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Google Tips and Tricks October 1st, 2016 Digital Back Issue Cover

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100 Articles

The Google team are full of surprises. Just when you think they’ve gone and outdone themselves they roll out another improvement that completely changes everything. The last biggest change was the logo, made with the ‘Alphabet’ font, they went from the old Times to a new and sleek look across the board. Now, however, they’ve upped the ante. With their own mobile device, the Google Pixel, which is due for an update soon, and the voicecontrolled Google Home. The company who made the Internet search what it is today, has taken the OS they developed and produced their own hardware to go with it. Google Home will completely change how the user interacts with their gadgets and day-to-day tasks making even the most tedious processes that little bit easier.…

THE POWER OF Google

When you think of Google, search engines and emails may come to mind, but there is a lot more to the company than just these runaway successes. It is true that Google dominates search and email, but did you know that YouTube is owned and powered by Google and so are many other online services that you may already be aware of. Over time, Google has grown from a company that provides the best search engine on the internet to one that can power almost every aspect of our computing lives. Google now provides the most popular email service in the world and enables people to store billions of documents online. It provides ultra-fast broadband and the operating system for the most popular smartphones – it sometimes feels that everything…

THE POWER OF Google

History of Google

1998 It’s born Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google on 4th September 1998. 1999 Google get their first office dog, Yoshka 2003 Google AdSense announced 2004 Gmail is born Gmail was launched on 1st April 2004 and now has 900 million users. 2004 Time to go public The company grew and became public in August 2004. 2006 YouTube acquired Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion in October 2006. 2009 Chrome announced 2012 Google Fibre Google Fibre was launched in 2012 to provide ultra-high-speed broadband. 2015 Getting bigger Google announced revenues of $17.7 billion in the second quarter of 2015. 2016 Google launch their first self-made phone, the Google Pixel 2017 Google Home Google’s new voice-controlled device is launched.…

History of Google

Essential apps to use every day

Maps Travel anywhere Google Maps offers some of the most accurate and complete online maps in the world. The coverage has improved over the years thanks to a huge investment by Google and you can also use it to navigate anywhere. Current traffic conditions are a feature and so it can also be used in place of a commercial navigation solution. The level of detail for each establishment you locate is impressive, thanks to the connection to Google Search, and the Street View feature adds even more realism to the experience. No matter what type of mapping requirement you have, this is the ultimate solution for any occasion. It is quite brilliant. Gmail Stay connected If you use Gmail, you will want to download the associated app. It includes all…

Essential apps to use every day

The best of Google’s hidden apps

You will likely know the most popular apps and services that Google runs, but there are other apps that the company has either acquired or developed over time that may surprise you. Some of these apps offer no obvious indication at all that Google is involved, but you can be assured that they will work flawlessly and bear all of the hallmarks of the Google system behind the scenes. Reliability, accuracy and speed are obvious throughout. From communitybased navigation to image editing, Google’s reach extends way beyond the obvious and into a variety of areas, but ones that remain eminently useful. The company is now even delving in to the world of home automation, too, but no matter what unusual Google app you use, chances are that it will work…

The best of Google’s hidden apps

The mobile revolution

Android as we know it today has become the dominant mobile operating system in a market that has been greatly expanded over the past decade. Smartphones and tablets are ubiquitous around the world and Android is well placed to cater for more people than any other platform out there. Google offers Android to any hardware developer that would like to build devices running it and because of this we have a plethora of phones and tablets at all price ranges that offer a similar experience. In many ways it does not matter if Android is running on a budget device or a product designed to appeal to those who only want to use the best, because the core of the experience will remain the same. With millions of apps available…

The mobile revolution

The history of Android

Whether you were aware of Google’s global prowess or not, one thing is abundantly clear, its mobile operating system, Android, is currently the most used across the globe. Here’s a brief history of the story so far… 2003 Android, Inc In 2003, Android, Inc was created by Andy Rubin. 2006 LG Prada announced 2005 Google buys Android Google bought Android, Inc and its key staff in July 2005. 2007 The Open Handset Alliance The Open Handset Alliance, which included Google, announced itself in 2007. 2008 Revealed to operate on Linux 2008 The first Android phone The HTC Dream, powered by Android, was launched in 2008. 2010 The first Google phone Launched in 2010, the Nexus One was the first Google branded phone. 2011 Ice Cream Sandwich OS released 2012 Three…

The history of Android

Drones are currently receiving a lot of attention and much of it is quite negative, but the potential future uses for this technology are actually very positive. Google has already started testing drones in Project Wing to deliver goods to customers, which would potentially greatly speed up receipt and also cut a lot of waste out of the traditional delivery systems we still use today. It sounds bizarre, but Google has tested delivering a package using a drone, which lowers the package by a type of fishing line from 150 feet in the air. This type of technology would be ideal for so many of the items that we purchase currently and will likely be more environmentally friendly and safer as well. Concerns remain over safety and the privacy implications…

In 2016, Google took a big step releasing its first ever smartphone – the Google Pixel. This landmark device offered incredible specs, good design, and some amazing features that set it apart from the rest of the pack. If you’re in the market for a new smartphone and want fantastic integration with your Google account, this might just be the dream phone for you. For starters, the design team at Google has created an attractive device. Aluminium and glass come together in a way that is definitely reminiscent of the iPhone – which is no bad thing. The curved edges make both the Pixel and the larger Pixel XL comfortable to hold, while the fingerprint sensor that lets you unlock your device quickly is found on the back of the…

Five apps you need to download

Google Play Music You’ll get three months of Google Play Music for free when you buy a Pixel, so you can access millions of songs, with recommendations from Google based on your likes and dislikes. Opera Max If you want to save the data on your smartphone plan, Opera Max can help. It reduces the size of images and videos to speed up loading times and stop you maxing out your allowance early. Greenify Greenify helps you identify apps that are using a lot of processing power and battery, and put them into hibernation when they aren’t in use. It’s a great way of boosting your battery. Alto’s Adventure A beautiful 2D snowboarding game with simple controls that has you leaping and flipping across some wonderful landscapes. It looks fabulous…

Five apps you need to download

What a difference a year makes in the world of technology. One year Google gave away its Cardboard virtual reality headset as a free gift to developers at the end of the Google I/O conference. The next, the product was placed in centre stage during the conference keynote. Over five million Cardboard viewers have been shipped worldwide and over 500 compatible apps are available on the Play store. But Google is not going to stop there. With a new-look Cardboard viewer, the launch of Daydream – the next evolution of mobile VR – and an ambitious vision to make VR experiences accessible to everyone, the tech giant is pushing the envelope. VR for everyone If you’re not familiar with Cardboard, it’s similar to the Samsung Gear VR that was also…

How to use your headset

1 Construction The Cardboard viewer arrives as a flatpack. While the original took 12 steps to assemble, it now only takes three. Remove the sleeve, unfold the flaps and you’re done. 2 Launch the app Download the free Cardboard companion app from the Play store or – for the first time – you can download it onto your iPhone from the App Store. 3 Pair devices Officially licensed viewers will include a QR code for you to scan with your camera to sync your headset’s parameters with the Cardboard app. If your headset doesn’t have this, just press skip. 4 Insert your phone Once pairing is completed, insert your phone and close the lid on the back of the headset. Make sure the velcro is firmly stuck together, so your…

How to use your headset

Enter the Matrix...

Titans of Space Free Explore the solar system with the Titans of Space app by DrashVR. The celestial bodies are all reproduced to scale at one millionth of their actual size, so you can explore them in your living room. Each planet includes a fact file, and a guided tour is available through an in-app purchase. While the graphics are not as impressive as those shown off in the new Expedition promos, Titans of Space will give you a feel of what to expect from the all-new VR experience. VR Heights Phobia Free Whether you are trying to overcome a fear of heights or you just enjoy scaring yourself then this app is very realistic. As you balace along the edges of skyscrapers, stare down lift shafts or hang off…

Enter the Matrix...

Living the Daydream

While slotting a half-decent phone into a rugged origami viewfinder can actually deliver surprisingly effective results, few would argue that’s an aesthetically pleasing solution, or that you don’t look and feel like a child using old loo rolls as pretend binoculars while using it. While there are quite a few options on the market that look a little less like they were bought at a craft fair, Google now offers its own classy alternative. Daydream has been designed to offer the best in mobile VR, so the barrier to entry is a little higher than with Cardboard. In fact, the list of compatible phones is incredibly small at the moment – only Google’s own Pixel and Motorola’s Moto Z at the time of writing, with new models from Huawei, ASUS…

Living the Daydream

What is Google Home?

Launched to rival the likes of the Amazon Echo, Google Home is a voice-controlled device designed to make day-to-day tasks easier. It has a speaker in the base and microphones on the top that users speak to in order to interact with the Google Assistant. The idea is that tedious tasks become hands free. Instead of having to tap through menus on your smartphone, you just need to say what you want the device to do. Simply say the words ‘OK Google’ or ‘Hey Google’ followed by your command. Originally released in the US in late 2016, Home came to the UK in early 2017. Although both devices understood and spoke English, the UK release was delayed as Google needed time to localise Home so it could understand British accents,…

What is Google Home?

Why choose Google Home?

Check out some of the unique features Home offers Change its look Not a fan of Home’s look? Well the base of the speaker is magnetically attached, which means it can be removed and swapped out at will. There are six bases to choose from, three fabric and three metal, and all are available to purchase from Google’s online store. Make phone calls You can link Home to your smartphone via Bluetooth so it can be used as a hands-free speaker for making phone calls. The sound quality and the volume from the Home speaker will be better than the one built into your phone. Stream videos with Chromecast If you have a Chromecast device plugged into your TV you can ask Google Home to play videos from YouTube. If…

Why choose Google Home?

Whether it’s sending basic messages through Gmail, uploading videos to YouTube, sharing photos or hooking up for a face-to-face video chat through Hangouts in Google+, communicating is made easy through Google’s numerous free services. Later in this book, we will be taking a look at some of the main apps for communicating in more detail, but for now we thought it important for you to get accustomed with some of the respective services’ lesser-known features, which can make using them even more intuitive and speed up your productivity no end. Since Gmail is used by people at work and at home on a massive scale, we have focused mainly on cool tips for getting the most out of that service – such as interesting ways to manage your inbox and…

Hang out on Google

Google’s product portfolio is packed full of services to help you communicate with others – be it via email through Google’s Gmail service, via videos uploaded to your YouTube channel or via casual posts and status updates in Google+. Also accessible through Google+ is the Hangouts service. This allows you to instantly hook up with people from your social circles using your computer’s webcam and chat in real-time, which is the next best thing to meeting up in person. Hangouts is an ever-present feature of Google+ and can be accessed by clicking on the Hangouts icon in the top-right corner of the interface. Here you can choose to create a new Hangout, hook up with people you have hung out with previously by selecting them from the list, or you…

Hang out on Google

Finding people to join you in a Hangout

1 Click on New conversation at the top of the Hangouts column and all of your current Google+ circles will be listed. Tick a box and you can start a text or video chat. 2 In the box at the top of the Hangouts menu, start typing in names. Google+ will match them with other people on Google+, even if they aren’t in your circles. 3 Click on the box beside a person’s name and you will add them to your Hangout. You can either send them a text message or invite them to a video chat.…

Finding people to join you in a Hangout

Save reminders and to-do lists

Google Tasks is a lesser-known feature of Gmail that can prove to be an incredibly useful to-do list. With Tasks you can just click and type to add new tasks, set due dates or add notes, and then tick each task off as you complete it. Your task list stays up to date no matter how you access it (which you can do via other Google services such as Calendar and through your mobile device’s Gmail app), and it’s always with you wherever you go. When used through your desktop computer via Gmail, Tasks will be displayed in an ever-present window in the corner of your inbox, so you can easily add emails as tasks – for instance, if there is an email you need to respond to and you…

Save reminders and to-do lists

Start labelling emails

The labels feature is a useful aspect of Gmail that helps you to organise your message into categories – such as work, family, sport, school, or any category that you want. Essentially, labels do the same job as folders but with one major advantage: you can add more than one label to a message. Only you can see your created labels, so whether you mark a message with ‘BFF’ or ‘Read when hell freezes over’, the sender will never know. Creating new labels is a quick and easy process, and once created they will sit in the sidebar to the left of the Gmail interface. From here you can click on their drop-down arrows to change aspects of them and adjust the settings, and then you can easily apply your…

Start labelling emails

When you’re a Google customer, music, movies, books and games are all within easy reach and can be yours in just a single click. Modern living often means that many of us have to make do with accommodation that is too small for our needs, which means that having truckloads of stuff that takes up space isn’t the best situation. So why not download music instead of buying CDs? Why not compile an online library of movies instead of cluttering up the place with DVDs? And why lose premium shelf space to physical books when you can get all of the latest bestsellers to read on your mobile phone? Google Play is an online store that stocks music, movies, books, magazines and Android apps. By setting up a secure payment…

Add payment details

The Google Play store is a sprawling warehouse of virtual products – pretty much any album, film or book is right on hand for you to buy in an instant. To make purchases, you will first need to tether a payment method to your account so that you can then buy and download what you want with a single click. In this tutorial we’ll guide you through the process of assigning a payment method to your Google account or, if you wish to add a new credit or debit card or simply edit the details of an existing one and show you how to update your payment details. Although this process isn’t perhaps as easy to fathom as you would think, it does require you to explore an area of…

Add payment details

Redeeming gift codes inside Google Play

1 If you’ve received a Google Play gift card then, on the main Google Play home screen, click on the ‘Redeem’ link underneath the main shop categories. 2 Enter the gift card or promo code into the space provided. Once processed, the funds will be instantly credited to your account for use in the store. 3 You can now continue to shop inside the Play store and spend your virtual cash on music, films, books or apps for your desktop or Android device.…

Redeeming gift codes inside Google Play

Enjoy your music

The Music wing of the Google Play store has come on in leaps and bounds in recent times and is now jostling with iTunes as the world’s premier online music store. As such, there is a lot going on there. So, first and foremost, we would like to guide you around the interface so that you know what is where. Certain features are accessible from the menu to the left or the tabs at the top of the window, but generally if you scroll down the main page you’ll see a wide range of sections that relate to new releases, music that is similar to the songs already in your collection and more. You will also find a link for a free weekly song, which you can click, download for…

Enjoy your music

Share your tracks

One of the major advantages that Google has over its rivals is that everything is neatly integrated into one service. We have already explored how to navigate the Music store easily. Well, now we show you how to share your favourite tunes with your friends. If you have a Google+ account, sharing music with your friends really couldn’t be easier, and your friends will be able to play back the entire song and then choose to buy it themselves if they like what they hear. The one limitation to this service is that you can only do it with music that you have purchased through the Google Play store or uploaded through its Music Manager. However, as you get to grips with the store, you’ll realise what a fast and…

Share your tracks

Sharing whole albums

1 While inside Google Play Music, click on ‘My music’ over in the left-hand column to be taken through to your library of uploaded albums and any music purchased from the Google Play store. 2 Select the album you wish to share, then right-click on it to bring up a menu of options. Alternatively, hover your mouse over the album artwork and then click on the small menu icon that appears. 3 Select the ‘Share’ option from the menu followed by Google+ and then the Google+ window will appear, into which you can enter personal comments and select with whom you would like to share the album.…

Sharing whole albums

Shop for and manage your apps

Originally known as the Android Market, launched by Google in 2008, the Android operating system’s main app store was subsequently transformed into a part of the Google Play store – alongside Music, Movies (and TV), Books and Magazines. The Google Play Apps area is packed full of categories to explore, and if you’re looking for a particular app then you can search for it quickly and easily using the integrated search engine. Buying apps is just as straightforward as purchasing any other media through Google Play: one click and your app will start downloading. You can either download apps to your desktop and transfer them to your mobile device, or you can simply access Google Play on your Android device and then download and install the app on the fly.…

Shop for and manage your apps

Master Google Books

As well as its App and Music wings, the Google Play store boasts an ever-swelling book store which, like the other sections, is packed full of features. By clicking on the Books section in the left column while on the main Google Play homepage, you’ll be jetted straight to the book wing, where you can scroll down the screen to discover a plethora of books in a range of sections. Use the tabs to check out the current bestsellers and the new arrivals, and enter keywords, such as ‘Free books’, into the search engine to browse some literary bargains. If you then click on ‘My books’, you will get a rundown of all of the books that you have downloaded on your account. These books will be accessible from the…

Master Google Books

Downloading samples from Google Books

1 Navigate the Books store and then, when you find a book that you would like to sample, click on its cover to open up the respective book’s main info page. 2 In the main window will be the various purchasing options, including a ‘Free sample’ option. Click on this and a small portion of the book will be downloaded. 3 You can now open the sample in the Books interface to read on your desktop or mobile device. When reading, you’ll be given the option to buy the whole book.…

Downloading samples from Google Books

How often do you catch the headlines at the start of a major daily news bulletin, only to find that the story you were interested in is crudely tacked onto the end after you have endured half an hour of stories that don’t matter to you? Google News eradicates this problem by only delivering the news that you are interested in. In fact, your news content is devised through various means, including your region and previous stories that you have clicked on. The more you use Google News, the better it gets at narrowing down your content and ensuring that superfluous stories are nowhere to be found. In developing its News service, Google has strived to get the balance right between its algorithmic search efficiency and the needs of its…

Stay abreast of local news

Google News can provide all of the latest headlines for the area you are currently residing in, based on the location you enter. However, if you’re only using a town name to personalise this part of the news then you’re potentially missing out on an even wider range of news stories. In the sidebar over to the right, all of the local news stories will be presented in a list underneath your chosen location. However, by clicking on the ‘Manage location’ link you will see an option called ‘Automatically determine my geographic area’ with a checkbox to tick. When you activate this feature, Google News will provide a wider range of headlines based on its sourcing – and best of all, if you then log into Google News in a…

Stay abreast of local news

Use Google Alerts more effectively

Google Alerts is a great way to get focused email alerts about pretty much any topic. Getting started is easy: you just go to www.google.com/alerts and then enter keyword phrases that relate to the stuff you want to receive info on. You can specify the type of content that you receive, which could be blogbased, news, videos discussion groups or everything. You can then determine how often you receive your alerts and to which email address. Used well, Google Alerts can be an effective means of tracking a product in your sector or for seeing what people are saying about you or your product online. Here we provide some handy hints for getting the most out of this service. Alerts Add operators to your Alerts settings 1: Ditch the ‘www’…

Use Google Alerts more effectively

Produce your own Newsstand magazine

Google Newsstand is an app for smartphones and tablets, running either Android or iOS, that allows you to consume content offline quickly and easily. You can obtain a wide range of existing content from established sources or you can start publishing your own content, which is surprisingly easy. The main advantage that Newsstand has over conventional RSS readers is that you can pull content from all sorts of different sources, such as a Twitter feed or website, and present it to your readers in one neatly packaged application. To start creating your own Newsstand content you will need a Google account, and also be running the Chrome web browser. Now just head to the www.google.com/producer page and you can start producing your own digital magazine. In this tutorial we will…

Produce your own Newsstand magazine

Adding YouTube content to Newsstand

1 To get started you’ll first need to make sure that you’ve got a YouTube account up and running, a channel set up and at least one video inside it. After you’ve checked these off your list, head to www.google.com/producer. 2 Either create new content (see the above tutorial) or carry on with an existing one. Next, click on ‘Sections’ and then the ‘Add new section’ button. Select ‘Video channel’, name it, then paste in your YouTube channel’s URL. 3 Once you’ve done that, the live preview on the right-hand side will update with the videos inside your YouTube channel. You’ll also see a bunch of options for controlling the layout and style of your video content.…

Adding YouTube content to Newsstand

Google is a search engine giant, but it is not only concerned with helping you to discover what is available on the world wide web or what is contained within your emails. It wants you to discover things in the real world, work out how to get there and find out more about them when you do. It wants you to explore outer space too, and get a general understanding of Earth along with the other planets and moons in our solar system. And it keeps improving. Google has rolled out a new Maps app for Android and it has recently revamped its desktop offering. Both combine to help you get more than just simple maps, and they draw on a social element with reviews, photographs and tours that all…

Explore using Street View

Google’s Street View is a brilliant way to be able to explore the surroundings of an area in the way that it should be seen – in real-life 3D from the perspective of you walking around it. You may well have heard of this feature since it has proven to be controversial – privacy-rights groups objected to Google driving around areas and taking images for the service. But it is a brilliant way of understanding an area before you visit it. You will certainly find a good use for the service. Although some of the images are not completely up to date, it remains a solid resource. Things have changed slightly with the new Google Maps that has been rolled out. On the old version, there was a little yellow…

Explore using Street View

Understanding the Street View navigation icons

1 When you hover the mouse over a road surface, an arrow in a circle will appear. This means you can move forward on the map as if you are walking or driving along. 2 A white box appears on the screen when you are in the main area of the view (that is, not on the road). This means you are able to pan around the landscape. 3 Do you need to know the name of the road that you are on? When you zoom out a little using the mouse, you can usually see the name overlaid on the road.…

Understanding the Street View navigation icons

Find facilities and read reviews

Google Maps has made it even easier for you to find areas of interest. Instead of having to search for coffee shops and restaurants, for instance, you can see them instantly displayed on the map. All you have to do is click on them to begin engaging with them and to find out more. New information cards display more about a business, giving you reviews and ratings. You can quickly find out how to get to its destination and you can also save it for later. If you want to see more, you can go straight to Street View or see photographs, and these will help you to build up a picture. Sometimes, people take photos of food and drink too, which can be very useful. Maps Read reviews and…

Find facilities and read reviews

View extra layers in Google Earth

The layers option adds a whole new dimension to Google Earth’s maps. It lets you clearly see a country’s border, say, or the names of places and countries, view major landmarks and items of interest, and work your way around the coastlines. There is a lot to discover. Not only can you see a border, you can also view disputed boundaries, where states may be in disagreement over what is owned by which country. You can see treaty and provisional borders, the former being defined by a treaty and the latter still pending a formal agreement. As well as this, you can see first-level admin borders and regions, and there are labels too. These show you populated areas, give alternative place names and show you bodies of water. The more…

View extra layers in Google Earth

Getting more from the layers in Earth

1 When you click on the name of a disputed territory, for example the West Bank, a balloon shows the current status. Here we see it is subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement of 1995. 2 If you are interested in discovering the weather for a certain part of the world, you can simply add the weather layer to your map view. Simply tick the box next to ‘Weather’ under ‘Layers’ in order to view this. 3 By clicking on the ‘Gallery’ option within Google Earth, you can view the 360 Cities option. This gives a panoramic shot of various locations and you can see where they are by the 360 icon.…

Getting more from the layers in Earth

Wander around on the Moon

There was a time when we didn’t know much about our own moon, but almost 45 years after Neil Armstrong set foot on it, we know more about the rocky satellite orbiting the Earth than ever before. With Google Earth, you can explore its surface, read up on the Moon’s make-up and gain a better understanding of the politics behind the incredible race to get there. There are tours of the lunar landing sites and they are narrated by Apollo astronauts, giving you a clear insight from those who know the Moon best. There are 360-degree panoramas and 3D models of rovers and landers to look at and admire. You can even watch rare footage of the Apollo missions. You will be able to see the footprints the astronauts left,…

Wander around on the Moon

Set home and work locations

When you are searching for a destination or a location, you do not necessarily want Google Maps to start from the place where you are now. You may, for example, be away from home but still want to be able to get directions from your house. You may also need directions from work. The ‘My Places’ option in Google maps lets you set your home and your work location, which means you are able to quickly access them by typing Home or Work into the directions feature or the search engine, without having to fiddle around with complicated addresses. Of course, you don’t have to stick with Home or Work. You may want to set somewhere else as a location and use Home or Work for that purpose instead. The…

Set home and work locations

Creating custom maps inside Google Maps

1 When in My Places, you can create your own map by clicking the ‘Create Map’ option in the sidebar. Maps are layered, so you can add as many as you want. 2 The drawing tools are just under the search box. Click on the hand to move around or click the draw button to draw lines or other shapes as desired. 3 Click on the marker icon to add a description to your line. The maps are auto-saved, and you will be able to share them with others when you are finished.…

Creating custom maps inside Google Maps

Information is a word that means many things to different people, depending on their exact needs. Google, however, has created a selection of services that offer almost everything you need if you are prepared to learn how they all work. Each service is designed to be easy to use and in many cases little instruction is required. But, as with everything, some useful tips and guides will help speed up the process, and open your eyes to what is possible with a group of services that are all free and extremely well implemented. In this section, we have tutorials which will show you how to communicate in multiple languages, how to view your entire web history and how to research information using the most focused tools available. Discounted goods and…

Get info from photos

It might sound like science fiction, but you really can use your smartphone to get information from any object that is within your eyeline. The camera is used on a smartphone to capture an image of the object and this information is immediately sent to Google’s servers, where some clever analysis will attempt to identify it and then present back a selection of detailed results. You may be curious as to how such a service could be useful, but if you think about it logically then the uses are almost unlimited. From snapping a movie poster to find cinema show times and the cast through to photographing a product in a high-street shop to check up on the best deals, the opportunities for Google Goggles to benefit you go on…

Get info from photos

Tweaking the search settings to your needs

1 From the Google homepage, click Settings (bottom-right) to access your settings, web history and more. You can also access the advanced search here. 2 In the Settings screen, click Location on the left and enter your current town or postcode. This will not be obvious, but it helps a lot in a variety of searches. 3 You should also check the other options like Google Instant, which will predict results as you type, and choose if you want results to open in a new browser window.…

Tweaking the search settings to your needs

Improve results by using operators

The vast majority of people use Google Search every day and click through lots of results to find what they are looking for. Despite Google being deadly accurate and very quick, there are some ways in which you can speed up your searching even further by using search operators. These simple terms let you specify individual criteria for each search and when used they really do make a difference. You can choose to search within a site or within specified ranges to narrow down the results and you can take these terms as far as you like. Here we will show you the most useful operators to use and it is likely that once you use them they will become a familiar feature of your online searching. Search Learn to…

Improve results by using operators

Create a search engine

The Google Custom Search Engine is a tool that you can use to bring the power of Google to your own website. The setup process is fairly straightforward and the only tricky part is placing the required code in the right place, but even this should work fine if you follow the instructions carefully. There are options available to tweak how the search engine looks and works and therefore you have the ability to match it to your current website design with ease. However, ultimately it is the sheer speed and power of the algorithms behind the Google Custom Search Engine that will make it such a positive addition to your site. As a bonus, you can make money from the included advertising which is not too obtrusive, so there…

Create a search engine

Synchronising your devices

1 If you use Google Chrome on your desktop PC and your smartphone, your latest searches and visited pages can be displayed in both browsers provided you are logged into your Google account on each. 2 Your bookmarks will also be synced automatically in both mobile and desktop browsers and kept up to date in real-time. They are always up to date and will be available no matter where you are. 3 Many Google information services are also available on mobile devices via apps or webpages. Go to www.google.com/mobile to see what is available. Some will sync across devices automatically.…

Synchronising your devices

Discover new inventions with Google

Google is constantly trying to make important collections of information more accessible to all, and a recent addition to its vast range of services is Google Patent Search. For millions of ideas that have been submitted to either the United States or European patent offices, Google Patents lets you discover, search and read all about them online. And with Google’s Prior Art Finder, you can find documents related to a particular patent application. You can search the full text of patents by selecting ‘Patents’ from within Google Search, or from the search box at the top of any patent page. Here we help you get accustomed to this intriguing new service to see what wondrous new creations lurk just around the corner. Patent Search Find patents 1: Start searching Go…

Discover new inventions with Google

Profit from Google Finance

Google Finance is an information portal that works in a similar way to Google News and Search, but the way it works is much more interactive than many Google services. The latest financial headlines are presented all of the time and you can choose exactly what you want to see using various customisation options. News for a particular market is included alongside the most important financial headlines and even news for individual companies. It is a treasure trove of financial information that puts many professional, and much more expensive, services to shame. However, the real benefit of Google Finance is the ability to store your own portfolio and to keep track of each individual share. You can import and export data and also keep a close eye on each company…

Profit from Google Finance

Personalise Google News to suit you

1 At the top of the News homepage click on ‘For You’ to navigate to a page of stories that have been specifically selected to match what interests you. 2 Click on ‘Manage Interests’ on the left. Now type in key words that relate to what you want news about – type “Rugby” or “Baking”, for example. 3 If you change your mind hit the Thumbs down icon next to the key word or click ‘Clear All Interests’ if you want to ger rid of eveything.…

Personalise Google News to suit you

Getting organised with Google’s huge array of web, mobile and tablet apps goes way beyond syncing your emails and calendars and setting up a few bookmarks for your favourite sites. It is now possible to shift you entire life onto Google, utilising its free services to better manage everything from everyday tasks, to the running of your business, and keeping up to date with your stocks. The key is how you implement these tools into your life. A lot of what’s available through Google’s web browser, Chrome, is not always hugely advertised. There are a lot of great unknown tricks and tips for speeding up your workflow and streamlining the way you and your devices communicate with Google. In the following tutorials you will learn how to make the most…

Use Chrome as your desktop

Google is no longer just a search engine – it now offers a collection of high-quality web apps which are now in competition with software such as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, as well a series of other brilliant web apps and services. A web app is just the same as an app you would have on your smartphone or tablet, but it runs through a web browser such as Firefox or Chrome. What can be a little jarring about this transition into web apps is the fact that you are no longer installing a piece of software onto your computer, nor are you opening up files as you would have done in the traditional way on your computer. Instead, everything is accessed through Chrome, although there is desktop software…

Use Chrome as your desktop

Improving Chrome with extensions

1 Gmail Offline lets you read and respond to emails offline by storing emails as they are received on your computer. Emails written offline are delivered when online. 2 Ad Block prevents pop-ups and spam sites from disturbing you. It also has a great selection of filter options and the ability to hide sections of certain pages. 3 FVD makes downloading video files through your browser easy. Once a video is detected on a webpage, click the FVD widget and a download link appears.…

Improving Chrome with extensions

Organise your mobile device with Drive

If you find yourself spending as much time on your smartphone or tablet as you do your computer then maybe it is time to get Google Drive set up on these devices as well. Doing this means no more having to email yourself documents to check over, or being away from your desk, because you will have a virtual one in your hand, as well as being able to edit and share content through Drive. To really get the benefit of Google on a device, download Google Calendars, Gmail, Google Finance and Google Keep to it. In this tutorial you will find out how to set up Drive to make the most of it on the go and prepare files to make them accessible anywhere, any time. Drive Set up…

Organise your mobile device with Drive

Access your computer anywhere

Google created the Drive online storage service to benefit users who wanted to access their files from various computers instantly. The cloud service for Drive is fantastic, and the web apps which allow you to run certain files from it make accessing your files from anywhere simple. As organised as you can be with Drive, it can be problematic if you find yourself away from your main computer and the files you need to access are not on Drive, or cannot be run on Drive or the computer that you are on. This can especially be the case for files that are specific to certain computer software, which won’t run on Drive and may not be installed on the computer, such as a Photoshop .PSD file. To get round this,…

Access your computer anywhere

Researching with Google

1 In a Google Document, highlight a piece of text you’d like to get more information on. Right-click and click ‘Explore Highlighted text’. This will open a research pop-up window within Google Docs. 2 Depending on the content of the text you selected, you’ll get varying results. At the top of the pop-up will be a summary of the wording as best compiled by Google, followed by web results. 3Use the tabs at the top of the ‘Explore’ column to access web info, pictures and any related content from your Google Drive. It’s a handy way to access key information quickly to help with any project.…

Researching with Google

See phone notifications on your desktop

If you’re finding yourself getting distracted by your phone at work then check out the Chrome Desktop Notifications extension. Sync your Android device’s notifications with your Chrome web browser with this Chrome extension and Android app. So whenever you receive a notification for a missed called, for exmaple, on your Android device, it’ll be forwarded to Chrome, which will display the push notification in a pop-up window on your desktop, allowing you to screen calls and messages from there. This will also be useful when your device is on silent but you want to monitor its activity. Check out our steps to learn how to install and run the Desktop Notification service. There is currently no such extension for iOS devices, but several other Chrome-toiOS extensions are available. Chrome Forward…

See phone notifications on your desktop

Work with tags in Feedly

Since the discontinuation of Google Reader, Feedly is going to be your new home for all your favourite site and news feeds, compiling the articles you want to read into one tidy space. Feedly comes with a fantastic categorising system, which allows you to set up news feeds under specific categories. The only downside of this category system is once you have read an article and want to save it, you can only save it to a single archiving folder, which cannot be categorised or ordered. However, what you can do instead is categorise articles by tags. A tag is a singular descriptive word which is somehow relevant to the content of an article. Tags are present in almost any kind of news article or blog post. They help categorise…

Work with tags in Feedly

Harnessing the power of the Omnibox

1 Omnibox can do much more than access websites. If you don’t know the name of the site you’re after, type in some relevant keywords and let Google find it. 2 You can do equations in Omnibox, using the +, –, * (multiply) and / (divide) icons. Type in an equation for an instant result, then continue with more operations. 3 It can do weight and measurement conversions too. Phrase the conversion in the form of a question using numerals; eg ‘How many gallons are in 4 litres?’…

Harnessing the power of the Omnibox

Google isn’t just a search engine any more. Although search remains its core business, and the primary way that users interact with the software giant, behind the scenes there are a whole host of additional products and services offered by the company – many of which you’ll probably encounter on a daily basis. The most well known of these are YouTube and Google Maps, but there are many others that provide services to help you improve your website, and your users’ experience. Google has also been acquiring services in recent years so that Blogger is now owned and operated by the firm, providing integration options that didn’t previously exist. Not to mention that it produces one of the most popular web browsers: Chrome. This section of the book provides you…

Make money with AdSense

Google AdSense is arguably the most popular advertising service on the web. Working with Google’s AdWords service, the system places adverts on websites across the globe in a simple text-based format that’s non-intrusive to users, but allows webmasters to generate income when an ad is clicked. This isn’t a licence to print money for website owners, and the amount of money raised will depend upon the type of advertisements and number of clicks, but there are other revenuesharing options available that can help provide a small-but-steady income for popular websites. A webmaster’s first instinct might be to reject the notion of showing adverts alongside their content, but the promise of some ad revenue, combined with the option to limit adverts to textonly, context-sensitive adverts makes the service popular. In this…

Make money with AdSense

Getting the most out of Google’s APIs

1 The Maps API has various elements such as Places, Coordinates and GeoLocation (the latter is a paid-for API that charges per request). Only use what you need. 2 Each API has extensive documentation. It’s well worth studying this in detail when you first use a new API, as you may save yourself headaches in the long run. 3 Google has a dedicated Google Groups forum for many of its APIs, such as the AdSense one. If you need help or advice, this is the best place to start.…

Getting the most out of Google’s APIs

Embed a YouTube video on your site

Over the past few years there’s been an explosion of video content on the web as broadband speeds have improved and smartphones have put decent video cameras in the hands of everyone. YouTube, bought by Google in 2006, is the world’s most popular video sharing platform, hosting millions of videos ranging from funny you’ve-been-framed clips to video blogs. Video is an incredibly engaging way to interact with your website visitors. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to upload a video to YouTube and embed it directly on your website, allowing you to leverage your content without having to worry about how to host and deliver video effectively. YouTube Upload a video and embed it in a page 1: Create your video Keep your video under ten minutes long (the…

Embed a YouTube video on your site

Manage sites with Google Search Console

Google’s Search Console offers a series of useful services for web developers and site owners to help manage search engine results, optimise websites and identify any issues. At its core, Search Console is a simple method for alerting Google to your website and any changes that have happened. You can do this by uploading an XML sitemap – a simple text-based document that allows you to let Google know which documents/pages exist on your website, when they were last altered, and the relative importance of each. This is used by Google’s search spiders to help index your website ready for search results, but is a useful way of prioritising particular pages. You’ll also get a suite of reporting options that allow you to examine which keywords your site is performing…

Manage sites with Google Search Console

Optimising sites with Search Console

1 When you change the structure of your site, you can let Google know by uploading a new XML sitemap. This enables the search engine spider to revisit your site and capture the new information. 2 When you’re signed up to Search Console, Google will alert you to any issues with your website, such as hacking attacks, and give you the opportunity to resolve the problem before it affects your listings. 3 The very best way to ensure your website performs well in Google (and other search engines) is to make your site unique; your content should be your own, and not copy another website.…

Optimising sites with Search Console

Add a Google Places listing for your site

Google Places is a useful way to list your business in Google so that when a user runs a search that includes geographical terms, the results can be tailored for the locality. As well as improving the end-user experience, it provides webmasters with the opportunity to further promote their business with a set of additional information that wouldn’t normally appear in standard search engine results. This can bring big rewards in customer acquisition. You can also choose to advertise using AdWords on a set of geographical criteria, allowing users to see locally relevant adverts alongside search engine results. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to created a Google Places listing for your business and upload info to help potential customers locate and identify your business. Places Add a Places…

Add a Google Places listing for your site

Add Photo to a site

Google’s Photos, which has replaced the old Picasa service, is a great desktop application and cloud-based storage solution for all your photos. Google Photos is a handy service that lets you back up all of your digital photos to the cloud and there are no storage restrictions, which means you can upload images as well as videos. The service also provides the means to edit photos (including adding special effects), and find images quickly and easily by searching for people or things within the images. Any of you images can be shored with someone else using a simple link, but unfortunately Google Photos doesn’t offer the option to embed existing images into a website once it has already been uploaded to Google Photos. However, there is a simple work-around courtesy…

Add Photo to a site

Tuning Google Chrome to work more effectively

1 To keep Chrome at its best, ensure you regularly check your extensions are up to date and remove any you no longer need. Go to chrome://extensions to do so. 2 Go to chrome://settings to control basic settings. For instance, you can set the homepage and whether Chrome will remember the last page(s) when reopened. 3 Go cutting edge by downloading the latest developer version of Chrome – search for “Chrome developer release”. The current version introduces touch support.…

Tuning Google Chrome to work more effectively

Manage your Google Account

Google offers an email service, video streaming site, cloud storage, online shopping centre and more, all from one account. As there are so many different things you can control across your account, navigating the menus may seem daunting. Fortunately, Google’s navigation bar helps make things much easier. You can access this account hub on any Google website by clicking on the profile picture in the topright corner of the page and selecting ‘My Account’. From here you will have access to all the settings and options for Google’s services, such as privacy settings, sign-in options and personal information. We suggest going to Account preferences first and selecting your preferred language. This is also where you will go if you wish to delete your account completely, and erase all of the…

Manage your Google Account

View your Google activity and navigate menus

Going to ‘My Activity’ allows you to see a summary of all of your account’s activity across all of Google’s Services. You can filter these by date or by service (Chrome, Android, YouTube etc.) and see when your account was used and on what device. This can be helpful if you want to know if anyone else is using your account. If there are certain things you don’t want Google to track, such as your location, then go to Activity controls on the left-hand bar of your activity page. Here you can choose what data Google saves. All of your account activity is kept private and can be deleted at any point. Each day will have its own summary of what you used and when, and if you select the…

View your Google activity and navigate menus

Manage your personal info

1 From the main Google Account page, click on ‘Your personal info’ and you will be taken to a page with all of your relevant details listed. 2 Click on any of the information listed and you will be shown a short explanation of the reasons why Google needs this information for its services. 3 If you click on ‘About me’ you can select what information you wish to keep private, and what you’re happy to be published publicly.…

Manage your personal info

Monitor your privacy and security settings

Privacy on the internet is something that should be taken very seriously. You’ll need to keep an eye on what information is posted online, otherwise you may find your details being passed on to people you don’t know. Fortunately, Google has a place you can go to review and manage your profile and privacy settings across all of its sites. This is under ‘Sign-in & security’ in the account page. These settings show you what devices have been used to access the account, when your password was last changed, and what options you have if you forget the password. If you want to learn more about Google’s security then scroll down to the very bottom of the Sign-in & security menu and click ‘Learn more.’ Here everything will be explained…

Monitor your privacy and security settings

Manage connected apps and sites

There are sites and apps that you may have permitted to access information from your Google account without realising. This could be an app that you downloaded to your smartphone or a password to a website you access on your PC. With the Connected apps & sites page, you can see information such as what data these services have access to, when they were authorised, and change these settings if you wish. For example, you may have downloaded an app to your smartphone that tracks your fitness. This may use your location data, as well as information from your Google calendar. Whenever you sign into a website for the first time on Google Chrome, it will ask you if you want the browser to remember the password so you don’t…

Manage connected apps and sites

Close your Google account

A time may come when you decide to close a particular Google account and erase all the data associated with it. It could be that you set up a work account that you no longer use or have set up an account for somebody else who, for whatever reason, no longer requires it. In which case it makes sense to close it down. Fortunately, this is a quick and easy process. The easiest way to delete an account is by going to the main account screen and then navigating to ‘Account preferences’. Before you confirm that you want to delete your account and erase all data associated with it, Google will list everything that will be erased, as well as giving you a link to download the data. This can…

Close your Google account

Organise your mail with Gmail’s new tabs

The Gmail service has undergone a major makeover of late – and we’re impressed with the results. The most startling new feature revolves around tabs, though strangely this new addition isn’t instantly apparent. To access it you have to open the Settings menu (via cog icon) – here you’ll find the option to ‘Configure inbox’, which is where the magic happens. You can add various categories of tabs to the top of your primary inbox and all the emails relating to these will be automatically filtered into their respective tabbed inbox, instantly de-cluttering your primary inbox. This makes it far easier to find certain emails and never miss the important ones. You can also move messages between tabs if you find something filed incorrectly and the system is intelligent enough…

Organise your mail with Gmail’s new tabs

Link multiple email accounts together through Gmail

It’s becoming increasingly rare for people to operate on just one email account. We all tend to have separate accounts for work and personal, and maybe more on the go as well. So how time-consuming is it to have to switch between accounts in order to check all of our inboxes? Mercifully, Gmail comes with the built-in option to link Gmail accounts together so that all of the new emails are streamed into one place, making it simple to check them on the fly and easy to reply to them from whichever email address you choose. There is much more to Gmail than meets the eye too, because you can then really start to explore the main options available to you through the Settings screen (accessible by clicking on the…

Link multiple email accounts together through Gmail

Use the Google+ Share button from any Google service

Situated in the top-right corner of every Google page you’re logged into is the ‘Share’ button. Clicking on this provides various options for sharing content from wherever you are quickly and easily. When you click on the button you will be presented with a standard status update window, into which you can write text and accompanying links to add photos, weblinks, videos and calendar events. The beauty of the Google+ service is that you can also be specific about who you share your files and status updates with as, unlike other social networks, you can tailor your audience so that all of your friends and family don’t necessarily have to see all of your posts all of the time. Included at the bottom of the main sharing window is a…

Use the Google+ Share button from any Google service

Back up your photos to Google+

Uploading your images to Google+ is beneficial in so many ways. Not only is it a great way to keep your images safe in a cloud environment, but it also brings a wealth of options to help you organise and share your images with other people. Uploading your images to Google+ is a quick and easy process that can be done by going to the Photos section and then clicking on the ‘Upload photos’ link at the top of the page. You can then drag images into the web browser window or navigate to them on your computer and choose which ones to upload manually. You can also download additional software to make the whole process automatic, if you wish. Once your images have been uploaded, you can then go…

Back up your photos to Google+

Start a Google Hangout on your phone or tablet

One of the main plus points about Google+ is the ease at which it allows you to communicate with your friends and family. Within the blink of an eye you can set up a new Hangout by inviting people from your circles and then initiate either a text chat or a multiuser video conference with them. This service extends to mobile devices with the standalone Hangouts app. This is a native app on all mainstream Android devices, so you should find it installed on your smartphone or tablet by default, though it is always worth heading across to the Google Play store and then checking to see whether or not any updates are available for it. Whenever you select the Hangouts option from the Google+ app, the Hangouts app will…

Start a Google Hangout on your phone or tablet

Upload your own videos to YouTube

The modern age of the smartphone, which doubles up as a very adept video recording device, means that everything in life can be documented and shared with the world. The ever-surging popularity of the YouTube web video service means that it is often people’s first stop for entertainment as you can find pretty much anything you want, within reason, uploaded and ready for you to enjoy. Uploading your own videos is a quick and easy task and you have full control over who sees the videos that you uploaded and the promotional process to get them seen by as many people as possible, which could also mean an unexpected source of revenue for yourself as a result. When you upload a video, you must give it a title and a…

Upload your own videos to YouTube

Find exactly what you want in Google Play

As you would expect given the company’s origins, Google provides rather a good search engine to help you find what you want in the Google Play store and it can be used in a variety of different ways. For example, by tapping on the magnifying glass icon at the top of the screen, you can enter simple keywords – as and after you do so, Google will suggest possible matches across a variety of categories, such as apps, music and movies. If you don’t want to type the selection, you can even speak it instead by tapping the microphone button next to the search box. Once you have spoken your search, it will complete its result list in the same way as before. As you get to know the search…

Find exactly what you want in Google Play

Listen to your music anywhere by uploading it to Play Music

If you’re finding the stress of work a little too heavy going, want to listen to some of your favourite chill-out music and have forgotten your MP3 player then help is at hand thanks to the Play Music service. You can upload up to 20,000 songs to your own personal cloud, so they will be within easy reach wherever you are – simply log into your Google account on any computer and you’ll be playing them in seconds. That’s not all. Play Music also provides a wide range of cool features to help you get the most out of your music, such as Instant Mixes. Play Music will examine and scrutinise your uploaded music and group similarsounding songs together into playlists for you to enjoy. You can also instantly shop…

Listen to your music anywhere by uploading it to Play Music

Listen anywhere with Play Music All Access

The time has passed when you need to consider how much space you have available on a portable music player before leaving the house, no more having to cart around cassettes and CDs or even mini disks. With a smartphone or tablet and a subscription to Play Music All Access, you can now have access to millions of songs and albums whenever you want to listen to them, and you also have full control over whether you want to download tracks for offline listening or stream them using a mobile data connection. The service is perfect for discovering new songs and for organising your favourite tracks into playlists or standard artist lists, and it even lets you automatically make your entire music library available online. Whether you bought the tracks…

Listen anywhere with Play Music All Access

Search through and take notes in Play Books

Although eBooks are best suited to mobile devices that you can carry around with you at all times just like real books, Google’s desktop book service is just as feature-packed and can be a real asset, whether you just want to sit at your computer and read or carry out important research. Any books purchased from the Google Play store can be accessed on your computer through your web browser and some may prefer the larger reading interface that its monitor affords. All of the features that are available in the Play Books mobile app are on hand, too. You can search for keywords to jump to a particular page, make notes and apply them to passages of text – making this a handy tool for research purposes – and…

Search through and take notes in Play Books

Set up and start using Google Chromecast

Chromecast is an incredibly cheap device which can completely change the way you watch online content. It is a simple dongle that attaches to an HDMI port on an HDTV and also to your Wi-Fi connection. A free app is then required to connect all of the pieces together to give you a home or office streaming set-up that lets you send unlimited content to the bigger screen. Apps like YouTube, BBC iPlayer and Play Movies are supported, and the process to send your content to the TV is as simple as tapping one icon. It all happens immediately, is very reliable and will quickly become a ‘necessary’ part of your entertainment system. Here we will detail the set-up process, which has been kept as short and simple as possible,…

Set up and start using Google Chromecast

Set up Google Wallet in order to pay for purchases

It has never been easier to shop online, and Google is making strides to ensure that it gets easier by the minute. If you have ever bought anything from the Google Play store, such as an app or music track, then you will have already put your payment details in place when setting up your account. Google Wallet provides you with a useful platform to carefully monitor your online transactions so that you can scrutinise every outgoing payment and know exactly what you bought and on which date (we wouldn’t want small children buying on our behalf, after all…) Through Google Wallet you can also change certain aspects of your payment details, including the default billing address and registering extra debit or credit cards to use through your account. If…

Set up Google Wallet in order to pay for purchases

Use the Google Search app to go shopping

The Google Shopper app used to be an amazing way to buy products on your mobile phone. You were able to save items to a shopping list that would sync across devices, share that list and even use your camera to scan covers or barcodes to find products at the very best prices. All of this is in the past, however, since Google has decided to axe the app, migrating people to Google Search instead. It is fair to say that, as yet, Google Search is not as comprehensive, but it remains incredibly useful. You are able to use the built-in search engine to tap in keywords and get instant matches for the products that you are searching for. The results can be displayed according to cost and you can…

Use the Google Search app to go shopping

Searching for content using the Google News Archive

If you have ever had to search for an old newspaper article or clipping, then you will remember how difficult it used to be. With the launch of Google News Archive back in 2011, finding articles became much easier. It is a particularly useful service that provides users with free access to both online and scanned newspaper articles over 30 days old. With so many articles available online now, the only issue you may face is that it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly what you are looking for. However, recent changes from Google mean that you can search for content directly through the Google homepage. In this tutorial we will guide you through the process of searching for both online and print articles via the Google homepage and Google…

Searching for content using the Google News Archive

Set up your own community with Google Groups

We all have interests and we all have an in-built need to talk about them with other people who share these interests. Creating your own group page is a quick and easy way of doing this and thanks to Google’s intuitive Groups service, you can set up as many as you want and monitor them with ease through a simple interface. When setting up a new group, you have full freedom to decide the content and style of the group. For example, will it be a mailing list, will it be a web forum or will it be a collaborative inbox style of group whereby visitors can freely provide their own topics for discussion and content. With your groups set up, you can easily add posts and then go to…

Set up your own community with Google Groups

Video chat with Google Duo

Forget emojis, WhatsApp stickers or Snapchat filters, when was the last time you actually really talked with a friend? If your answer is ‘I don’t know’, download Google Duo immediately. This free app allows you to chat with friends and family face-to-face via live video, making it Google’s answer to Apple’s FaceTime, The service is totally free, though it will use your phone data if you use it outside of a Wi-Fi hotspot. To ensure that the video doesn’t drop out on you in bad signal areas, Google says that Duo will reduce the resolution of the video if the bandwidth is low. Duo will also switch between Wi-Fi and cellular data automatically. If you’re looking for a Skype replacement rather than FaceTime for Android, you might be disappointed as…

Video chat with Google Duo

Familiarise yourself with the new Google Maps

The new Google Maps is much improved on the old version. For a start, Earth has been fully integrated to replace the satellite view and searches and clicks are tailored for your needs. Traffic, for instance, gives real-time updates and it looks much better in this version. But you can also see alternative routes, whether by car or public transport. You even get an indication of how long, under the current conditions, it will take you to get there. Google Maps is also hot on images. There are thousands of photographs which help to form an overall image of an area and give you a better flavour of what is around. You can also leave ratings for places and see what other people think. All of this has been made…

Familiarise yourself with the new Google Maps

Take a tour of famous places using Google Earth

As well as manually hopping from destination to destination in Google Earth and viewing the environment around you at each location, you are able to sit back and enjoy some tours, complete with information that helps you to get more out of what you are seeing. There are some built-in tours that take you around some of the world’s most popular destinations, but you can also become very creative and produce your own. There are a couple of ways of doing this. You could insert a route and have Google Earth fly over it so you can see where you are going or you can produce a bespoke tour that you control, taking viewers on a journey. This can be narrated if you wish. Both are easy to do, as…

Take a tour of famous places using Google Earth

Stay on top of Google Trends

Google is in the perfect position to offer real-time information on what are the most popular searches of the moment thanks to its domination of the web search market, you don’t just search the web, you ‘Google it’. This enables it to scour all of the searches that are being undertaken at any time and present them for you to check during the day, using Google Trends. At any point, the top trends are of course changing every second and this is reflected in a variety of ways, but Google has also helpfully broken the trends down into categories if you are interested in a particular topic. The Top Charts section shows what is popular over a period of your choosing and will also be broken down by country. Hot…

Stay on top of Google Trends

Search more accurately using the advanced tools

Most people use Google Search every day and accept the results that are presented. This is perfectly reasonable because the results are almost always accurate and fit the search term that has been inputted, but there are ways to improve your results. Google offers many tools that will let you search for images, locations and other nontext references with ease and even these can be expanded upon to let you find exact image sizes and the type of images you require. The Advanced Search option lets you specify more than one term and you can choose what to include and what to avoid, which should bring results that are as near to your requirements as possible. The simplistic search page also lets you compare the prices of products, find books…

Search more accurately using the advanced tools

Use Google Now to keep everything on track

Google Now is a magical service that may well feel slightly unnerving when you first start using it. Its ability to know where you are and to predict what you will be doing in the future may seem strange, but it is merely the result of some clever programming that can help you with everyday activities. For instance, your daily commute can be shown in map form and the potential traffic calculated to give you an estimate of the journey time. That upcoming flight can be updated in real-time and all of your appointments are shown for good measure. Add to this some very clever reminders where you can request an alert to be shown when you reach a specific location and you start to see the benefits on offer…

Use Google Now to keep everything on track

Converse with anyone, in any language

You may think that you will rarely require the ability to translate a foreign language and text, but that could be down to the fact that you may believe it to be difficult and time-consuming. With Google Translate, however, you now have more than 50 languages at your fingertips and you can use the immediate translations in a variety of ways. The conversation mode lets you pass your phone between two people and to hear the translations spoken out loud while you are speaking. This is ideal when exploring a foreign land on holiday, enabling you to interact and converse with the local residents almost as seamlessly as if you were fluent in their language. The translate mode offers the simplicity of either typing or speaking a phrase and seeing…

Converse with anyone, in any language

Undertake research and collect citations using Google Scholar

It is easy and natural to use the default Google Search method when researching topics, but to do so would be missing out on one of the most useful Google offerings. Scholar is designed specifically for researching academic literature and journals and includes a number of simple features that come together to create a powerful solution that will save you a lot of time and improve the accuracy of your searching enormously. Each search result is presented with options below it that will automate the citation of each article and you can also then import them into your bibliography using your chosen referencing style with just a couple of clicks. Stats are available showing the number of citations and many of the results link directly to full articles which can…

Undertake research and collect citations using Google Scholar

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