GeekSugar

Google Announces Revamped Image Search

GeekSugar — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:15:03 PDT

In a press conference today, Google announced huge changes to its image search, aimed both at refining search results for users and introducing a new advertising unit to the mix.

In terms of image search, there are some major changes: a new layout displays larger images with far less white space, leaving room for up to 1,000 results on a single page, while hovering over an image brings up a larger, more detailed image containing more information. But that's not all - hear about the rest of the impressive new features and when to expect the update when you read more.

Daily Tech: The Jawbone Makes a Cameo on Entourage

GeekSugar — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:02:35 PDT

Johnny Drama showed off a hot bluetooth Jawbone headset on this week's episode of Entourage - Engadget
Google Image gets some more search options for efficient photo browsing - TechCrunch
RIM could be debuting a BlackBerry with a front-facing camera as early as next year - Gizmodo
Find out how you can redesign and customize your YouTube channel page - Mashable
Google's Eric Schmidt steps down from Apple's board of directors - The Silicon Alley Insider
A city in the United Kingdom may name a road after Lara Croft - Kotaku

Google Labs Gets Similar Images and Google News Timeline

GeekSugar — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 01:45:28 PDT

I use Google Images as much as I use Google, but the one frustration I have is being able to find the exact photo I want (and therefore get stuck clicking through page after page). No more! Google Labs has a new search feature called Similar Images where you can find images that look like an existing photo by clicking a link below the image.

Google has also rolled out Google News Timeline where you'll find the biggest news stories organized by their date, so you can easily get caught up on all the news.

Three Cool New Google Features

GeekSugar — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 01:45:05 PDT

Go Google, go! Aside from the amazing Gmail labs they've been whipping up, Google has also been on a roll with some exciting new Google Search features. Check out my slideshow to see what they are!

How to Search For Certain Colors in Google Images

GeekSugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:45:13 PDT

Google Images is great for finding pictures of anything and everything - you can even check out millions of historic Time magazine photos - but what if you want to search for images by color?

We already know that Yahoo has a shop by color application that comes in handy when you're looking for an article of clothing in a particular color, but if you want to do a general color search for any object, that's when Google comes in handy.

All you have to do is tweak the search results for the URL.

For this search, I typed http://images.google.com/images?q=laptop&imgcolor=orange. Where it says laptop, just change to whatever item you are looking for and where it says orange you can replace with any color you'd like!

Google Images Adds Millions of Historic TIME Magazine Photos

GeekSugar — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:00:45 PST

One thing that upsets me about Google Images is the fact that it's sometimes difficult to find older photos - hey, the Internet is only 39 years old. Google is trying to change this by hosting millions of photos from the LIFE photo archive from the 1950s and onward. Search various categories like people, places, events, sports, and culture or add "source:life" to any Google image search to only search the LIFE photo archive. I did this with Marilyn Monroe and these were the results I got - magical, right?!

Google Adds Facial Recognition To Image Search

GeekSugar — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 08:00:40 PDT

You've got to give this a try. It's almost as cool as Google's new streetside views feature, although it's a secret that's been kept on the down low. Say you want to find pictures of Hayden Panettiere (aka Claire Bennet) from the show "Heroes". You type in Claire Heroes in the Google Image box and your results appear. Now say you just wanted pictures of Hayden's face. By simply adding &imgtype=face to the end of your Google Image search URL, your new search will only provide headshots of Hayden.The official Google Blog claims that this new facial recognition software will "make it a lot easier for you to organize and find the photos you care about." Stay tuned for more stalkerish updates associated with this new recognition tool.

Images courtesy of nbc.com and Getty Images

Secret Job Search Tip That Will Give You a Leg Up on Your Competition

Emily Co — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:54:26 PDT

Doing research on a company is one of the first steps to tailoring your job application and prepping for an interview. One of the more common ways people learn about the company is by googling it and seeing what kind of articles pop up in their search. Another way is to read the company's "FAQ" or "About Us" section. But if you rely on those sources alone, you will be only scraping the surface of the company. You'll also be reading the same things other competing job candidates will be reading. To get a leg up on your competitors, check out these little known sources:

10-K filing. It's very possible that the company you are applying to is public (which means it's trading on the stock market), and all public companies have to file a 10-K filing. The Form 10-K is basically an annual report compiled by companies that summarizes the firm's performance and backs it up with data. You'll be able to see information on where the firm is going, what they're investing in, their competition, and where the majority of their revenue comes from. You'll be able to discern the firm's strengths and weaknesses, which will be helpful when you're figure out what value you can bring to the company. You can usually find the 10-K document in the investor's section of the corporate website or the SEC's website.
Annual report. The annual report is a different document from the 10-K and is pretty much a summary of the 10-K findings with less numbers and details and is in a format that is easier for laymen to understand. Reading the annual report and 10-K filing will help you have a better sense of what direction the company wants to take and its future goals. Having this knowledge will make it easier for you to better align your answers with the company's goals.
Press releases. The press releases can be found in the "Press" section of the corporate website and are official documents stating company announcements. It's helpful to read these documents because they are usually up to date and you'll have a good sense of what kind of image the company wants to present and what's important to the company.
Competitor's documents. When you're done reading up on your dream company, be sure to check out similar documents on its competitor's website. This will help you learn more about the industry and help you come up with new suggestions that your target company will be interested in exploring. Companies are always on top of what their competitors are doing, so your hiring manager will be impressed to know that you've done your research.

How to Use Google's New Knowledge Graph

Anna Monette Roberts — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:03:03 PDT

In an effort to improve and smarten up search results, Google launched the Knowledge Graph today. Previously, Google's search algorithm matched a string of letters or keywords to websites containing those letters, but keywords often have deeper meanings than face value. Google created the Knowledge Graph in response to the need for a more intelligent search model that better understands the people, places, and things that users are looking for.

Intended to include more appropriate search results, the Knowledge Graph also includes an organized array of basic facts, maps, and pictures to enrich the results. We've outlined below the three points you need to know when using the Knowledge Graph:

What terms to use: As of now, the Knowledge Graph only pulls results for people, places, or groups (like bands). Type in terms such as "Wes Anderson," "Houston, Texas," or "The Strokes" to see the Knowledge Graph in action. Type in a longer query like "keyboard shortcuts for mac," and Google will return to its classic results page format.

Learn more about the Knowledge Graph after the break.

Google Drive and 4 Other Cloud Storage Solutions

Kelly Schwarze — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:48:01 PDT

After years of speculation about a storage product, Google announced today its cloud storage solution - Google Drive. In an effort to seamlessly blend use for those already entrenched in Google Docs, documents are automatically built into Drive so that files can be collaborated on in real time. Users can give feedback on anything shared, including PDFs or video files, not just Google Docs; all users are then notified of the latest comment.

Drive can be installed on both Mac and PC platforms and a Drive app is available now for Android phones and tablets. We're hoping the iOS app is on its way. The cloud industry standard of a free 5GB of storage is the basic Drive account, with paid upgrades of 25GB for $2.50 per month, 100GB for $5 per month, or a huge 1TB for $50 per month. Any upgrade to a paid account includes the storage in your Gmail account boosting to 25GB.

Of course, Google Drive is only the latest product for cloud storage needs. Here are four more solutions for storing budget files or photos from your around-the-world vacation.

Dropbox - Arguably the leader in cloud storage, Dropbox has won customers with the user-friendly ability to sync files across multiples devices and act as a hosting tool for large media like hi-res images when sending them through email isn't an option.
iCloud - Stores 5GB of anything and everything for free for all iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Mac users. It has some limits and only stores media purchased through iTunes, but for Apple devotees it's an effortless option.

Discover two more cloud solutions after the break.