What will Google do for you? Everything except cut your toenails. Google is the top Internet search engine and plans to stay that way, coming up almost weekly with new services, which it calls "features." Here is a sampling. If using a certain Google feature requires that you click on a separate address, that address is at the end of the paragraph. If no address is given, use the regular Google search page at http://google.com/

AIRLINE INFORMATION -- To see delays and weather conditions at a particular airport, type the airport's three-letter code followed by the word "airport." For example, San Francisco International Airport updates can be found by searching for "sfo airport." To check the status of a U.S. flight, type the name of the airline followed by the flight number. For example, to see the status for United Airlines flight 134 search for "United 134."

BLOGS -- Come here to find blogs on your favorite topics. http://blogsearch.google.com/ Learn how you can start your own free and easy Google blog at http://www.blogger.com/start

BOOKS ONLINE -- Google is putting the contents of five libraries on the Internet: University of Michigan, Stanford, Harvard, the New York Public Library, and Oxford. To use this service or to learn more about it, go to: http://books.google.com/

CATALOG SEARCH -- Come here to browse mail order catalogs of every variety online. Google has an amazing selection. http://catalogs.google.com/

FROOGLE -- If you're in the market for, say, a new microwave, go to Froogle from the main Google page. Pick out the model that interests you, click on "compare prices." Find out what many online merchants charge for that same model, so that you can pick the best buy. Froogle also gives "merchant ratings," which show how people liked dealing with a particular merchant. We tend to vent when things DON'T go well, which means you get an earful of heartfelt complaints about many merchants. Froogle is great for buyers! Find it at http://froogle.google.com/

HEADLINE NEWS -- just type in news.google.com, an easy address to remember, to get headlines only minutes old -- sometimes only seconds old -- from thousands of newspapers. Click on the headline you choose to get the full article. It's the best way to follow a breaking news story and great for sports news. Much faster and more informative than CNN headline news, I think. Many people now use this as a home page. http://news.google.com/

LOCAL BUSINESSES -- Search for businesses in your local area, or in an area you plan to visit. http://local.google.com/

MOVIES -- To find reviews and showtimes for movies playing near you, type "movies," "showtimes," or the name of a current film into the Google search box. If you've already saved your location by using Google Local (see item just above), the top search result will display showtimes for nearby theaters for the movie you've chosen.

MUSIC SEARCH -- "Find information about artists, songs, albums and places to buy the music you are looking for. If you enter the name of an artist popular in the U.S. into the search box, Google will display user reviews, song titles, stores to purchase the music and other useful information related to that artist at the top of your search results."

STOCK QUOTES -- They say, "Just enter one or more ticker symbols, [such as CSCO]. If we recognize the stock ticker you entered, we'll return the latest stock price (with a 15-minute delay for NASDAQ or a 20-minute delay for AMEX and NYSE), along with an intra-day chart, the daily high and low, and other useful information."

VIDEO, TV, MOVIE SEARCH -- They say, "You've found the world's first open online video marketplace, where you can search for, watch and even buy an ever-growing collection of TV shows, movies, music videos, documentaries, personal productions and more." Come here to learn more: http://video.google.com/video_about.html And click below to use the service: http://video.google.com/

WEATHER -- To find weather anywhere in the U.S., put in the search box "weather," followed by the name of the town. If more than one town has that name, add state or zip code.

     Learn about still more Google features by clicking on

http://www.google.com/help/features.html

     Now you can do foreign currency conversion, track down a missing package, check your spelling, and . . . and the people at Google are probably figuring out how to cut your toenails. The basic problem seems to be getting your feet into the search box.

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Janette Blackwell enjoys helping people uncover the "hidden treasures" of the Internet with her Tastebud Tango newsletter. It will lead you to family-safe sites with bargains and freebies, delicious food and humor, and free expert help of many kinds. Find it all at http://delightfulfood.com/Archives/index.html

© Copyright 2005 Janette G. Blackwell. All rights reserved. You may copy and use portions of this newsletter for noncommercial, personal use only. You may forward a copy to someone else as long as the copyright notice is included. Any other use of the materials in this newsletter without prior written permission is prohibited.