Google comes from the word "Googol," a mathematical term for one followed by 100



zeros. Certainly the site has lived up to its mathematical derivative, for it

contains a wealth of data that has turned it into the most popular search engine

of our time. However, Google isn't just a search engine. Innovators at Google

devote 20 per cent of their week to work on new and ground-breaking ideas. As a

result, the site is continuously upgraded with various, new features that make

it all the more interesting.

Let's take a look at these features - many of which are currently running on

beta mode. Nonetheless, they could possibly change the whole process of

searching.

For scholars

An novel approach for scientists and scholars, Google Scholars is specifically

designed for academic literature, including theses, books, peer-reviewed papers,

abstract and technical reports from all major areas of research.

Just like its web search, Google Scholar indexes your search results according

to its relevance. The most useful reference appears on the top. This relevance

ranking takes into account the full text of each article as well as the

article's author, the publication in which the article appeared and how often it

has been cited in scholarly literature.

On the other hand, Google analyzes and arranges citations automatically and

presents them as separate results. You can also learn more about older articles

and other online stuff. The full text of articles only appears from opening

access journals and preprints.

Web quotes

A few search engines (like Teoma) already provide suggestions or recommendations

for the websites that you look up. However, Google's WebQuotes does not let you

indulge in guesswork about a site, that is, whether it will be worth visiting or

not. By including comments from other websites alongside your results, you get

to see what other people think of the site before you click on its link.

This service is still running as a beta version, but it offers you a full

description of a site's content. WebQuotes intelligently farms sites for the

most relevant comments.

Compute

Donate your PC's spare resources for serious medical and scientific research

like SETI@home, by downloading Google's Compute tool bar. You can receive data

packets which can help you find a cure for Parkinson's disease or give

scientists the power to simulate protein synthesis.

One of the beneficiaries of this effort is Folding@home, a non-profit academic

research project at Stanford University that is trying to understand the

structure of proteins, so they can develop better treatments for various

diseases.

Google's interest in this service is not entirely selfless. The company wants to

use distribution computing to improve the search engine - which itself can

operate in a vast distribution network. Till that happens, of course, you can

join hands with researchers to fight against some of the more lethal ailments.

Desktop search

Desktop search offers you multi-purpose full text search of email, computer

files and the web pages you may have viewed. After installation, Google's

desktop search can look for your personal items through all file types in your

PC. It can also search chats from AOL messengers. Currently, it is available for

Windows XP and Windows 2000 updates and above.

After downloading this feature, you can search your personal items as easily as

you look for information on the internet through Google. Unlike traditional

computer search software that updates once a day, Google Desktop Search updates

continuously for most file types, so that, for instance, when you receive new

email in Outlook, you can find it within seconds. The index of searchable

information created by Desktop Search is stored on your computer.

Libraries

Towards the end of 2004, Google announced that it would provide details of

digital books, so that worldwide users can look them up through the search

engine. Working in collaboration with Harvard, Stanford, the University of

Michigan, Oxford University and New York Public library, the Google print

program helps publishers put their books and information in a searchable mode.

On the other hand, Google is working with the world's major libraries to

integrate its contents on Google's index, making it searchable for users world

wide.