combining Google Base with Google Checkout provides your customers with a quick and easy to use method for buying your products.

OPTIONAL SOFTWARE --

* Google Talk is a voice & IM application that allows you to call or send instant messages to your friends for free. Get a free account using your mobile phone.
* RealPlayer is a media player that plays popular media formats, organizes music and videos, and transfers music to iPods and other portable media players.
* Google Video Player is a tool that plays videos that may be purchased and downloaded from the Google Video website.
* GalleryPlayer HD Images are high-quality images, artwork, and photos that are perfect for screensavers or desktops.

Google Pack requires Windows XP and either Firefox 1.0+ or Internet Explorer 6.0+, although some of the individual programs will work on older versions. The download process is easy and user-friendly. It allows you to pick only the software that you want, and if you already have any of the programs installed, it will check the version and will only be updated if the Google Pack includes a newer version. You'll also get updates about new software with Google Updater.
Tip! Generate sales leads - use Google AdWords to generate leads by offering something for free to obtain their email address. Following this, create an autoresponder series to build a relationship with the person.

You can find a download link for this Google Pack at Blog Help.

You'll wonder how you ever got by without it.

James Bradley's latest Internet project is a tutorial/how-to blog that teaches others to start and monetize blogs.

Thanks for taking the time to read this article. To learn how to create a blog, find out more about making money on the Internet, or just for the heck of it, visit my blog at Blog Help.

The Upcoming Battle for Your Desktop: Microsoft Vs Google (Part 1)

While the great majority of the community waits and waits for the latest version of Windows (Windows Vista) to be released, there is a group of people that have their eyes set on another information giant: Google. You may now ask yourself: What is it that brings these two huge companies together? Or, how are these two companies related? Well, it so happens that, according to various sources on the Internet, Google would be preparing itself to give Redmond its biggest blow yet on their battle for the command of information. The logic for this reasoning branches off from the following questions: Why is Microsoft absurdly delaying the launch of its new operating system? and What has happened with Google since Window XP was launched?
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Regarding our first question, we can say that Microsoft has provided us with new operating systems practically every two or three years since Win95 was released. Launched in 1995, Win95 unleashed a revolution in PCs by introducing us to a graphic world of buttons, Windows, folders, files, etc. Praised by its greater compatibility and improvements, it was basically the product of the moment that would allow us to connect to Internet in an easier fashion and also make use of the new "plug and play" devices. With the new Millennium came Windows 2000, which without any doubt was one of the first really good operating systems, much more stable and user friendly. Windows ME also made its appearance, however, due to its insignificance we will not further analyze it. Well into 2002 and 2003, Windows XP was introduced into the market. This version is clearly a very powerful operating system, it has greater stability and combines the best of Windows 2000 with a great ability for running games, total compatibility with plug and play devices and an enhanced graphic interface. In between each new release we have had the famous "services Packs", "seconds Editions", etc etc etc… and since the release of XP we have heard first of "Longhorn" and then of "Vista"…however, it is only now that the Beta versions have come out and everything points out to the commercial version coming up by the end of 2006 or early in 2007. That would make it 4 or 5 years from the previous version that was released. The reason for this: Windows Vista will set forth a revolution that goes far beyond our imagination, where there will no longer be room for the concept of files and folders, being replaced by something completely innovative, intuitive and more "human".
Tip! Fast, Convenient, and Safe. Combining Google Base with Google Checkout provides your customers with a quick and easy to use method for buying your products.

What has Google been doing all of this time? Well, after providing us with most effective and simple search engine, it came out with the highest capacity email accounts. After that came the famous "Google Toolbar", with more tools to help improve our searches on the Internet, followed by Google Earth and the Google pack which came with everything an average user would need in a computer: Photo utilities, messenger with Google Talk, Firefox (navigator), Ad-Aware, Adobe Reader and even a special version of Norton Antivirus. They also released Google Desktop, which is basically like having a smaller scale Google, but for our computers. An enormous amount of widgets for various functions were also released together with these applications: calendar, information, labeling, notepads, etc. Thanks to Ajax's developments, with Writely, Google even offers us the possibility of accessing a text processor online. Without a doubt, all these applications represent a new style of software commercialization, where no longer do you have to go to a physical store to get it, but either simply download a small application or use it directly from the Internet without having to install anything on your hard drive.
Tip! Dressing For Google ..

Summarizing, while we find ourselves waiting for Microsoft to release its Windows Vista, Google has been offering all of the common applications any user would need at practically no cost. If Google's first and primary line of business was oriented towards information search, what is taking it to become a software provider? and what are they pursuing by giving us all of this for free?
Tip! Don't advertise anything on Google's prohibited items list.

We will try to keep you posted on the developments of this battle with a series of more postings. While this happens, all you conspiracy theory fans please drop a couple lines and tell us what you think. (Not Dan Brown though. It is not the church's fault, however if you feel like giving us your comments, please do so.) Comments made
Tip! Do not use fake information when opening your Google AdSense account.

Mr. Marcelo R. is a Data Recovery engineer at Kepler Data Recovery. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of KDR.

To read more articles from this author or other Data Recovery Engineers please log onto the (http://blog.keplerlabs.com).

The Upcoming Battle for Your Desktop: Microsoft Vs Google (Part 2)

On our first delivery we took a look at what each one of these huge companies (google and Microsoft) are about to launch into the World, setting up the framework for the way in which we will probably relate to technology in the very near future…this time around lets take a further look at one of the parties in question.
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What has Microsoft got for us?

Microsoft has consistently delayed the launch of the newest version of its very popular operating system, Windows. Known as Windows Vista, it supposedly comes with an enormous amount of new features and the complexity of its programming make its development very slow.
Tip! Use effective tools and software for your Google Adwords keyword research.

Loads of documentation is circulating regarding the new features of Windows Vista, however, the three main innovations are WinFx, Indigo and WinFS.

WinFx is the new API destined to replace the current win32, Indigo is a set of Microsoft .NET technologies designed for the creation of connected systems based on web services, and WinFS corresponds to an extension of the NTFS file system which complements it by adding functions and searches typical to data bases. WinFS also provides and API for developers.

Translating all of this into english, we will have a totally rejuvenated operating system and new window, menus and dialogue box designs that will allow us to make them transparent and even display them in 3D. All of this together with a tremendous web integration.

WinFS provides us with a complement to the NTFS files system by adding functions that are typically seen in data bases. This way, a search for information will not only come up with a determined file as a result, we will also be able to obtain additional information that cross references the fields of our search. Now the results on our search will include information from our contact list, emails, text files, notes, etc. Some tasks will even be able to be automated, such as sending a reminder alert by email or as an instant message to a cell phone.
Tip! Generate sales leads - use Google AdWords to generate leads by offering something for free to obtain their email address. Following this, create an autoresponder series to build a relationship with the person.

Why is there such interest in the organization, classification and searching of information? Given the enormous sizes of the hard drives that are being launched to the market, and the gigantic amount of information that is produced daily, file management has become harder and harder, specially in work environments with shared information. As a matter of fact, according to an IDC study, those who work with data, spend about 15 to 30% of their time searching for the data they need.
Tip! Doing searches on Google show up a lot of anomalies. Many top ranking pages have PR 0.

Certainly, Windows Vista should be a revolution in terms of the way in which one relates to the machine. The grouping and management of the information will become a fundamental issue, considering that the enormous amounts of data both in the hard drive and on the net will make it utterly necessary to find a new way to access it, which bottom line is what really matters.

It's true that Windows Vista offers an incredible amount of possibilities regarding information management, search, indexing and establishment of relationships, in how it interacts with the user and in the way in which it better utilizes the data that is brought up…if you think about it, it is practically the same business that google does when it in some way organizes the information on the Internet…and practically the same thing that it intends to do with its application "google desktop".
Tip! Accept debit and credit cards without the extra hassle. Google checkout allows your customers to use their credit card or debit card with the MasterCard, Visa, Discover, or American Express insignia to purchase your items.

Are we amidst the battle of two giants which will determine who is the "best search"? No doubt, Microsoft expects to revolutionize the interaction with our computers, without forgetting the traditional business model where software distribution is done through direct points of sale, or indirectly through the purchase of new computers that carry the new operating system. Very far from what google is doing by engaging in joint ventures with other companies and distributing its software as part of other software packages or by simply offering free downloads online.

Marcelo R. is a Data Recovery engineer at Kepler Data Recovery. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of KDR.

To read more articles from this author or other Data Recovery Engineers please log onto the (http://blog.keplerlabs.com).

How To Search Your PC With Google Desktop

In this era of Internet, most people are frequent users of computers. Many of us use computers through out the day, accumulating morasses of information in various formats, which include email, digital photo, word document, spreadsheet, presentation file, ebook, article, other downloaded files, music, visited web pages, and many others. We stuff them in multiple folders in our PC. Before we know it, our hard drives become a storeroom of misplaced items. As a result, finding a needed file of information some times become a daunting task!
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The search function integrated to Microsoft Windows is not a big help either. It requires you to know, albeit vaguely, where the file could possibly be located. If your data storage is significant and you made a search on your whole hard disk, it might take ages to get search results and, then again, there is no guarantee that you will find the right file. Frustrating? Thanks to new Google Desktop Search this is about to change!
Tip! Backlinks at Google don't tally with known backlinks. This has been reported a lot in various publications recently.

What is Google Desktop Search?

Google Desktop Search is a free downloadable small program, which will quickly and easily find your files no matter where in your hard disk they are stored. The great thing about this program is by making your computer searchable, this program frees you from having to manually organize and sort your files, emails, and downloads. You no more have to mull over where in your PC the information you are looking for is residing - in your email, files or web pages that you browsed recently.

At present Google Desktop Search works only with the full text in Outlook and Outlook Express email, text, HTML, Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, AOL chat, and Web pages viewed through Internet Explorer. Other files like PDF will be probably added in future version.

How it works?

Google Desktop Search is fairly easy to download and set up. The address for downloading the program is http://desktop.google.com. Once you installed the program, it begins initial indexing process of your hard disks. This may take several hours for an average size disk. The one-time indexing process only works when the computer has been idle for more than thirty seconds. Indexing for Google Desktop Search is an ongoing process, new files and emails get updated automatically. The search index created by the program resides on your own computer.
Tip! Test Products - with Google AdWords you can quickly test a product to determine if there is a demand for it. If you generate a lot of clicks, this may mean you have a winning product.

On your system tray you will see a swirled icon in Google colors, by clicking on it you will open the regular Google search page with the addition of Desktop along side with other search areas. Once the indexing is done, files are searched in under a second and the results are impressively precise. The top bar shows quantities of files found under the four categories, which include emails, files, chat and Web history. The results are shown in much the same way as regular Google interface. You can choose to see relevant results from all or any of the categories. You can also sort results by relevance or by date. By clicking on any result you open the file in respective application software.
Tip! Sudden drop of the google PageRank of all pages of the website from any level to 0.

The email query results are the best! No longer have you had to remember in which folder you stored the email written to John in reference to Peter. By searching for Peter or John, you will find all relevant emails and related correspondence. You can read and answer to any of the discovered email from the thread. This really saves time when you need to follow up to a large numbers of emails each day.

There are two more text buttons next to the search field. One is Desktop Preferences and other is Remove Items. Desktop preferences allow you to choose the types of files you would like the program to include in its index out of available ones. You can also point out not to index specific folders from your hard disk. If you share your PC with others, it's a good idea to eliminate your private folders from the Desktop index. You can also specify not to index certain websites from your cached web history as well. The Remove items button allow you to eliminate selected results from the index.
Tip! The earliest manifestations of google banning are usually first noticed by the webmaster as a sudden and severe drop in the number of website visitors and when the webmaster tracks the referrers of his visitors, he will not find anymore visitors coming to his site from google.

The advance search option allows you to search by phrase by putting the phrase within quotation marks, to eliminate a word from search by putting a minus sign in front of the word, to search by file type, and to search within a web URL. A neat feature is to integrate your desktop search with your web search. This is very handy if you have already done an extensive search for some information and after a few days doing search for similar information once again.
Tip! Don't 'beg for clicks' or provide any incentive for clicking on your Google AdSense ads.

Privacy question

By default, Google Desktop Search collects a limited amount of non-personal information from your computer and sends it to Google. This includes summary information, such as the number of searches you do and the time it takes for you to see your results, etc. You can opt out of sending this information during the installation process or from the Desktop preferences later. According to Google Privacy Policy no personally identifying information, such as your name or address, will be sent to Google without your explicit prior permission.
Tip! Submit it to Google at http://www.google.

What is missing?

I bemoan not having PDF files in the search process as yet. I have dozens of e-books and PDF whitepapers residing in my PC, and I really would prefer to have them indexed. That way, I'd have been able to read materials, when I needed them most.
Tip! Don't advertise anything on Google's prohibited items list.

The other thing I want to see is clustered result of my query, which shows organized search results into meaningful hierarchical folders similar to the way Vivisimo search engine works. This clustering is particularly helpful for desktop search, as this allows us to see other relevant documents connected to the searched word.

Conclusion

Due to Google's immense popularity as a search engine, it's logical that most users will prefer Google's desktop search program as oppose to other similar programs, such as Copernic and Hotbot. Finally you can search your very own computer with similar ease and preciseness as you have been searching the Internet for quite some time.
Tip! To Visitors: Google is their Genie, which can serve them anything they want without spending any penny. 2.

Nowshade Kabir is the founder, primary developer and present CEO of Rusbiz.com. A Ph. D. in Information Technology, he has wide experience in Business Consulting, International Trade and Web Marketing. Rusbiz is a Global B2B Emarketplace with solutions to start and run online business. You can contact him at mailto:nowshade[at]rusbiz.com, http://ezine.rusbiz.com/archivenews.html?nl_oid=46

Google Offers Free Spreadsheet on the Web

The clash of ideas that started over a decade ago between Microsoft, on the one hand, and other hi-tech giants like Oracle and Sun Microsystems about the relative merits of desk-top-based vs. web-based services is coming to a head with Google's new web-based and free spreadsheet application.

Just like the free web editor and hosting that is now available from Google, if you've got a Gmail account, you can now also get an innovative spreadsheet program.
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The "light client" idea championed by Oracle, Sun and Google has made impressive inroads with an ever-increasing number of applications which were previously bought out in boxes and then installed on PCs.

Now a lot of such out-of-the-box applications are shifting onto the web in an amazing variety of "web services." The spread of fiber optic networks and the dropping price of broadband are factors that favor the increase of such web service in the future.
Tip! ) Define budget - in order to maximize exposure Google recommends a daily budget for each campaign.

Enter Google Spreadsheets...

The service is still in its Beta phase and so you have to register for it. I did and a day later I got my invitation to test drive the Google Spreadsheets.
Tip! Log into your account (http://google.

As usual, Google engineers did their homework well. This is a very easy-to-understand interface, with a disarmingly clean and simple approach to the main tasks that many people end up doing with spreadsheets.

The three main tabs FORMAT, SORT and FORMULAS cover 99% of all the things that I'll ever do with a spreadsheet.

All three tabs have their own dynamically-constructed mini-menus.

For example, in the main FORMAT tab, the menu offers different ways to format your text and numbers, with great drop-down menus to ALIGN, INSERT and DELETE anything and everything. Wrapping text and merging cells is a breeze though the well-marked menu check-box and button.

The SORT tab has the very useful FREEZE ROWS drop-down list to work efficiently with those spreadsheets with hundreds of rows. Two buttons make ascending and descending SORTING by columns a straight forward operation.
Tip! Registering an already banned domain. Some webmasters, after their website becomes banned from google due to any reason, delete this domain and register another while the first domain remains banned from google.

The FORMULAS tab provides an easy one-click way to calculate sums, averages, counts, etc..

And here is the most REVOLUTIONARY feature of all:

By clicking a link you can actually open a CHAT WINDOW and share the spreadsheet with your friends or co-workers. You can literally collaborate in real time as you are working on your spreadsheet. You can people to EDIT or just VIEW the spreadsheet. Try doing that with Excel.
Tip! Page titles that contain 'Internet Marketing' will give Google a hint that they are more relevant than others.

Overall I'm very impressed with this new effort by Google to drive yet another nail into the coffin of the "heavy client" PC idea. The future looks more intriguing by the day.

----------------------------------------------------------

Ugur Akinci, Ph.D. is a Creative Copywriter, Editor, an experienced and award-winning Technical Communicator specializing in fundraising packages, direct sales copy, web content, press releases, movie reviews and hi-tech documentation.

He has worked as a Technical Writer for Fortune 100 companies for the last 7 years.

In addition to being an Ezine Articles Expert Author, he is also a Senior Member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), and a Member of American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI).
Tip! Do not hack or modify Google AdSense code other than to change the parameters that Google authorizes you to change.

You can reach him at writer111@gmail.com for a FREE consultation on all your copywriting needs.
Tip! You go to http://www.google.

You are most welcomed to visit his official web site http://www.writer111.com for more information on his multidisciplinary background, writing career, and client testimonials.

While at it, you might also want to check the latest book he has edited:http://www.lulu.com/content/263630

The Eternal Vigil For The Google Box

Amid rumors that just won't die, the eternal vigil or wait for the Google Box rages on. Google protests it is not building a Google Box. If you believe them, your next question should be -- why the hell not?

Recent fury about a Google Box was again unleashed at the latest CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas this year when a rumor spread that Google would be unveiling a Google Box. Causing its stock price to rise and Google watchers' hearts to drop when there proved to be no substance to the rumor.

For now Google seems content to 'piggy-back' on other systems. It has announced it will be partnering with Motorola to place the Google icon and search on certain Motorola cell phones. So close, yet so far.
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Google still insists it is not building a Google Box. But does it really matter what Google wants... Internet users want their Google Box and they will get it in one form or another. It might not even come from Google. Their lost!

If you haven't been following the Google Juggernaut, you may be wondering what's all this buzz about a Google Box? Simply put: it's a rumor/hope/dream that just won't die.

What are consumers, customers, Internet users (everyone on the planet) all clamoring for?

They are clamoring for a newly minted integrated 'all-in-one' portable handheld device, with a Google OS (operating system) and an RSS powered Google Browser (via the Firefox model) that's an Internet/Phone/Laptop/XM Radio/Ipod Video/TV/GPS/ and last but not least a Search Engine.
Tip! Registering an already banned domain. Some webmasters, after their website becomes banned from google due to any reason, delete this domain and register another while the first domain remains banned from google.

If such a device is built it would finally bring the Internet (screaming and kicking) into our future wireless universe. It would be our dream technotopia device. One that would meet all our electronic/communication needs and place them firmly in the palm of our hand.

It would place all the World's Information, Videos, TV shows, Music, a Billion Web Sites, and Aunt Sally neatly in the palm of your hand. It would deliver all this with the Google Brand Name, quite frankly who else would you trust with your Aunt Sally?
Tip! Backlinks at Google don't tally with known backlinks. This has been reported a lot in various publications recently.

Not only should Google Build it, they should give it away for Free or next to Free, make it affordable to the lowest income demographic on the planet. It would simply be good business. It would simply be a better return on its shareholder's money.

Technically such a device or Google Box could be built right now. The resources and expertise are available, just might take a hefty down payment to give birth to this baby.

Is such a venture realistically feasible for Google to undertake?

As we see from their offer of providing free broadband Wi-Fi services to the lucky residents of Mountain View, in the heart of Silicon Valley, it is not that far-fetched. It is not such a leap of faith that someone at Google may be musing at the possibility of a world-wide wireless system delivered on a Google Box.

Advertising is Google's Bread and Butter. Consider the Google Box as just a virtual version of your morning newspaper. It would be the perfect vehicle to carry all that Google delivered advertising. Delivered to everyone anywhere in the world. Advertisers would be lining up around the world for a piece of that action.

Actually, if you really examine the implications of such a delivery system. Google must build that Google Box or lose out to others who will build such a delivery device... it just won't have the Google name.
Tip! Hidden text or hidden links This is text or a link that is invisible to the naked eye on a Web page, but are seen by spiders. Search engines use to have a hard time spotting this technique, but now days you should avoid doing this because Google and other search engines can spot this easily.

How far are we from such a delivery system? How long will we have to wait for the eternal Google Box? Don't hold your breath but have you heard any good rumors lately?

The author runs a modest website on Bizware and Business Solutions, including a section on VoIP Phone Services. VoIP Phone Service Why not visit his site and get a few Free Marketing Tools for your business. Titus Hoskins Copyright © 2006. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

Review: Implementing the Google Search Appliance in an Intranet environment

Our corporate intranet is a non-framed environment with both Lotus Domino and IIS (.Net and classic ASP) applications and content. We have between 300,000-500,000 pages of web content and documents across more than 1200 "sites" on approximately 30 unique domains. We used to have Inktomi's UltraSeek Server 3.0 as our intranet search engine which was beginning to look like its age (purchased in 1998). The Inktomi product did not handle attachments well (DOC, PPT, PDF, etc.), would not crawl our secured sites, and was no longer supported by the vendor. We did a cursory review of the search vendors and were immediately attracted to Google's 30 day trial offer for their Google Search Appliance (GSA). After signing a standard agreement, they shipped us a brand new shiny yellow unit which we could test for 30 days before returning or purchasing.
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Product info

The GSA is a "black box" 1U standard rack-mountable server. By "black box" I mean, Google gives you a web interface to administer the device but do not want you to access the Operating System (a heavily Google-customized version of Linux). In fact, the license agreement stipulates that you will not tamper with the hardware or OS of the appliance in any way. The device has no need for a keyboard, mouse or video - all you need for normal operation is a network cable and standard power input.

The GSA comes in different flavors to fit different needs varying by size of the hardware and correspondingly size of the license. (Licensing is based on the number of URLs crawled by the appliance.) There are 3 different hardware configurations; the GB-1001, GB-5005, and GB-800. These are broken down as follows;
Tip! Always run at least two, differently worded, ads for each campaign. Google will automatically show both adverts alternatively, and you can then see which advert gets a higher CTR (i.

* GB-1001 - 150K documents for $28K, 300K documents for $50K
* GB-5005 - 1.5M documents for $230K
* GB-8008 - 4M documents for $450K

Tip! Submit it to Google at http://www.google.

Why Google?

As advertised, the GSA met all of our needs being able to index the large variety of filetypes we have in our environment, access secured content, having a documented API, etc. The Google brand power was another big selling factor. When we told our users that they were going to get a Google-based search engine they knew their days of troubled searching were over. Lastly, the 30-day trial run experience we had with the GSA sealed the deal. The appliance is the easiest enterprise solution I've ever had to install, configure and maintain. We were literally up and running within an hour of opening the shipping box.
Tip! Duplicate Content - Again this is a deceptive practice. Google wants to show unique results in the top 10.

Installation

The appliance has two network ports on the back panel; one for normal operation and the other used exclusively for network configuration. To configure the network settings we connected a laptop to the appliance via a special (some pin-outs are non-standard) orange Ethernet cable which is included. The installation process was about as easy as one can imagine for a "black box."

First we plugged in the normal operation network cable and then the power. The power plug on the appliance IS the power switch; plug it in to turn on and unplug it to turn it off. After plugging it in, we waited about 5 minutes for the appliance to play a tune which is the signal to continue. Next, we hooked up our laptop (already set to DHCP mode) to the appliance and powered it up. After logging in to our laptop and making sure we had the correct IP assigned by the appliance's built-in DHCP server we are ready to configure the network settings. Total elapsed time (excluding rack mounting): 10 minutes.
Tip! Doing searches on Google show up a lot of anomalies. Many top ranking pages have PR 0.

Configuration

Network configuration, like normal administration, is done entirely through a browser and is a simple 5 step process. The first screens ask you for basic network information; IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS. Subsequent screens collect SMTP server, "From" address for GSA notification messages, time zone, NTP (time) servers and the admin account name/password. The last step is to test a few URLs which you will be crawling to make sure you've done the setup correctly. After a final settings review screen configuration is complete and you can then unplug your laptop and get to the good part; start crawling. Total elapsed time: 10 minutes.

Crawling the site(s)

Using the URL provided, all administration of the GSA is done remotely. After logging in with the ID/password we provided in the previous step, we were presented with the Administration console. We created a new collection to hold our index, put in the "Start crawling from" URL, copied that same URL into the "Follow and Crawl only URLs with the Following patterns" box and we were done. We saved our settings and then clicked the "Start crawling" button. We then went over to the "Crawl status" screen and watched the "Crawled URLs" counter increase. Google advertises that it can crawl about 4,000 URLs in about 15 minutes or so. We found the crawl time would increase significantly if there are documents (Word, PDF, Excel, etc.) linked to from those URLS.
Tip! Submit a sitemap as part of our Google Sitemaps (Beta) project. Google Sitemaps uses your sitemap to learn about the structure of your site and to increase our coverage of your webpages.

After the crawl is done the collection is automatically indexed and then checked against the Serving Prerequisites (any criteria you wish to use to determine whether to move an indexed collection to production) and the collection will either be moved to Production (and consequently searchable) or be moved to Staging. The Staging area lets you validate new crawls before letting users search against them.

Crawling configuration

After your first crawl you may find the need to go back and tweak the crawling parameters. Google gives you a good amount of control over how sites are crawled, the frequency, how many threads are used, etc. For sites with security, the GSA supports Basic Authentication and an additional security module is available which supports Forms Authentication. The most challenging configuration aspects for us were determining the right combination of URL patterns to exclude from the search. If you are a Domino shop and looking to use the GSA you may need to spend some time getting the crawler configuration just right to support the sometimes convoluted Domino query string parameters.
Tip! Using unauthorized automated software to submit pages, check rankings, etc. Such programs violate Google's terms of service.

After we got the crawl parameters tuned and the first complete crawl done we did some testing to see if the crawler grabbed all the content. Browsing our site and testing with some strings buried deep inside the taxonomy we always found the GSA had crawled them accurately. We also did some testing with strings inside PDF documents, PowerPoint presentations and the like. When we did come across something that hadn't been crawled a careful analysis led us to discover that we needed to do some more tweaking of the crawl settings.

Other notable features

Google also gives you a KeyMatch tool that allows you to specify which indexed documents should appear at the top of the results page for a given query. These manifest themselves almost identically to the Sponsored Links at the top of the results page of the Google we all use. A Synonym tool allows you to specify alternate words or phrases for search queries. For example, if someone searches for WCM, you can suggest "Web Content Management" at the top of the results page.

An output format feature lets you control (via an XSLT) the presentation of the search results. You can use this for changing the fonts, colors, logo, header, etc. of the results page. We were able to easily remove the "Cached" feature on the results page with some XSLT modifications.
Tip! Click Fraud: Click Fraud occurs when some web-publisher fraudulently clicks on advertisements displayed on his or her own web-site, or automates this clicking process through a software program. Because of the increasing prevalence of this type of fraud, Google has become stricter - and has inadvertently kicked some legitimate web-publishers out of this program.

The Reporting tool lets you run reports on search queries over various time ranges. It will show you the number of searches per day, per hour, the top 100 keywords and top 100 queries for the time period specified.

Downsides

The GSA is not for organizations looking to index their shared network drives as the appliance has no facility for crawling file systems. This is really too bad as many companies struggle with the huge quantities of unstructured content on stored on their networks. Of course, there are a plethora of other products out there for exactly this issue.

Access directly to databases (e.g. SQL, Oracle, etc.) is another area which is off-limits for the GSA as well as any kind of integration with content or document management systems.

Conclusion

The Google Search Appliance (GSA) is an excellent search product for HTTP-accessible content. It gives great control over administrative features such as crawler configuration and results serving and sufficient reporting capabilities as well. Those looking for a solution to integrate directly with a content/document management system, databases, or indexing network drives should look to another product. However, if you have a intranet or intranet site with plenty of HTML-based content the GSA may be just what you need.
Tip! Not Using Correct Title or Alt tags - Again google is looking for quality and descriptive content that is relevant to your page. Let me repeat an important part of that statement.

Bryan Mjaanes is the creator/editor of Intranet101.com, a community-based forum for Intranet professionals.

Get Your Deleted Files Back Using Google Desktop and Web Pages Using Google Web Search

You are clearing all the junk on your hard disk. Shift+Del. Shift+Del. Shift+Del. Oops you just deleted that most important file. Now if you have google desktop search installed you may get back your data. Search for the file name, say "veryimportant.doc" and sort by relevence. Your file must be visble. Next to the description you will find a link called cache. If you click, you will be taken to a webpage which will contain the content of that file. Google keeps a cache of files on your desktop so that they may be easily searched. You are using that cache to get back your file.

How to get your website back without a backup. Imagine this.You create a website. Burn the midnight lamp on all that CSS, HTML and what not. And just after you upload your website your server crashes. No backups. Are you doomed? Google to the rescue. This is based on the fact that google keeps a cache of all websites they crawl. And you can view that cache.
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Suppose your site is xyz.net

In google search box type site:xyz.net Google will show all the pages of your site. But if you want to visit them, obviously you can't. Your webhost has just lost them. Google to rescue. Next to your website address, there is a link called cached. If you click this link you will be taken to a page which will contain text of your webpage. So if you have some time to waste and data to recover, You can get all your pages back. (Sans the css and images.)

Shabda Raaj is a freelance webdesigner and programmer. Tutorials from him can be found at http://free-tutorials.blogspot.com/

Google Joins the Internet Phone Revolution

Its not so long ago that the idea of free phone calls over the Internet would have been thought an impossibility, but as any knowledgeable user will tell you they are now commonplace. Skype the pioneer and market leader has 51 million users and a great, easy to use software package that allows your computer to make Internet phone calls between subscribers.

All you need is a reasonable computer, preferably a broadband connection but it will work over a dial up connection, and a microphone, then as long as the person you want to contact is online and also signed up to the same service, you can talk for ever for no cost.
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This is possible because your speech is sent over the Internet in the data packets, just like email or any other Internet service. Microsoft, AOL, BT and Yahoo all have their own instant voice messaging services and now Google has joined in, with the launch of its instant messaging and Internet Phone service Google Talk. The service will be free to all users of its email program Gmail. This must be causing Googles competitors some concern, because as we all know from past, experience when Google does something they always want to be the market leader.

Google Talk will have the traditional uncluttered Google look which users have come to expect, to use Google Talk you must sign up for a Gmail Account. Google is making Google talk an open service, by working with EarthLink to connect with their Vling communications service and with Sipphone on using their Gizmo project, which will mean that users of Google Talk can send messages to users of other networks, unlike all their major rivals.
Tip! Gain even more exposure for your products. Combining Google services can help you reach a greater customer base than you would just by having a web site.

This means that Google Talk will be free for calls to other networks, unlike the services from AOL, Microsoft, etc where calls are only free between subscribers of their individual services. When it was announced this was seen as such a significant development that Skype immediately responded by announcing that they would also be making their network available to calls from other networks. At the moment Skype also has the advantage that its users can make calls from their computer to a landline or mobile phone, initially Google Talk will only offer Pc to PC communication, I wonder how long that will remain the case?
Tip! Doing searches on Google show up a lot of anomalies. Many top ranking pages have PR 0.

To start, with Google Talk will be free from adverts but that will probably change in the future, it is hoped that the launch of the service will increase the use of Gmail, where Google earns income by placing adverts targeted at the subject matter of the email.
Tip! Do not use fake information when opening your Google AdSense account.

This is a very significant step in the development of Internet phone calling services using VoIp and I expect that Google will make every effort to become the market leader.

Roger Overanout

For all the latest news and information about Internet Phones and VoIP check with http://www.internetphonecenter.info

You may reproduce this article provided you maintain an active link back to http://www.internetphonecenter.info

Google Brings Millions of Hard-to-Find Library Books to Your Fingertips

Millions of hard-to-find books from five major libraries will soon be a lot easier to access: Google has made plans to scan and digitize them, making the books available on their widely used Internet search engine.

Google's latest endeavor is a large step beyond previous attempts to scan books so they can be read online (Google, Amazon.com and other smaller sites have offered glimpses of books and libraries online before). What makes this initiative so different is the sheer breadth of material that Google plans to cover.

Five libraries will be involved in the project in various stages:

* New York public library: Allowing Google a small portion of books no longer covered by copyright.

* Harvard University library: Is contributing a limited 40,000 volumes to guage how well the process works.

* Stanford University library: Will submit its entire collection to Google's scanners.
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* Michigan University library: Will also submit its entire collection.

* Oxford University library: Contributing all its books published before 1901

To get an idea of just how large a project Google is taking on, consider that Michigan's library alone contains 7 million volumes, which is about 132 miles of books, while Harvard's library contains 15 million. The Michigan job is expected to take six years.

Although some in the field worry that this trend could signal the end of libraries, others are excited at the prospect of putting valuable information that was once limited in its use at the fingertips of all Internet users. The project will also create a digital record for material that was created before computers, thereby preserving it in a way that could not have been done in the past.

Google users will only be able to view bibliographies and other brief excerpts from the copyrighted books scanned from the libraries, while works no longer covered by copyrights will be completely available to the online public.
Tip! Generate sales leads - use Google AdWords to generate leads by offering something for free to obtain their email address. Following this, create an autoresponder series to build a relationship with the person.

USA Today December 14, 2004

New York Times December 14, 2004

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

Google's founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, have long vowed to make all of the world's information accessible to anyone with a Web browser. Now that vow will come closer to being implemented as Google has made an agreement with some of the nation's leading research libraries and Oxford University to begin converting their holdings into digital files that would be freely searchable over the Web.

Harvard, the University of Michigan, Stanford and the New York Public Library are some of the U.S. institutions that will be involved. The whole project will convert about 15 million books at a cost of $150 million, or about $10 per book.

Plus, the Library of Congress and a group of international libraries from the United States, Canada, Egypt, China and the Netherlands announced a plan to create a publicly available digital archive of 1 million books on the Internet. The group said it planned to have 70,000 volumes online by next April.

Doesn't that just want to make you get out of your chair and shout! I don't know about you, but I am excited.
Tip! Never give up! If you're innocent don't give up. If after emailing them several times using the above techniques you don't get anywhere find the details of Google's head office for your area (use Google!) give them a call and ask to speak to the AdSense team.

As long as I am excited about Google I want to let you know that Google has been my home page for over seven years. Why would anyone want to have anything different?

Well, last week I changed my home page. Don't get worried, it is still Google but it is their new Google Suggest. It suggests queries as you type what you are looking for into the search box. By offering more refined searches up front, Google Suggest can make your searching more convenient and efficient, because it eliminates the need to type the entire text of a query.
Tip! Page titles that contain 'Internet Marketing' will give Google a hint that they are more relevant than others.

In addition, the service can connect you with new query suggestions that are useful, intriguing and fun. Go ahead, try it, you might even make it your new home page. My guess is that in a few years this might be the main Google search engine.

While I am on the topic of Google, I have to tell you about the new version of Firefox 1.0. If you haven't switched to Firefox you simply must read my article on why you should do so immediately. Firefox isn't just for alpha geeks anymore. As of last week over 10 MILLION people have downloaded Firefox and installed it as their browser.
Tip! ) Define budget - in order to maximize exposure Google recommends a daily budget for each campaign.

Many of you are already one of those 10 million, but the majority of you probably don't know that Firefox comes preinstalled with search engines other than Google in its toolbar.

I just found out the newest version has a neat feature where you can click the small triangle next to the bottom of the default "G" on the left of the Google search box and you will be able to use other search engines. There are three in there that I use all the time: eBay, Amazon and Dictionary.com. But I recently was able to go to a Firefox add-in page and with one click insert my favorite gadget blog Engadget so now it is one of the options.

Dr. Joseph Mercola Author of Total Health Program Founder of the renowned Optimal Wellness Center http://www.Mercola.com - The #1 Natural Health Site on the Internet!

Google Talk Reviewed

So you're sick and tired of AOL Instant Messenger. You're looking for something fresh and new that will just work. Well Google feels the same way. On Wednesday August 24th they released their version of AIM, Google Talk.

Although Google Talk and AIM do basically the same thing, Google Talk is very different. For starters anyone can join AIM, in order to use Google Talk you need to have a Gmail account. AIM will also let you make a profile, Google Talk you can't. However there are more features on Google Talk that are left out in AIM.
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Google Talk's main feature is being able to call friends that are on your list. Call means being able to talk through a microphone to them and they respond through theirs, much like the service Skype. There is a similar feature in the current version of AIM; however it's not as easy to use.

Let's say you're talking to someone in the conversation window. You decide that this conversation would work a lot better over the phone. Well don't get up and dial a number, simply plug in the microphone and headphones and guess what you're connected, just like a phone. All you have to do is press the "Call" button in the window, you'll hear a dial tone, and when the other user accepts you're connected.
Tip! Do not hack or modify Google AdSense code other than to change the parameters that Google authorizes you to change.

At the top of the window, when call is activated, you'll see a volume meter for your friend and one for you. All it takes is a click of a button, how easy is that?

The other easy thing about Google Talk is the simplicity behind making a customized message. When you're online you'll have a small snippet under your name. You can customize that to whatever you want, that could be considered somewhat of a profile. You can also see peoples' away messages right under their name. Making an away message is just as simple as changing the text under your name. Just go to the drop down list under your name in the window (not the friends list) and go to the "Custom Message" with the red circle next to it.
Tip! Doing searches on Google show up a lot of anomalies. Many top ranking pages have PR 0.

Google has also added a feature to make it easier to sign up for the service. When you select to add a friend you can insert an email address that isn't a Gmail one. All it does is email the person letting them know about the service and offering a download link. This makes it really easy to convince your friends to make the switch.

Another feature that is greatly appreciated in Google Talk is the way it works directly with Gmail. You can add people on your contacts to the service within the Google Talk interface, plus it will notify you when a new email has been received. You can also go directly to your Gmail inbox via a link from the interface.
Tip! Using unauthorized automated software to submit pages, check rankings, etc. Such programs violate Google's terms of service.

This next feature won't mean much to the average user, but to some misfortunate geeks with low RAM it may. Google Talk consumes around 3MB of RAM. AOL Instant Messenger takes around 9MB. If you have a lot of other programs open and you can't afford to waste RAM Google Talk will work great.
Tip! Don't advertise anything on Google's prohibited items list.

Google Talk is also much cleaner looking than AIM. There are no ads and no added crap like a stock ticker or news ticker. However the one thing that I'd like to see in Google Talk is notifications that tell you when someone logs on or off. This feature has been available in AIM for about 2 years.
Tip! First, you check your site is truly gone, by going to http://www.google.

There some other things that could be enhanced. In the settings menu I'd like to see a setting to customize how often it checks the Gmail mailbox, customize sounds, and more customization for notifications.

Staying on the topic of customization I'd like to see, in later versions, the option to add categories in your friends list. Something so you could put all your family under one list, friends under the others and so on.

Overall I wouldn't rush out and download Google Talk quite yet. Right now I'd think that it would be more convenient to corporations so that employees can interact with each other. It won't take down AIM, because AIM is just too popular, but it might steal some Yahoo! Messenger or MSN users.

This article was originally posted on http://www.p2btech.com

Although this is the full article, screen shots are avilable at http://www.p2btech.com/googletalk.html

p2btech.com offers just about everything. We've got music, games, on demand video, podcasts, sports, and of course technology.
Tip! Technology: Along with its innovative approach to page ranking, Google is a purpose-built hardware company, building all its own servers from components it buys directly for their manufacturers. According to Drummond, Google now operates the world's largest distributed computer system.

If you've got a tech problem we also offer a technology podcast and a detailed Help Center with answers to just about anything.

Google Goes Wireless In The Land Of The Free

In the heart of Silicon Valley a revolution is about to take place. It could change the Universe as we know it. Don't laugh, this revolution will grab you by the short wires and turn your world upside down.

It will affect your life and the lives of your children's children. It might just be the spark that changes everything...

It all has to do with the Internet.

Someone wants to give the Internet its wings. Get rid of all those wires and monthly bills. Set it free. Let it fly among the stars. Broadcast it out into the stratosphere. Or in other words, make it free for everyone.

And it's about time.

Are we talking about a free wireless Internet for the masses? Well, not exactly and not yet. But it's the start of such a concept that could quickly become a reality for many people very soon. It has to start somewhere and why not in Silicon Valley. Where else would you want to start a free wireless revolution but a place that really knows how to cash in its chips.
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And who else would you expect to lead this Internet Parade than Google; the all knowing, all seeing, omnipotent and undisputed ruler of the mighty cursor.

Google wants to give free broadband Wi-Fi service to the small city of Mountain View, sometimes AKA-ed as the Capital of Silicon Valley. Located between the Santa Cruz Mountains and San Francisco Bay, Mountain View is home to around 72,000 young, vibrant and smart residents. The median age is 32.8 years old. Pure Google fodder.

Google has proposed a system of providing free Wi-Fi via 300 transmitters on light poles which would virtually make the city one big hotspot. City leaders now have to decide if Google should get the go ahead for this free Internet. In its proposal, Google has plainly stated its own self-interest in such a system.

"In our self-interest, we believe that giving more people the ability to access the Internet will drive more traffic to Google and hence more revenue to Google and its partner websites."
Tip! Save time and money. If you do not have the knowledge or the funds to create a web site right now, you can still begin making money by using Google Base and posting your products for all Google users to find.

Obviously, Google has everything to gain. Ad revenue and the Internet is its lifeblood. Why not expand that lifeblood. And why not make the Internet pay for itself. Why shouldn't it be free and ad supported -- cut out all those monthly ISP bills users now have to pay.

Will the majority of Internet users be willing to give up their ISP bills for a few Google ads on webpages? In a heartbeat!

Sure, there will be naysayers, all revolutions have them. Commercialism of the web is a totally bad road to traverse. Capitalism is wrong. But it's a moot argument, the web is already monetized up to the yin-yang. Users should get something back for a change. It might be totally in Google's self-interest to give people a free Internet but there's no denying that such a gesture would also be a way of sharing all that ad revenue.
Tip! Accept debit and credit cards without the extra hassle. Google checkout allows your customers to use their credit card or debit card with the MasterCard, Visa, Discover, or American Express insignia to purchase your items.

A free Internet that spans the Globe and beyond -- available to everyone. Such a system is probably a natural evolution. The Internet is already turning into a billion channel universe broadcasting its contents into the stratosphere. Why not give all this content some wings.

Why not make this broadcasting system free and ad supported. There's a subtle democratic gesture in what Google is offering. Will people accept this offer or try to hold back evolution. Will they enable Google "to be a good corporate citizen and play a pioneering role in a public-private partnership to bridge the digital divide."
Tip! Doing searches on Google show up a lot of anomalies. Many top ranking pages have PR 0.

Of course, this is just the start, if Google's Proposal flies, a free Internet will only be a click away.

Today, Mountain View. Tomorrow, the Universe.

Bring it on! I want my Free Internet!

Still looking for that unique corporate gift for the boss or employee -- Click Here: Corporate Business Gifts Get a Free Desktop Calendar & Planner compliments of Titus Hoskins and DATEwise.
Tip! Don't 'beg for clicks' or provide any incentive for clicking on your Google AdSense ads.

Copyright © 2005. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

Put the World on Your PC With Google Earth

Google has a fantastic, new, free program for those of you with a broadband connection. It's called Google Earth. And it's just flat amazing.

First, how you get Google Earth

Getting Google Earth is simple. Just go to google,com, and click on More When the next screen opens, scroll down until your see Earth in the Tools category. When you click on Earth,,, a window titled Google Earth -Explore, Search and Discover will open Scroll down to and click on Get Google Earth (Free Version). Click on Download Google Earth and follow the directions to install the program on your computer.

What you will see

When Google Earth opens, you will see Earth as seen from space, a search box and two panels labeled "Places" and "Layers." You can ignore these for now and just type in an address in the search box. You need to include, the street address, city and state, with these three elements separated by commas. For example, 1108 Walnut St, Omaha, NE.
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After you type in the address - and your house might be a good place to start - Google Earth will rapidly zoom in on the address just as if you were zooming in from outer space. It will stop about 1,000 feet above the address you searched on. You can zoom in even further using the + and - buttons at the bottom of the program, but the picture may eventually become blurry, depending on what resolution your display is set to. (Note: Be sure to check your display's settings to make sure they match Google's recommendations.)

What happens next

After you've zoomed in on your house (or whatever address you typed in the search box), you can pick another address or a place such as the Grand Canyon. Google will do "fly over" to the new address or location just as if you were flying over the globe in a very fast jet plane.
Tip! You may not be able to use the Google sitemap generator. In this case you may be able to use a third party tool to create a sitemap.

Once you get the hang of it, you can go to and zoom in on locations all over the U.S. Or the world for that matter. You can even save addresses or places to make it easy to get back to them in the future.

Google Earth is just a kick. Go ahead and try it. I'm sure you'll find it's literally hours of fun.

Something else that's new and free is HD Radio that enables AM and FM radio stations to broadcast their programs digitally. These digital broadcasts provide listeners with radically improved audio quality, more radio channels through multicasting, and new data services. To learn allabout this amazing new technology, just go my Web site, http://www.hd-radio-home.com, to get all the buzz.

Douglas Hanna is a retired marketing executive and the author of numerous articles on HD radio, the Internet and family finances.

10-Point Checklist for High Visibility in Google

Google is the pre-eminent search engine (SE) with no close competitor. Given that inclusion is free, your Web pages must be in it. We'll show you how to top the Google SERPs, that is, be found at the top of the search engine results pages. These techniques are known as search engine optimization (SEO) and require a small investment of your time.

I took two of my sites to the top of the SERPs in three months, so it can be done. My pages have few competitors: my challenge was mainly to get past false positives such as resumes, job vacancies, articles, and so on. If you are competing with "real" sites that are selling competitive products such as the ones you read about in your spam e-mails, you can get there within a year with some persistence.
ADSENSE PLACEHOLDER 336x280

Goal

Casual Google users use default settings, so your site must get into the top 20 results. Unfortunately, you cannot assume that visitors will use the most appropriate search terms. Real people are unpredictable.

Google SERP

You must understand that SERP positioning is dynamic - what you see depends on no single factor. It depends on the viewer's location, the type of search used (basic, advanced, regional, filtered, and so on), the content of the page, their keyword density, the page rank (PR), the search term (words or phrase), and so on. Therefore, you need to plan your site carefully.

Ten-Point Checklist

1. Domain Name and Server

Get a .ca domain if your audience is likely to look for Canadian sites. Use a global, top-level domain (gTLD) such as .com if your business is not local. A unique, topical name such as "dentist-atlanta.com" should rank higher in the SERPs than "dentist.com" or "smithclinic.com" (if the search term is likely to be "dentist in atlanta" or similar).
Tip! Not Using Correct Title or Alt tags - Again google is looking for quality and descriptive content that is relevant to your page. Let me repeat an important part of that statement.

It is nice but not essential if the web host gives your site a unique IP address, but it is highly advisable to host your site on your own dedicated server. Shared web hosting means that a server could host thousands of web sites, and Google's spiders would be slowed down.

If you already have a Web site, you can find out its IP address using cmd.exe or an MS-DOS prompt, e.g. "ping www.cnn.com" and call up the displayed IP address in the browser. Example: http://64.236.24.12 brings up cnn.com. If you don't see the expected web page, it has a shared IP address.

2. Page Title

An ill-planned page title is the Achilles Heel of a Web page. This is the text that appears at the very top of the browser window.

The Title tag text should be brief and readable, avoiding superfluous words and punctuation marks. Begin with the most valuable keywords, e.g. "Root canal specialist dentist clinic, Mayfair, London", not something like "***** Fred Smith, BDS - 5 Stars Dental Clinic *****", or worse, "Welcome to my home page", or "Untitled".

3. Style Sheet

Placing style definitions in a .css (Cascading Style Sheet) file moves the body text close to the top of the document and shrinks the page size. Many Javascript effects can be replaced by CSS. Fast-loading pages are good for both humans and search engine crawlers.

4. Meta Tags

Google ignores the Keywords meta tag for ranking but other SEs use it. An extract from the Description meta tag sometimes appears in the SERP; sometimes you see a snippet from the body text. Moderation and relevance should be your benchmark for placing keywords in these tags.
Tip! Duplicate Content This is when multiple Web pages have the same content. Usually Google will just give a penalty to the Web page for this, where the page won't rank very high for the keywords in that Web page, but there have been cases where complete Web sites were banned because they had to much duplicate content.

5. Content

* Quality content is rewarded by top placement in the search results. For example, if you sell new cars, used cars, and car service, you would have three branches, each containing pages relevant to that theme.

* Links to popular causes, memorial ribbons, HTML validation, page counters, etc. could distract visitors to other sites.

* Optimise images and keep the page size low.

* Place key phrases towards the top of pages and in heading tags such as H1. Don't get hung up on a single keyword for the whole site. Pick different ones for different pages so that you have more ways to be found. Optimise for the search terms used by your paying customers, if you can identify them, not casual visitors.

Tip! Backlinks at Google don't tally with known backlinks. This has been reported a lot in various publications recently.

* Consider (this depends on the size and nature of your business) placing noncommercial pages such as staff pages, personal hobbies, genealogy and so on at a secondary level but not linked from the entry page. Some of my ranking success comes from hosting my hobby pages below my commercial site, because I cannot justify buying a domain for each of my interests. I legitimately link them to my resume, which has a link to my business site. This enables free placement of the secondary pages in otherwise for-fee directories.

6. Links and Folders

* Link a site map from the home page so that crawlers can find the rest of your pages.

* Link each page to the home page and to others in its logical group (but not to every other page in the site). The anchor text should use key phrases and words.

* Use keywords for folders, image names and Alt text but don't overdo it. e.g. /hamilton/lawyer/divorce.htm, alt="Perth plumber" The deeper your directory structure, the less likely it will be spidered regularly.

Tip! Generate sales leads - use Google AdWords to generate leads by offering something for free to obtain their email address. Following this, create an autoresponder series to build a relationship with the person.

7. Neighbourhood Watch

Get quality incoming links from sites that share your theme. Without referrals, it's near impossible to be visited by Googlebot. Try to get such links from sites with PR3 (Page Rank - see below) or better, not from link farms that are clearly built to boost PR. Make it easy for other sites to use keyword-loaded phrases in their links, say, by offering a cut-and-paste slice of HTML anchor code. Here is an example you can use to link to this page:
Tip! Submit it to Google at http://www.google.

Links from lower-ranking peers will not penalise you; they simply won't appear in Google's list of backward links to your page. You cannot control who links to you, but you have control over who you link to.

Add a judicious number of outbound links to topical peers of the same or better calibre. Google likes links to authoritative sites, but don't overdo the external links. Although such sites might not overtly link to your site, their site statistics file might get crawled and constitute a link back to you.
Tip! Overall, Google Analytics provides you a very cheap service on gaining more customers, if you utilize its results.

8. Cloaking

Cloaking hides content from humans and SEs, which is generally a bad practice. Good reasons to cloak include hiding parts of your optimised pages from amateur competitors or to show different pages to different visitors based on their browsers.

Subscriber-only sites also manage to get into SEs. They use a cloaking practice known as "agent name delivery", which is a slab of code that checks whether the visitor is a crawler or a human. Crawlers get to see the whole site, but others are directed to a sign-up form.
Tip! Sudden drop of the google PageRank of all pages of the website from any level to 0.

9. Avoidable Practices

The following practices could get your site banned from Google at worst or lower its ranking at best:

* Gimmicks. Pointless Javascript effects such as cursor trails and transitions do nothing for your viewers but place a lot of code above your body text. You want your content close to the top of the page.

* Bad HTML code. Novice hand-coders might copy some HTML tags without understanding their meaning. One webmaster used the robot directive and wondered why his site was not fully in Google in spite of Googlebot visits and good incoming links. He was asking to be indexed, but for his links not to be followed.

* Multiple sites with duplicated content, e.g. www.example.net and www.example.com hosted on the same server or different ones, as this is considered spamming. Use a permanent redirect on all secondary sites to point to the main domain.

* Multiple copies of the same page. This is typically an entry or "doorway" page optmised for different keywords to lure different people, e.g. crackz.htm, serials.htm, passwords.htm, and so on.

* Hidden content. This can be repetitive text on the same colour background or a layer with coordinates that are off the visible page. It begs the question why the author does not put this effort into creating visible text.

* Flash-Only pages. A solution is a user agent entry check that displays Flash to enabled browsers, but plain HTML to crawlers and other human visitors.

Tip! Click Fraud: Click Fraud occurs when some web-publisher fraudulently clicks on advertisements displayed on his or her own web-site, or automates this clicking process through a software program. Because of the increasing prevalence of this type of fraud, Google has become stricter - and has inadvertently kicked some legitimate web-publishers out of this program.

* Frames. Googlebot will crawl links in the Noframes text, but not ones in the framed pages. Other SEs might not crawl frames, so it is better to use tables and more so to use CSS. If you must use frames, ensure that you use the correct Doctype declaration for frames. I have noticed that Googlebot can now crawl links in frames but sometimes it cannot.

* Submission software or service. They could submit your site to thousands of unknown SEs. You will get a lot of spam, abuse, and possible inclusion in link farms that will ruin your reputation in Google's eyes. After all, can you name more than five major SEs?

Tip! If you’re looking for the most precise answer, perhaps you should stick with Google (at least for now).

* Session IDs. Sites that require session IDs from crawlers will get poor visibility because the previous session will have expired by the time Googlebot returns.

* Over-optimisation. [Update 11/2003] Many sites that followed a strict "SEO formula" found that they could not be found at the top of the SERPs, or in the index at all. There is speculation that such tactics cause the sites to be filtered out of the search results.

10. Patience

Having optimized and submitted your pages to Google, get on with growing your business, because Google takes time to rank you. Work on getting quality, inbound links from high-ranking sites that feature the same subject matter. Increase your content and keep it fresh. Get free or paid listings in Google Adwords, Overture, Yahoo, Open Directory Project (www.dmoz.org), and reputable engines such as MSN, Yahoo!, and Ask Jeeves.
Tip! You may not be able to use the Google sitemap generator. In this case you may be able to use a third party tool to create a sitemap.

Ash Nallawalla is an experienced Internet marketer. Much of his work involves search engine marketing, which includes pay-per-click advertising and search engine optimization. More information is at http://www.sem911.com/