Fact and not

• Over four billion Web pages, each an average of 10KB, all fully indexed
  
• Up to 2,000 PCs in a cluster
  
• Over 30 clusters
  
• 104 interface languages including Klingon and Tagalog
  
• One petabyte of data in a cluster - so much that hard disk error rates of 10-15 begin to be a real issue
  
• Sustained transfer rates of 2Gbps in a cluster
  
• An expectation that two machines will fail every day in each of the larger clusters
  
• No complete system failure since February 2000

Stanford University:
The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine
Sergey Brin and Lawrence Page

Google.com:
How Google Works

How Stuff/Google Works

The Economist:
Case History

Or

It's all done with pigeons



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internet

Labels: Internet, Search

Point the way

"As a Web designer and HTML builder, one of the first places I visit on a Web site is the site map. The site map shows an entire overview of the structure of the site, and more importantly, indicates how much effort was put into usability testing during the site's construction.

Learn how to chart a better site map
By Jim Kukral -Builder.com

According to Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox Usability Study on Site Maps

"27 percent of users turn to site maps when asked to learn about a site's structure. If your site map is poorly designed, you may lose 27 percent of your Web visitors. That could translate into millions of dollars of missed sales for an e-commerce site, or a massive amount of missed leads for a service company."

Labels: Internet, Layout, Search, Tips

Accessible searching

• Web Search:
  Result pages include headers to delineate logical sections.
  
  
  
• Accessible Search:
  Promotes results that are accessible.
  
  
  
• Book Search:
  Full-text access to public-domain works.
  
  
  
• Gmail:
  A simple yet functional HTML mode that works well with screenreaders.
  
  
  
• Gmail Mobile:
  A lightweight user interface that is also speech-friendly.
  
  
  
• Google Maps:
  Easy-to-use textual directions.
  
  
  
• Calendar:
  A functional, yet speech-friendly user interface.
  
  
  
• Audio Captchas:
  All services that use Google Accounts provide an audio alternative for the visual challenge-response tests that are used to distinguish humans from machines.
  
  
  
• Mobile Transcoder:
  A mobile lens for viewing the web that produces accessible views.
  
  
  
• Google Video:
  Allows uploaded videos to contain captions/subtitles in multiple languages for viewers who are hearing-impaired or unfamiliar with the original language.
  
  
  
• Google Talk:
  IM clients inside a web browser can pose accessibility challenges, but the use of the open Jabber API means that Google users can choose from a variety of Jabber clients, many of which work well with adaptive technologies.
  
  
  
• 1-800-GOOG-411:
  Here's an exception to the rule that we deliver most things through a web browser. Our experimental Voice Local Search service lets anyone who can speak into a phone search for a local business by name or category; get connected to the business free of charge; get the details by SMS if you’re using a mobile phone. (Just say "text message".)

Labels: Search

Ease of use

Say you're walking down the street in a strange town, and you'd like to find a Starbucks.
(OK the question might be how not to find a Starbucks.)

Dial (1-800) GOOG-411, on your obnoxious cell phone. Speak your location and what you are looking for and you'll be connected to the harassed barista of your choice. There is no charge for the service.

It also works from a real phone. It also finds other businesses than just coffee pushers.


Goog411



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Labels: Search

How to do dat

"Google is so easy to use, why take this online tutorial? If you're like many people, you use only a fraction of Google's features and services. The more you know about how Google works, its features and capabilities, the better it can serve your needs.

Just as the best way to learn how to sail is to sail, the best way to learn how to search with Google is to search with Google. Consequently, this Google tutorial contains many examples and exercises designed to give you practice with the material presented and to inspire you to find amusing or useful information."

Using Search Operators:
Advanced Operators

Google Guide TOC:
Table of Contents

Also:

GoogleTutor.com

and

Googling for XML

also:


Logoogle



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Labels: General, Search

Drill down to the answer

Jay White of DumbLittleMan.com has a nice site. One of the features is a list of 20 search tips to be used with Google.

Here are a few:

• Either/or. Google normally searches for pages that contain all the words you type in the search box, but if you want pages that have one term or another (or both), use the OR operator -- or use the "" symbol (pipe symbol) to save you a keystroke.
  
  
  
• Quotes. If you want to search for an exact phrase, use quotes.
  
  
  
• Not. If you don't want a term or phrase, use the "-" symbol.
  
  
  
• Similar terms. Use the "~" symbol to return similar terms.

• Definitions. Use the "define:" operator to get a quick definition.

• Vertical search. Instead of searching for a term across all pages on the web, search within a specialized field. Google has a number of specific searches, allowing you to search within blogs, news, books, and much more

Labels: Search, Tips

Some hints

Tip #1: Use the Correct Methodology

Tip #2: Conduct an "Either/Or" Search

Tip #3: Include or Exclude Words in Your Search

Tip #4: Search for Similar Words

Tip #5: Search for an Exact Phrase

Tip #6: List Similar Pages

Tip #7: Fine-Tune Your Search with Other Operators

Tip #8: Search for Specific Facts

Tip #9: Search the Google Directory

Tip #10: Use Googles Other Specialized Searches

Labels: Internet, Search

Info Tools

Google, the largest search database on the planet, currently has around eight billion web pages indexed. That's a lot of information. But it's nothing compared to what else is out there.
Google can only index the visible web, or searchable web. But the invisible web, or deep web, is estimated to be 500 times bigger than the searchable web. The invisible web comprises databases and results of specialty search engines that the popular search engines simply are not able to index.

1. Clusty - A metasearch engine that combines the results of several top search engines.
   
   
2. Intute - A searchable database of trusted sites, reviewed and monitored by subject specialists.
   
   
3. INFOMINE - A virtual library of Internet resources relevant to university students and faculty. Built by librarians from the University of California, California State University, the University of Detroit-Mercy, and Wake Forest University.
   
   
4. Librarians' Internet Index - A search engine listing sites deemed trustworthy by actual human librarians, not just a Googlebot.

• Deep Web Search Engines
  
• Art
  
• Books Online
  
• Business
  
• Consumer
  
• Economic and Job Data
  
• Finance and Investing
  
• General Research
  
• Government Data
  
• International
  
• Law and Politics
  
• Library of Congress
  
• Medical and Health
  
• Science
  
• Transportation

Labels: Search