Anti Virus Spyware

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

Tuesday, 19 February 2013

Find hidden gems in Google search results

Posted on 02:29 by Unknown
Google is visited by millions of people every day, searching for this and that. It is a brilliant tool that can find all manner of information on the web, but this is only true if what you are looking for is on the first couple of results pages. The vast majority of people never venture past the first few pages of results.

Do a search and look at the number of results just below the search box near the top of the page. A search for 'daffodil' for example, produced 16,900,000 results. But how many people will look beyond page 5? We tend to look at the first page, click to go to the next one if what we want isn't there, click again, but then we tire of clicking the next page link and people don't go beyond page 3, 4 or 5. There may be hidden gems on pages 30, 40 or 50, but they are so far down the results you will never see them.

Of course, you can click the page links at the bottom of the page and 1 to 10 are listed. Click 10 and you can see links to pages 11 to 14, click 14 and 15 to 18 are shown. It is so tedious to get to page 50 that most people give up after a few clicks.

So how do you get to page 50 or more, and is there anything worth seeing there? On many occasions going beyond the first few pages will return results that are interesting and useful. Websites and companies know that most people don't go past the first page or two of results and they use tricks and techniques to get to the top of Google search results. With enough money you can get on page one of Google, which means that some websites, which may contain exactly the information you are looking for, get pushed down the search results and end up so far down most people never find them.

Here is how to go beyond those initial first few pages and find hidden gems in the Google search results. Enter your search term and search for it. Go to the bottom of the page and mouse over one of the page links, such as page 4. Notice that in the URL is 'start=40' and this means that when you click the page 5 you will see search results 40 to 49. (Page 1 is results 0-9, page 2 is 10-19, page 3 is 20-29 and so on.)


Right click a page, such as page 5, and select Copy Link Address.


 Click in the browser's address box at the top of the page and paste it in. Click in it and edit 'start=40' and change it to whatever you want, such as 200, 300, 400 and so on. Press Return and the search results start at whatever number you enter. You will see results from way down and setting 'start=500' for example, shows page 51. Who knows what you may find way down there in the search results. It could be just what you are looking for.

More Google tricks...
  • Use Google Image Search in Chrome
  • Access secret settings in Chrome
  • Top tips for Google searching
  • Google Chrome app privacy issues
  • 7 tips for Google Mail's priority inbox

Read More
Posted in Google | No comments

Thursday, 14 February 2013

Google Nexus 7 shuts down

Posted on 10:21 by Unknown
I had a scary moment with my Google Nexus 7 tablet. The battery had been running low for some time and I kept meaning to plug in the charger, but never got around to it. Eventually I picked it up and accidentally hit the power button, switching on the screen. The battery indicator was red and I didn't catch the percentage because the device immediately shut down.

That was expected of course and so I plugged in the charger. That is where the problems started. After a few seconds on the charger the Nexus 7 started up. It showed the startup logo, but when it got to the normal screen a message said it was powering off and the screen started to flicker like crazy. A few seconds later it switched off. After a minute it powered up again, then shut down. This repeated.

A Google search revealed a few other people with this problem. I think the problem may be that there isn't sufficient power to charge the battery and run the device at the same time. It powers up and shows the screen, realises there's no juice in the battery and powers down. This cycle then repeats.

My solution, after a bit of trial and error, was to switch off the screen as soon as it appeared - the normal desktop screen, not the startup logos. I presume that with the screen off the device is using much less power, in fact it will be in power-saving mode, and this means that there is then sufficient power to charge the battery. A quick tap of the power button to switch the screen off at the right moment let the device charge and prevented it from shutting down. Ten minutes later I was able to switch on the screen. It's best to leave the Nexus 7 alone with the screen off when it is charging though.

You'll find other advice on the web, like 'Plug it in and immediately hold down the power and volume down until the boot loader appears. Press the volume down button to select the option to power off the device. Disconnect the charger when it is off and reconnect it. It should then start charging.' Try it if my technique doesn't work.
Read More
Posted in Android | No comments

Friday, 8 February 2013

Don’t Get Scroogled by Gmail

Posted on 10:49 by Unknown
'Don’t Get Scroogled by Gmail' is the title of a new campaign by Microsoft to try and persuade people that Google Mail is evil and that they should switch to Microsoft's Outlook.com. Microsoft has built a website that explains how "Google goes through every Gmail that’s sent or received, looking for keywords so they can target Gmail users with paid ads. And there’s no way to opt out of this invasion of your privacy."


The way that Microsoft describes it, I think some people will assume that Google employees are sitting at desks reading your emails. This is nonsense of course. Literally billions of emails are sent every day and even if Google employed a million people it still wouldn't be enough to read everyone's email messages.

No person reads your emails.



When you read your email you are simply looking at a web page in your web browser. Web pages have adverts and the question is, what adverts should be placed on the page? Thousands of companies advertise products and services through Google, so what Google's email software does is to try to match the content of the email with the content of an advert. If the email contains the words 'photography' and 'camera' then Google's email software will place an advert that also contains the keywords 'photography' and 'camera'. It simply matches keywords in the message with keywords in adverts.

It's computerised, it's dumb, and it's not always right. But is the alternative really better? With Google you get an advert that you just might vaguely be interested in. If you are chatting about digital cameras in an email with a mate, you might see top digital camera deals. Looking at my Yahoo! Mail right now I'm reading an email about Android tablets and the advert next to it is aimed at people retiring with a portfolio of a quarter of a million pounds sterling. Firstly, I'm not retiring. Secondly, I don't have a quarter of a million portfolio. That advert is of no interest to me. Now if it had links to Android tablets I might be tempted to click them.

Personally, I'm not bothered if Google Mail displays adverts based on the content of messages. It's just a dumb computer program that doesn't understand what I'm actually saying and not a real person. What's more, the adverts might actually be useful.

Is this an invasion of privacy as Microsoft claims? What is an invasion of privacy? I think that it would be an invasion of privacy if information contained within emails was passed on to a third party. As far as I am aware, this does not happen. Google stores my emails and no-one else can read them. I don't think a bit of code on the web page that fetches a camera advert if a message contains the word 'camera' is an invasion of privacy. This campaign by Microsoft tells you little of the benefits of Outlook.com or why you might want to use it.

PS. I've had both Outlook (previously Hotmail) and Google Mail accounts for years.


Read More
Posted in Google, Microsoft | No comments

Wednesday, 6 February 2013

Apple wows with innovative new MacBook Air design

Posted on 01:54 by Unknown
Apple has pulled off another blinder and has a new innovative design for its MacBook Air that will blow your mind. This new ultra light laptop will be fast, powerful, and will run the latest version of OS X, yet in a stunning display of brilliance it has endowed it with unique features that leave every other laptop maker grovelling in the dust.

The amazing new MacBook Air has a detachable screen and with touch built in, you can carry it around and use it like a tablet if you don't need the keyboard. Just tear it off and take it with you, it's great for presentations to clients, for lightweight travelling, and relaxing watching movies in bed. Yet with the keyboard attached it is a fully fledged laptop that runs desktop software. Once again Apple leads the way with a brand new and innovative design.

Oh, wait, Microsoft has already done that. It's called the Surface Pro,

I can vividly imagine Apple launching a MacBook air with a detachable touch screen to wild applause from a large an excited audience and then people queueing up outside Apple stores to buy this wonderful new gadget. But will anyone notice when the Microsoft Surface Pro goes on sale? (Any day now.)

Comparing the Surface Pro to an iPad is just plain wrong and it is hard to get excited about a tablet that is thicker, heavier, costs more, has less memory (free memory), and is awkward to hold.

Compare the Surface Pro specs with the MacBook Air and it's a whole new ball game. Microsoft's new device looks innovative and competitive. Both are around the same size and weight, both run the latest desktop operating system, both have Intel Core i5 processors with Intel HD Graphics 4000, both have 64GB or 128GB solid state disks, both have 4GB RAM and so on. The specs are uncannily similar. The Surface Pro is clearly a MacBook Air competitor and it has a serious advantage - you can tear off the screen and use it like a tablet too, complete with touch, apps, an app store, and much more.



I really hope Microsoft promotes the Surface Pro as an ultra light laptop similar to the MacBook Air and not a tablet. In many ways it is more innovative and has features Apple has yet to add to its laptop, and it's cheaper. What's not to like about that?

Unfortunately, I suspect that the Surface Pro will be compared to the iPad and scanning the news I spotted many stories with this theme. Microsoft has an uphill struggle to sell the device and making it look like an iPad competitor won't get many sales. It's not a tablet, it's a laptop! I'm not sure Microsoft gets this and I suspect it will try to market the device as an iPad alternative. I don't want a thicker, heavier, more expensive tablet thank you very much. I may be in the market for an ultra light laptop though.

Read More
Posted in Apple, iPad, Microsoft, Surface | No comments
Newer Posts Older Posts Home
View mobile version
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • Symantec opt-out trialware is a bad idea
    Norton AntiVirus 2011 is now available and it looks interesting. For example, it now scans your Facebook page for bad links to dodgy websit...
  • Which is more secure, Windows PCs or Apple Macs?
    This is a debate that has been going on for years and will no doubt continue for several more. The reason I bring it up is an article that w...
  • Why Amazon's tablet will succeed
    Tablet makers are having a rough time competing with Apple's hugely successful iPad and some are suffering from poor sales, some are suf...
  • Internet Explorer is past its use-by date
    Are you still using Internet Explorer to browse the web? If you are, you are in the majority, but Microsoft's market share is steadily s...
  • How much memory does a tablet need?
    Microsoft's new Surface tablet comes with a minimum of 32Gb of memory storage and this is double what is supplied with the iPad at the s...
  • Apple iTablet - where will you use it?
    The rumours around Apple's tablet computer/hand-held device still persist and it seems like there is a news item somewhere on the web al...
  • Select your web browser - too much choice?
    Microsoft has been forced to display a web browser choice screen in Windows in the EU. You can see the screen here and there are 12 browser...
  • iPhone nano coming soon
    Every year there are rumours that Apple is working on an iPhone nano. This will be smaller, lighter and cheaper than the ordinary iPhone and...
  • Take your time and avoid problems
    Computers are multitasking devices that can do several things at once. For example, you can download files, play music and edit a document a...
  • Should you upgrade?
    With Christmas and the New Year rapidly approaching, it is the season for spending and thoughts of treating yourself may have crossed your m...

Categories

  • Android
  • app
  • Apple
  • cloud computing
  • eBook
  • Facebook
  • Galaxy
  • gaming
  • Google
  • iCloud
  • internet
  • iOS
  • iPad
  • iPhone
  • iPod
  • iPod Touch
  • iTunes
  • Kindle
  • Leopard
  • Linux
  • Lion
  • Live Mesh
  • Mac
  • MacBook
  • malware
  • Mavericks
  • Microsoft
  • Mountain Lion
  • online storage
  • OS X
  • PayPal
  • PC
  • phone
  • Ping
  • programming
  • Samsung
  • security
  • SkyDrive
  • Snow Leopard
  • software
  • Surface
  • tablet
  • utility
  • Vista
  • Windows
  • Windows 7
  • Windows 8
  • XP

Blog Archive

  • ▼  2013 (66)
    • ►  November (2)
    • ►  October (3)
    • ►  September (10)
    • ►  August (6)
    • ►  July (8)
    • ►  June (8)
    • ►  May (6)
    • ►  April (8)
    • ►  March (6)
    • ▼  February (4)
      • Find hidden gems in Google search results
      • Google Nexus 7 shuts down
      • Don’t Get Scroogled by Gmail
      • Apple wows with innovative new MacBook Air design
    • ►  January (5)
  • ►  2012 (95)
    • ►  December (3)
    • ►  November (4)
    • ►  October (12)
    • ►  September (8)
    • ►  August (9)
    • ►  July (6)
    • ►  June (10)
    • ►  May (6)
    • ►  April (7)
    • ►  March (11)
    • ►  February (11)
    • ►  January (8)
  • ►  2011 (49)
    • ►  December (5)
    • ►  November (8)
    • ►  October (6)
    • ►  September (4)
    • ►  August (3)
    • ►  July (4)
    • ►  June (2)
    • ►  May (2)
    • ►  April (3)
    • ►  March (6)
    • ►  February (2)
    • ►  January (4)
  • ►  2010 (51)
    • ►  December (3)
    • ►  November (3)
    • ►  October (4)
    • ►  September (6)
    • ►  August (5)
    • ►  July (3)
    • ►  June (7)
    • ►  May (3)
    • ►  April (3)
    • ►  March (6)
    • ►  February (4)
    • ►  January (4)
  • ►  2009 (28)
    • ►  November (3)
    • ►  October (4)
    • ►  September (3)
    • ►  August (4)
    • ►  July (5)
    • ►  June (2)
    • ►  May (3)
    • ►  March (1)
    • ►  February (2)
    • ►  January (1)
  • ►  2008 (15)
    • ►  December (2)
    • ►  November (4)
    • ►  October (4)
    • ►  August (4)
    • ►  July (1)
Powered by Blogger.

About Me

Unknown
View my complete profile