Google Pocket Guide by Tara Calishain, Rael Dornfest & DJ Adams.
Why turn to hard copy for learning to use Google when the same information can be found online? That’s got to be the first question that comes to mind if you already spend a lot of time on the Internet. I mean, why spend the money (978 yen at amazon.co.jp)? If you really want to get to know Google better, spend a few minutes clicking around their site for free. Find the page that gives hints and tips and study it. Click some more and discover Google Labs, Google News, Google Glossary, Google Images, and more. It’s all there…somewhere.
After about 20 minutes, though, if you’re like me, chances are you’ll have had enough and turned elsewhere, never to return again, even if you bookmark a page or two. You know it will always be there. Granted, you may find a page so useful you’re willing to spend printer ink on it—that you plan to sit down and actually read later. That’s fine, too. But the online experience has its drawbacks. Any slice of information, being “just a click away” means that countless temptations and distractions are vying for one’s attention, and sometimes more discipline than we can muster is required to stay on track. Not to mention that the longer one spends staring at the screen, the closer to information overload one gets before mental fatigue sets in. That strong initial motivation disappears and the question becomes “what was I trying to do in the first place?”
Now the investment in a mass-market paperback doesn’t sound so bad after all. What you get comes in a compact, portable package, featuring high legibility and durability. It can be tossed into a backpack without fear of damage and accessed without drawing undue attention to oneself. The glossy turquoise-and-black-on-white O’Reilly exterior is attractive, although on the interior some bleeding of ink from facing pages may be found.
While the package is convenient, the delivery of content is also very functional. The writing is non-nonsense, although not humorous, as one finds in the “Dummies” guide series. Gray-scale screen shots supplement the text. The examples do their job. The content is divided into four sections, roughly equivalent to: general introduction, how to search, how to read results, and other functions. A quick-reference appendix and adequate index are also included. The linear presentation facilitates absorption of the content, while built-in flippability provides instant access to any section.
The slim 100-pager is not a keeper for reference, nor is it a cover-to-cover thriller. It is better suited for reading during idle moments in an acquisitive state of mind. In two or three minutes, you’re sure to find a useful tip such as limiting a search to a company’s website ("site:canon.co.jp" for OS compatibility for a printer), or to a specific type of file ("filetype:pdf" for a manual in downloadable format), for example. Even if one knows the basics of Google, like putting hyphens between words to find an exact phrase (or using quotation marks), a reminder that searches are limited to 10 words can be appreciated.
Published in June 2003, the guide includes tips on searching for blogs, but is already starting to get dated as Google moves ahead with new features such as word definitions ("define:wlan"), and a calculator function ("39.95 times 108"), from the top page. The concepts can sometimes get very technical, such as using special syntax to restrict by date, but since Google isn’t rocket science (or PHP), the guide has only so much material to cover. It’s a great bathroom read, but won’t last long, leaving you looking for more to learn. So buy another item along with it. Besides, when your Amazon Japan order is 1,500 yen or more, shipping is free. But you knew that already. And you didn’t even need to search Google.
