What is… GOOGLE?
I bet you have heard the word “google” many times.. either in your travels on the web or in the news. But what IS “google” exactly? Why it is one of the most useful tools on the internet, that’s what! And it’s EASY to use! Want to know more? Then read on!
“Google” is an internet search engine. It works just like the search function in your computer, in your documents and in your websites: you type in what you are looking for and it searches. The google results look like a list of links with a few lines of info (click the “in the news” link above to see).
To use Google, go to google.com and type in what you are looking for and click the “Google Search” button. A listing of websites which contain the information you’re looking for will show. Just click on the website in the list that is most likely to answer your query.
Rather than reinvent the wheel, I would like to direct you to Google Guide, a website devoted to teaching people how to use Google. If you are a total beginner, click the “Novices Click Here” button. The basic what’s and how-to’s are explained in a nice tutorial.
An example search: I would like to know what an “RSS feed” is. I go to Google.com and type in “RSS feed” and click the “Google Search” button. This page lists my search results. As you can see, there are several sites to choose from which explain RSS!
Google is not the only search engine out there, it’s not even the first search engine on the internet! But it is definitely the biggest. In fact, the verb “google” has come to mean “look up something on the internet” no matter which search engine you use!
FYI, some other search engines are: Yahoo Search, MSN search, Ask…If you want to see more, look up “search engine” in a search engine!
Witchy Says: Since different search engines seek and sort results in different ways, you can sometimes find information on one that you can’t find on another. There are engines (programs) that search the same terms in several search engines at once! If you are having trouble finding something, try Dogpile.com… it will give you results from Google, Yahoo, MSN and ASK at once!
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Comments
Hi, Patti T! Thank you for checking out the article on Google.
Your question is a great idea for my next WitchyTech article. If you want to jump ahead, just GOOGLE “free virus protection” and see what’s out there. You can also try “free virus protection, review” and come up with sites that review the various programs to help you narrow down your choices.
Nice to see you back Witchy. I was just wondering when I would see another article.
Question, could you explain how to get a free (Norton-like) protection from the net?