•
I’ve been thinking the Google Search Box needs more juice for a long, long time. A recent Pogue column got me thinking about it again - so here’s what I’m looking for.
What You Can Do Now
Google lets you log in - they know who you are when you run a search from the box. Google needs to leverage that fact into increased functionality. I’ve posted before about all the things the search box lets you do. Look at Pogue’s column for details on the kinds of things the search box lets you enter. Flight status, currency conversion, all kinds of useful stuff. I’ve posted about it too. But why doesn’t Google deliver more?
What You Should Be Able To Do
Parsing a line of text for the good stuff isn’t much of a challenge for the brainpower at Google - what I’m looking for is something they could turn on tomorrow. Here’s an example:
Say I want to add an appointment. I could go to my Google Calendar and use the Quick Add link. Then I can type a natural language description of the appointment, something like- tomorrow lunch with Merlin 11:45am at LAX In-N-Out -and the appointment gets created in my Google Calendar. That’s nice, but why do I have to go to Google Calendar to do that when I have a permanent Google search box on every web browser I use? I have to load Google Calendar and click the Quick Add link before I can enter my appointment details. I don’t even want to go to Google Calendar after the appointment is created.
Instead, I’d rather type a qualifier in the regular search box like- appt# Dentist Dec 7 10am. The appointment would be added to the default calendar of whatever Google account I’m logged into. Obviously the appt# would tell Google I’m creating an appointment.
Where do we go from there? I’d be happy to send a quick email from the search box: email# to:laporte, pogue, mossberg sub: google body: they don’t like my idea
In this case the names would be pulled from my Google contacts. But you could enter an email address instead. And once Google buys Twitter you could just use a screen name and send a tweet.
What else? Depends on what you like to do with Google. How about where# pambeesly to see her location in Google Latitude? I should be able to add stocks to my iGoogle page. Open a Google Document by name. Send a text. Upload a photo.
Mobile
This is the big one. Google should be itching to keep me in their mobile app for as long as they can. If I can send texts, add appointments, open docs, and see where people are all from one simple search box on my mobile device I’m far less likely to wander off to another application or another vendor. For some people it’s much more convenient than digging through a GUI and multiple page loads.
When will we see something like this? Who knows. Google Calendar lets you specify lots of information with Quick Add, even details for a recurring appointment. So someone over there likes plain language interfaces. But it doesn’t let you specify a calendar. You never know what features we’re going to get, but you can hope.
Related Posts
Access Google Calendar from Terminal
Selective Mobile Phone Reminders with gCal
|
Permalink
•
Murphy has built up a ton of duplicate files over the years. All kinds of stuff, some files with the same file name, some with different file names. Many of the files are half-baked backups thrown onto external drives in haste. Some are just the result of poor housekeeping.
I’ve used various tools to get the mess under control. Later we’ll be looking at a tool called CD Finder that despite its name can be very helpful in cataloging an unruly collection of disks and drives. We’ll be looking at the diff command too - which is already on your Mac. But first let’s take a look at Tidy Up, an extremely helpful tool for finding duplicate files and deleting them.
Tidy Up can look beyond the filename to determine if files are duplicates or not. In the screencast Murphy uses Tidy Up to look at file content and size. There are many other criteria sets the application can use to evaluate files.
Tidy Up can also dig into iPhoto and iTunes databases in search of duplicates. Mail mailboxes too. Information about deleted files is then synced back to the applications. We’ll look at these features in another screencast.
One feature Murphy really likes: The ability to keep a single copy from a duplicate grouping. Tidy Up groups identical files together in its search results. The application will display all but a single file from each group, allowing you to delete all the extras at once.
Tidy Up can also restore content you’ve deleted to its original location, as long as you haven’t emptied the trash.
You can use Tidy Up to scan multiple drives at once or just a folder that you suspect has duplicates. It’s probably best to experiment a little before deleting anything - to ensure you’re getting the results you expect.
Watch Now
|
Permalink
•
When you set criteria using the Finder GUI for Smart Folders each condition is set as an “and”, meaning all the criteria must be met by a file to be returned in the results. There’s no obvious way to change this in the GUI, but it’s there. Sometimes you want to return files that meet “any” condition of a given criteria set. For example, you might want to see files that end in .dng OR .jpg.
When you add a new criteria to a Smart Folder, hold the option key before clicking the plus sign and you’ll get a drop-down for Any or All. Select ANY when you want to create a less restrictive query. Select ALL to form a restrictive Smart Folder. You can drag the rows up and down to change their order.
I didn’t see this in the help anywhere and wonder how anyone was supposed to know about it. I guess I’m not alone, it was mentioned in MacRumors and credited to Macworld.
I messed around a little with adding an Any and an All at the same time but I’m not sure how OS X is interpreting that logic. Try it and see for yourself.
Watch TV on Your Mac
|
Permalink
•
Your Mac is loaded with special characters you can access from all kinds of applications. Take a look under the Edit menu and in many cases you’ll see Special Characters at the bottom of the list.
Instead of scrolling through all the characters in the list use the search field.
More details at UsingMac, including a hearts example just in time for Valentine’s Day emails and tweets. They probably won’t work everywhere, like in Wordpress, without a little tweaking.
iPod Nano - Amazon
|
Permalink
•
Users trying to take advantage of the iLife ‘09 Up-to-Date program are reporting trouble ordering their almost-free copy of iLife on-line. If you bought a Mac after January 6 you can acquire iLife ‘09 by ordering on the web or sending in a form via fax or snail mail. You’ll also have to pay a charge to cover shipping and handling: $9.95 in the US.
Threads at Apple Discussions and MacRumors indicate the system isn’t accepting some serial numbers. People calling into Apple for support report they’ve been directed to just fax the form in.
Murphy spoke with a manger at the Apple Retail Store in Charlotte, NC. He said he was aware of the issue and sometimes the database takes a few days to update with new serials after you’ve purchased your Mac.
Anyone having this problem?
Order iLife 09
|
Permalink
