t e c h i e - t a l k s ::: technology at its best

Google has become the most used internet search engine of today. It has, to a certain extent, revolutionized the way we search the web. Gone were the days where searching Toys will churn out search results like ¨adult toys¨, vibrators, sex dolls, etc. (you get the point). However, with this tool, you can do more then just search. Let me introduce you to Google hacking.

Hacking is not a derogatory term used to describe people who break into computer systems for malicious purposes. In its original term, hacking is good. It is about finding solutions to computer related problems, be it software or hardware.

Google hacking is about how to get the best out of this search engine. It is something that not many people know but a nifty tool that you may like to explore deeper into. Google is more than a search engine. As you can see later, it is a calculator, currency converter, address locator, image search engine and many more. Lets get to our first hack:

#1: Google as a calculator

You can use the Google search bar as a calculator.
Signs             Meanings

+                    add
-                     subtract
*                     multiply
/                     divide
^                     power (i.e 2^2 = 4)
%                    modulo (to get the remainder of a division)
choose X choose Y determines the number of ways of choosing Y from X
%                    calculates the percentage of X from Y (20 % of 100)
sqrt                square root
sin,cos,tan     trigonometry functions (numbers are in radians)
(to use degrees — tan (45 degrees = 1)
ln                    log base e
log                  log base 10
!                      factorial
pi                    mathematical pi
c                      speed of light
h                     plank constant
e                     power of 10 (5e1+5e1=100)
G                    gravitational constant

You can also calculate in binary (prefix with 0b), hexadecimal (prefix with 0x) and octal (prefix with 0o). For example, 0xA+0×2 = 0xC (hex calculation).

#2 Converter

You can also use Google to convert currencies, miles to kilometers, kilograms to pounds, etc.

Currency converter: use standard known currency short forms. For example, USD = US dollars, pounds = British pounds, SGD = Singapore dollars, Baht = Thai Baht, Rupiah = Indo. Rupiah, HKD = Hong Kong Dollars, ringgit = Malaysian Ringgit, Yen = Japanese Yen, RMB = Chinese Yuan, etc.

All you need to do is type: 100SGD in USD (this will convert 100SGD to US dollars)

Other than currency converter, Google allows you to convert from one metric to another (e.g Kilos to pounds).

Type: 100 kilos in pounds (to convert kilos to pounds).

#3 Word definitions

Google search box allows you to find the definition of a word (from different web sources) just by entering in a default definition template. To find the the definition of a word you are looking for, type:

define:<word/phrase here> (e.g. define:utilitarian)

#4 Google books

Google books is the closest you can get to a full book bought online. The Google books project seeks to get as much contents online, as much as it is permitted by copyright laws. There are books that aren’t copyrighted. Thus, these books are fully available at Google books.

You can go to http://books.google.com to search for your wanted books. If you have a Google account, there are some books that can be read more than the stipulated copyrighted amount. These books, which in itself in a pdf format, can usually be downloaded for offline reading.

#5 Google Docs

What if one day, you happen to be on a computer which does not have Microsoft Office or Openoffice and somehow you need to use a word processor urgently? You can always use the simple text editors on Windows like the text editor. But what if you need to do a spreadsheet or a powerpoint presentation? Screwed? Maybe not.

If you have an internet access and a Google account, you are safe! Google docs (http://docs.google.com) allows you to make powerpoint presentations, spreadsheet documents and word documents online. It’ll be great if you are constantly moving around and in need of such softwares that are maybe unavailable to you.

After creating the documents, you can save them online and download them later. The best thing is that you will not need to worry that your document will be lost as your files are saved in Google’s servers.

These are the hidden Google tools that most people aren’t aware of. It could be useful for you one day. Google to this date has more than the above listed tools available for public use (at most, you’ll need a Google account). You can see more at http://labs.google.com