This month I learned
a lot about search engines, having read three
different books devoted to the topic. And now—after
too much surfing—it is time to do some
housecleaning on the computer.
Google:
The Missing Manual
by Sarah Milsteiin and Rael Dornfest
This book provides more information on Google
than you will ever want to know. Written by
O'Reilly's Missing Manual series editor,
Sarah Milstein, and O'Reilly researcher Rael
Dornfest, who is also the co-author of O'Reilly's Google
Hacks with Tara Calishain, the book is
divided into four major sections. The first
one focuses on searching Google, providing
tips for both basic and advanced searches.
Part Two looks at specialized resources from
Google, including news, images, the Google
directory, Google Answers, and shopping though
Google Catalog and Froogle. Part Three provides
details of installing and using the Google
Toolbar, and the last section is for Webmasters,
providing a bit of insight on how to get a
better ranking in Google search results and
how to use and manage Google ads.
The book seems to be aimed at those with
a little bit of searching experience. It is
not a basic guide. If you are already using
Google's advanced search, then you probably
won't learn much. However, if you are interested
in Google ads, it offers a very helpful section.
The easy style and plentiful screenshots
make the book a pleasure to read, and the organization
and index make it simple to find a particular
search hint. I only question how many people
will ever go beyond typing in a word or two
and will bother to read this book.
Web Search
Garage:
The Definitive Guide on How Best
to Search the Internet
by Tara Calishain
This fun book puts you in the head of experienced
researcher Calishain, who runs the Research
Buzz Web site and e-newsletter, co-authored Google
Hacks with Rael Dornfest, and speaks at
WebSearch University. She makes you think about
how and where you search for particular kinds
of information by presenting a variety of general
principles in a new way. For instance, the "Principle
of Unique Language" encourages the searcher
to focus on the most unique words in their
query. The "Principle of Onions" encourages
the user to start with the most specific search
first and then to progressively become more
general.
Each of the brief 26 chapters focuses on
a different type of resource, covering everything
a searcher might want, from full-text search
engines to plug-ins and downloads. Descriptions
of key resources tell you why you would choose
that resource in the first place and are interspersed
with insights as to how to get the best results.
This book is an excellent resource for anyone
who wants to find answers on the Web and who
is willing to try more than one search engine
or Web resource. Give it to those one-word
searchers that think they know it all. Maybe
after reading this book, they'll think differently.
Google
and Other Search Engines
by Diane Poremsky
ISBN: 0-321-24614-4
Published: 2004
Pages: 364 pp.; softcover
Price: $19.99
Score:
Available from:
Peachpit Press,
1249 Eight St., Berkeley, CA 94710;
800/283-9444; www.peachpitpress.com |
This is one of the Visual QuickStart Guide series
of books aimed at getting people up and running
quickly. Poremsky is an expert on Microsoft
Outlook, Word, and Windows operating systems,
and a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional).
The book targets the novice user and spends
the first four chapters explaining how search
engines work and discussing search techniques.
Then there are separate chapters describing
Google, Yahoo!, AOL Search, MSN Search, Ask
Jeeves, AltaVista, Excite, Lycos, and HotBot.
These chapters provide background information
on each service as well as tips on how to search
them. A nice one page summary of the search
engine is included in each chapter, and these
are gathered into an appendix for easy reference.
The last section of the book focuses on specialized
searching, covering newsgroups, and finding
businesses and people information. The last
chapter lists specialized search services such
as encyclopedias, government information, almanacs,
etc., with just a paragraph or two of description
for each.
The text, which is written in a "sound bite" style,
is kept to a minimum in this book, so it is
easy to skim information about the different
search engines. Lots of screenshots fill the
pages. You won't become an expert, but you
can quickly familiarize yourself with several
different search engines. It is a good source
for a novice to learn about some different
search tools, but Web Search Garage does
a better job of teaching search technique.
Degunking Windows
by Joli Ballew and Jeff Duntemann
ISBN: 1-932111-84-0
Published: 2004
Pages: 310 pp.; softcover
Price: $24.99
Score:
Available from:
Paraglyph Press,
4015 N. 78th St. #115, Scottsdale, AZ 85251;
602/749-8787; www.paraglyphpress.com |
It's a fact of life—the longer you live
someplace, the more junk you collect. The same
is true for your computer, and eventually you
start tripping over the excess stuff. This
book will help you get your computer and files
under control. The authors are Joli Ballew,
a technology trainer, and Jeff Duntemann, a
self-proclaimed "writer, editor, tinkerer,
contrarian," according to his Web site [www.duntemann.com]. Degunking
Windows is written for Windows XP, but
much of the information applies to other versions
of Windows as well.
The writing is very clear and includes step-by-step
instructions for the different de-gunking tasks
described. These include such things as organizing
your files and deleting unused ones, cleaning
out the Start-up menu,
organizing and deleting old e-mail, getting rid of spam, searching for spyware
and other malicious files, editing the registry file, improving security, and
backing-up files. Some of the tasks are things we know we should do, but are
forever putting off, while others may be new. Having a book like this gives
you the structure to go through your computer and do the cleanup once and for
all and may possibly inspire you to keep it in order.
You have to be a bit comfortable with the
workings of your computer, but even fairly
novice users should be able to follow the tips
in this book. I know we're moving into winter—this is the
November/December issue—but it's still
an ideal time for some pre-spring cleaning!
Deborah Lynne Wiley [deb@consultnw.com] is principal of Next Wave Consulting, Inc. Comments? E-mail letters to the editor
to marydee@xmission.com.
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