A Replacement for iGoogle

Submitted by schwarz on September 13, 2013 - 4:17pm

If you use the iGoogle customizable start page to monitor RSS feeds and view gadgets, you already know that Google will "retire" it on November 1, 2013.

Now that you're looking for another free service to take its place (especially one that isn't an overcrowded page full of advertising), igHome is about as close to iGoogle as I've found.

igHome...

is free
makes it easy to import all your iGoogle RSS feeds, gadgets, and tabs
has links to Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, and other apps just like iGoogle
has a ton of free gadgets you can add to your start page.

Here are the steps to make the switch to igHome:

Sharpen Your Google Skills: Free Advanced Power Searching Course

Submitted by schwarz on January 14, 2013 - 5:50pm

Sharpen your research skills and strengthen your use of Google search techniques — register now for Google's free 2-week Advanced Power Searching course.

It begins January 23rd, and lasts 2 weeks; it's a follow-up to their original Power Searching With Google course.

The syllabus for the two-week course includes two assignments and these twelve challenges:

How to NOT Search for a Word

Submitted by schwarz on December 15, 2011 - 3:15pm

Sometimes a simple search in Google brings up too many results that aren't relevant to what you want. For example, if you're searching for info on the wild cat breed of jaguars, you don't want to wade through search results about Jaguar automobiles too.

Here's the trick for how to NOT search for a word:

New Design Spotlights Google's Search Refinements

Submitted by schwarz on May 17, 2010 - 2:23pm

Google has added a new navigation panel to the left-hand side of most results pages. Many of the options have been available for while (I blogged about it in The Ides of October 2009 "Filter & Refine Results Using Google's Search Options Side Panel"), but was originally very subtle, and many people didn't notice or use them. Now Google has re-designed the navigation panel with icons & bright colors to bring attention to the ability to refine search results by types of content.

Filter & Refine Results Using Google's Search Options Side Panel

Submitted by schwarz on October 16, 2009 - 2:19pm

There's an easy way to refine your Google searches, but it's subtle to see you have the option...

Just click the + next to "Show options" to see the available filters and views you can apply to your search results. Click "Hide options" to remove the options panel from view.

Next Generation of Google Search: Take Caffeine For a Test Drive

Submitted by schwarz on August 14, 2009 - 7:57pm

coffee cup Google is asking people to try out its new search infrastructure code-named "Caffeine". Most everybody won't notice a major difference in search results, but just the act of testing Caffeine will help Google engineers speed up and improve search algorithms.

Here's where to find Caffeine: http://www2.sandbox.google.com/

The Ides

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