Improving your Googling

Googling is an essential skill. ("Googling" is the words the cool kids use to mean searching for something with Google. Don't worry if you didn't know - you do now).

First of all we need to understand that Internet search engines are software programs and as such are brilliant idiots.

They cannot "understand" meaning or intention - you have to talk to them the way you would to a dimwitted child.

The second thing we need to understand is that there are many, many, many millions of web pages on the internet. Any search you run using a single (English) word will probably yield tens of thousands of pages - and most of them will useless.

Here are the top techniques on how to find stuff faster and easier with Google:

Be verbose
The longer your search query, the better results you will get. Instead of searching for "cheese", search for "mature cheddar cheese".

Where you are looking for a specific name (consisting of two words) enclose them in quotes, so: "Cape Town" - this will eliminate all other towns close to a cape.

Loose the noise words: "a", "the", "he", "it", etc - they just dilute your query.

Be geographically specific
No sense in looking at garden service companies on the other side of the world, or booking a guest house in a town you are not visiting.

Consider if the service or product you are looking for is geographically specific and include that in your search. For instance, "self catering cape town" will yield better results than "self catering"

Also use google.co.za instead of google.com when searching for more relevant South African information.

Don't worry about capitals and punctuation
Most search engines ignore capitals and punctuation.

Exclude noise words or include alternatives
Let's say you want to find out about studies or discussions about nuclear reactors in cape town.

If you search for "nuclear reactor cape town", most of the hits will be about Koeberg.

If you are looking to information NOT related to Koeberg, you can exclude it like this "nuclear reactor cape town -koeberg": in other words add "-" and the noise word you want to exclude.

You can also include an alternate term, like so: nuclear reactor cape OR "pebble bed" will tell Google to include all pages with either of the two search terms. (Note "OR" must be in capitals else it will be ignored)

We can further refine the search by adding additional alternates like this: nuclear reactor cape OR "pebble bed" (study or review) to tell the engine we are interested in either studies or reviews.

Use wildcards to complete phrases
If you are searching for a phrase, but you can't remember exactly how it goes, you can use wildcards to get Google to complete it for you. For instance: "And suddenly the penny ????" What? Fell? Melted? Levitated?

Ask Google, so: "and suddenly the penny *" Note the quotes and the wildcard character "*".

Another example, google: Better the devil you know: try searching for: "better the devil you * than *"

Improved search any web site
On many big web sites it can be very difficult to find what you are looking for - because they either do not have a search function, or it sucks.

Easy solution: use Google to search the site.

For instance, lets say you want to search the Microsoft site for outlook errors - just slap this into Google: "outlook error" site:microsoft.com.

Only pages from the Microsoft site will be returned.

Use expert engines
If you are looking for news stories, don't use the general Google engine, use the one dedicated to news: news.google.com. If you are looking for pictures, use the picture search engine: images.google.com.

Use more than one page
Before you commit to the results returned, scan the first and second page of google results. Note sites or content that you do not want, or alternatives you do want.

Improve and repeat your search so that the entire first and second page returns relevant, quality results.

Now you can start looking at the sites...but...open each link in a new window or tab so that your original Google search stays open. That way you can keep on refining your search as you home in on that little nugget of information-gold. (Right click on the link and select "open in new tab"

Synonym search
A problem one often faces when searching for technical information is that you may not know all the terminology / jargon. For instance if I search for nuclear ~reaction, I will get hits on "nuclear fission" too.

When in doubt and you need a little help, click the "Advanced search" link in Google for a page to help you build complex queries. (It won't help you find the floating GPS though)

Happy mining!

Do you have what it takes?

I downloaded an ebook by Dereck Gehl (of the IMC) where he talks about what it takes to build a successful long term internet business.

The ebook is a pre-cursor to the (excellent) internet marketing course they sell. Very good stuff, but I'll let him speak for himself:

Quote from the ebook's introduction:

"Before you waste another minute or spend another dime on Internet business training, let's figure out if you've really got the emotional intelligence, stamina, and drive it takes to create lasting success and wealth on the Web."

He does not pull any punches and offers this advice if you are waiting (for some event) to luck into success : "Maybe you can go watch a little TV instead" :-))

You can subscribe here to get your copy.

How computers remember things

A binary computer records, calculates and manipulates by using little switches - microscopic transistors - almost like a child would use it's fingers to remember numbers or do sums.

These transistors are so small you could fit a few million in a square centimeter - they are the computer in the computer:

Each one of the little darling things have 3 legs, called the collector, the emitter and base. In essence a transistor is an electronic switch: apply current to one of the legs and it "opens a switch" between the other two two legs - allowing current to flow.

Dandy!

Remove the current to the collector leg and the switch closes.

Cool!

Transistors are used to store all the 1's and 0's that make up all data and all instructions in a computer. These little tykes are FAST. Very, very fast. Measure the time it would take to open or close the switch and you are talking a few NANO (millionth) seconds.

A typical computer you'd buy today would have at least 1 Gb of these little machines. One Giga byte is 1024 megabytes, which is one 1024 kilobytes which is 1024 bytes which is 8 bits. Total number of transistors = 8 589 934 592. Yup, 8.5 BILLION.

The transistors are mounted in chips called "RAM" - Random Access Memory. (If you want to know why it's called RAM let me know with a comment in the blog). Now, let's put them to use:

Let's imagine that a computer nerd you know is writing a newsletter. (We all know one, right?). He would sit there furiously banging the keyboard for hours on end, spewing brilliant insight and stupendous wit. Assisting him in this noble task is a keyboard and a computer. When he presses a key, his keyboard and his computer discuss things and store that letter in the computer's memory.

"Storing" the letter means the computer will switch on (or off) a few transistors in its RAM to "remember" the key pressed. (To be precise, 8 transistors is switched on or off for every letter)

He types hundreds of words. Then he re-types hundreds of other words, fixes spelling errors and ignores grammar rules.

Before lunch his masterpiece is done.

Just about then Escom feels the urge to shed some load, and promptly cuts the power to our nerd's computer. Poof! No more power.

Expletives are used.

What happed to the RAM in the computer?

It's memory...became...blank.

The newsletter (all the key presses) are stored in memory right? Memory consists of transistors, right? A transistor needs power in order to maintain an "on" state, right?

Oh fudge.

No power = blank memory.

"Wait a second", I hear you think in your head, "didn't he say computers never forget?".

Indeed I did. Here is the second part of the story - long term storage or "hard disks".

RAM ("memory") has tree big problems: a) it does not maintain state unless it has power and b) it is limited in terms of how many transistors you can put in a computer and c) it is expensive.

A hard disk works like this: It consists of several "platters" (a very thin circular plate) coated with a magnetic layer. At a microscopic distance above each plate a magnetic read/write "head" is mounted on a moving arm. The plates spin around a spindle (at about 3500 rpm) and the arm positions the head above the platters.

The job of the head is to magnetize and de-magnetize particles on the disk. Where a transistor (bit) is switched on, the head leaves a magnetic charge on the platter. Where the transistor is off, the head erases (removes) the charge.

When the power goes off....

Nothing. The magnetic charge will stay there for several years. Decades even.

Problem is solved: before you remove power to a computer, write the state of it's memory to it's hard disk for long term storage.

Even better: with a hard disk a computer can process more data than the size of it's memory - by "paging" data to and from the disk. In other words, it can read a 1 Gb "page" from the disk, process it, write the result to the hard disk an get the next page.

So why use RAM at all if disks are so cool?

The biggest issue is the access time on a hard disk: the time it takes to store and retrieve information is measured in milliseconds, or thousandths of a second. This makes hard disks several thousand times slower than RAM.

Given that we are using computers that can perform several billion operations per second, we need fast memory to keep the processor "fed" with data to process, so the operating system quietly and invisibly funnel data to and from disk / memory to keep things running as smoothly as possible. (This process is called "virtual memory" and uses the "paging" file on windows systems)

More memory in your computer means less disk read/writes which means faster overall performance.

The BIG downside of a hard disk (other than slow access)? In one word: Friction.

A hard disk consist of moving parts and will, as will all moving things on earth, one day STOP moving. It is a mechanical device that will break, as surely as each of us will someday too, stop moving.

This is why they invented backups and wills. ;-)

That's a backup for the disk drive and will for yourself of course.

Although, come to think about it, the absence of one could force to the creation of the other...

Computers never forget? Pfft. Sure they do. All the time.

Its a knock-out!

It was at a braai the other night when someone asked if we knew one could knock a person flat without touching him.

Everybody knew that of course: The suggestions ranged from shooting him, spiking his drink with witblits and telling his wife he's been cheating on her was quickly offered. (None of these methods requires touching the subject)

Quite predictably he called us a few names and then went on to tell the story about the martial arts expert who could knock someone flat with just the force of his mind. Like a Bruce Lee / Uri Geller cross-bread.

Apparently the martial artist would gather some "Chi" (life energy or something), concentrate the energy, roll it into a ball and then "throw" it at the victim...which would then knock him flat on his back.

At that stage of the evening, the guys were all more than a little "relaxed" and the idea did not sound strange at all to any of them. In fact, more than one demonstrated how they think a "chi-throw" would work...which lead of course to some minor arguments about irresponsible use of dangerous skills and how it was rude to threaten a buddy with a chi shot in the mouth.

Eventually, we heard the whole story: A couple of TV journalists made a documentary about this martial artist who ran a school where he thought (and demonstrated) that mind power is more potent than physical power or weapons.

Of course journalists are not trusting souls and they did not take him on his word, so they devised an experiment:

The master would take stand behind a non-transparent sheet. The journalists would pick a random victim from his students and place the sacrificial lamb on the other side of the sheet. Three video cameras would tape the action: one from left behind the master, with the sheet and the victim in view, the other from the right and the third from behind the victim.

Both journalists would be eye witnesses. The experiment started:

The master took a while to wind up his "stuff" and signaled that he was ready. The trembling student reluctantly took his place. The master took several deep breaths, moving his hands in and out from his chest.

Then, in a sudden movement he raised his head and shoved his hands out. On the other side of the sheet the student flew backwards.

Wow!

The journalists were flabbergasted. Neither of them saw any cheating. No signaling. No nothing. They reviewed the the tapes - in slow motion - several times.

There was no cheating.

Closer inspection showed that the student started falling backwards a fraction of a second before the master did his outward thrust.

Spooky.

They repeated the experiment with another student. Same result.

Either the master was a relative of Darth Vader or they were missing something. No way they were going to believe something they could not see and explain.

The only way to find out for sure, the journalists reasoned, would be if either of them were the target. That way they would KNOW that no cheating was involved and they could experience the phenomena first hand.

At first the master refused to repeat the experiment and it took days to convince him to do it once more for world-wide fame.

They used the same location, the same non-transparent sheet, the same camera placement.

Both journalists were visibly nervous. One of them took position behind the sheet.

The master did his wind-up thing: Several deep breaths. Rhythmic and elliptical movements of his hands almost as if he is slowly gathering air and bringing it into his chest.

Then there was a pause of a few seconds where he stood absolutely still.

In a sudden movement he shoved his hands outward and lifted his head.

Then: Nothing.

Squat.

No falling over whatsoever. Not even a gentle sway. No-thing.

The journalists were happy. The guy behind the sheet was positively ecstatic. The master was more than a little peeved.

So, begs the question: did the martial arts guys cheat?

Not in any detectable way. The best explanation the journalist could come up with is that there were some kind of telepathic signaling (and sympathy) going on. To put it simply: it really worked because both the master and the student absolutely believed that it would.

That believe translated directly into real things: actions. The belief defied rationality.

This begs another question:

While we stand behind this non-transparent future, and the economy / politics / government is waiting on the other side...do we believe that we are going to be knocked flat?

Blogs are changing the world

When I think about the word "blog" I think about Star Trek:

Remember the scenes in Star Trek where you hear Captain Kirk's voice in the background while the Enterprise zooms through space: "Captain's log, Star Date twenty nine fifty ten. The infernal Klingons suddenly appeared on the starboard bow..."?

Ok, it's not a Blog, it is a captain's log. Point is: all ships need one - even ships that don't sail in water. Or have no sails at all.

Like your own (proverbial) ships.

"Blogs" or "blogging" are one of the fastest growing phenomena on the internet. It is a concept that is changing the world.

The term "blog" refers to a "web log" - an online journal of sorts. Like Captain Kirk's ship log...but on the web.

A blog is a mini-web site where you post articles or ramblings in chronological order. People can comment on your posts. Or not. You post regularly to your blog. Or not.

It can be open to the general public or a select view of your followers, staff members or clients. It can be about a specific topic - or it can be about your view of the world. Your business plan for the next month or so. Your ideas on better customer support. Your best recipes. Your worst movies. Your plan to take over the world. Your thoughts on Zuma.

It is your letter to whoever you decide whenever you decide.

People subscribe to newsfeeds generated by blogs to build their own custom online "news papers". (We covered newsfeeds and newsreaders in detail in a previous newsletter, here...)

Before we look at the nuts and bolts of a blog (and how you can easily make your own) let's consider why blogs are so important and why it is not a fad that is going to go away:

It is said the pen is mightier than the sword. (Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1839 in the play "Richelieu")

It means that great ideas are more powerful than any physical weapon.

When we invented writing (and reading) we developed a way to capture our knowledge and ideas and pass them on to the next generation. In a printed book, an idea survive longer than it's author's lifetime.

In order to get a book published, you had to either have the money yourself or convince a publisher that he will be able to sell it. A kind of passive censorship was built in: your ability to publish your ideas depended on your wealth or the opinion of other people.

Then the internet came. Now anyone could publish a book. But not quite: you still had to have the technical know-how on how to register a domain name and how to publish content to the web. You also had to pay for the web hosting space. Once again, there was passive censorship in the form of your wealth and your technical know how. This "censorship" was almost non-existent compared to pre-internet days, but nevertheless still a factor preventing many people from publishing their ideas.

Today, with the advent of free blogging servers, anyone with zero technical knowledge can publish a blog. Several sites offer this service, but my favorite is Blogger. It is owned by Google and it is also the biggest on the internet. It will take you about 5 minutes to set up your own blog and to post something. Set your own blog up here...

Zero censorship. Power to change the world.

Humans are the dominant life form on earth because we learn. We do not rely on instinct alone. Each generation deposits it's knowledge and experience in a written form that can be used by generations after. Newton explained the universe. Einstein learned from him and explained the very nature of matter and energy.

My or your blog might not change the world in a Newtonian way, and we probably won't add any insight to Einstein's theories, but it will change our own personal world. By sharing and communicating with our peers, customers, staff or the world as a whole, we exchange ideas and collaboratively form new points of view. Your blog might help your customers or staff understand problems or processes better. Your insight into a topic might pop up on a Google search and win you a new customer or a new fan.

For instance, I recently started this blog. The idea behind the blog is to post things there that I learn: cool software I found, new things I figured out - ideas that will make my reader's internet life just a little bit easier or better. I spend literally days online at a time, scouring all kinds of blogs, news sites, online newspapers, etc - does it not make perfect sense to share what I've learnt? (My most recent blog posting is about backing up the software drivers that make your computer work. (See here...) A perfect example how 5 minutes of reading can save your many, many hours of frustration.)

A blog gives you (or your company) your own voice on the internet. To share, inform and influence. To listen, learn and adapt.

Scientia potentia est. Knowledge is power. (Wikipedia rocks.)

All of us have something to learn, and all of us have something to say.

Blog on.