What's the square root of 1000? Ask Google

What’s in a word?

Long before google was officially added in the Oxford English Dictionary as a verb in 2006, it was already voted by the American Dialect Society as the “most useful” word in 2002.

The informal usage though started as a noun; it is a name of a company, a brand, a trademark. But in only 10 years since it was coined, it has become a verb, which means to search or find search for information on the Internet through the Google search engine.

The world’s approximately 1.4 billion Internet users have been actively googling for a decade and each one can say this much every day: “I googled, I am googling, I will google.”

There are other search engines, of course. But most Netizens seem to be on autopilot, the way to find anything on the Web is through the iconic Google search engine, which indexes billions of websites and images in over a hundred language domains.

When a noun becomes a verb, what lies beneath the more obvious semantic change? A whole new way of doing things that couldn’t be articulated anymore by current verbs in use. But Google has now even moved beyond search to encompass so many other things considered essentials to a computing life.

What’s (G)google? This word, this verb seems to be on the road to another redefinition as the search engine broadens its capability from “finding something” on the Web to “finding an answer.”

Did you know, for example, that Google can:

• Search for simple mathematical computations?

Yes, the Google search is now a calculator with built-in computing functions. Simply type the equation you’d like to compute on the search box and it will give you an answer, even one as complicated as 2*8(sqrt 5)^2=.

The technique is to key in numerals along with the corresponding mathematical operation. The search follows the universal symbols for the four fundamental mathematical computations such as + for addition, – for subtraction, * for multiplication and / for division. For the more advanced operations such as getting the square root of a number, just type sqrt, followed by the number. Sqrt 1000 for example is 31.6227766.

In the same way, the search box can also yield mathematical conversions between many different measurements of height, weight and mass, to name only a few. To convert 234 centimeters to inches, for example, just type 234 cm in inches, and it readily gives you the answer: 92.1259843 inches.

On the more practical side, Google can also compute money equivalents such as how much is $2,300 in Philippine peso on the current exchange rate. Type in 2300 USD to PHP, and Google says your money’s worth is “2300 Dolyares ng US = 108,306.649 Piso ng Pilipinas.” The search recognizes international symbols of most currency converters such as USD for US dollar, PHP for Philippine peso, JPY for Japanese yen, EUR for euro, HKD for Hong Kong dollar, and CAD for Canadian dollar.

• Search for specific file types?

In a typical search query, Google dishes out a list of websites where you can find information on a particular topic of interest. These websites come in varied file types and the information one is looking for may be in PDF, Word, Microsoft Office, PostScript or Lotus 1-2-3 or html format. To skip the long process of weeding out file types you don’t need, type keyword, followed by a space, the word “filetype,” a colon and the file type.

To search for documents on Internet statistics in PDF format, for example, type internet statistics filetype:pdf. Google will then list down all documents on Internet statistics available on the Web in PDF format. This greatly narrows down one’s search to PDF documents.

• Search for time and weather in different cities?

Do you know the current local time in London, Wyoming, Kabul, Tbilisi, Islamabad or Baghdad? No need to scour the Web for a world clock. Just key in time plus city in the Google Search box and you get the current time in that locality. “Time Canberra” as of this writing is 12:50:09 PM EDT.

Complementing time search is the weather search. Just key in weather and the name of the city and you get the weather in a specific city. “Weather Canberra,” also as of this writing, is “maaliwalas” at 20 C.

• Search for packages and patents?

Have you recently sent or about to send a package via Fed-Ex or UPS using Search? Google says all you need is a tracking number found in your airway bill and you get a direct link to a webpage that displays the information about your package. It works the same way with patent numbers. If you are looking for a particular information on a patent, just key in the number in the search box. In Google’s example, patent 5123123 in the US patent database is for a bathtub overflow control device.

Google’s patent search was launched in December 2006, featuring initially more than seven million patents dating back to 1790.

• Search for definitions and synonyms?

Do you need a dictionary to look up a particular word? Type the word define, space, and the word you want to define in the Google search box. Define Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, for instance, yielded several links to Web dictionaries and other resource pages that may provide the definition of the word. On top of the search result for supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is a wikipedia entry, which says it is an English word in the song with the same title in the musical film “Mary Poppins.” From Urban Dictionary, the word is defined as “a word from the Disney film production of the book Mary Poppins describing any quality that is so indescribable that you have no real word to say it with.”

For a more accurate search of a word meaning though, a real online dictionary such as the Merriam-Webster online dictionary may provide a better word definition.

Do you want another word for a word? Type the symbol ~ in the Google search box followed by the word whose synonym you would like to find out and you get an answer.

• Search for maps?

Maps are handy whenever you are new in a place and now by searching the name of place plus the word map, you gain access to a map of a specified location. Clicking on the map will show a large version on Google Map.

The search “Kuala Lumpur map,” for instance, takes you to a detailed map of Malaysia’s capital city. Zoom in on a particular area and you get a detailed view of the city streets. The map comes with photos of famous locations such as the Petronas Twin Towers located near the Kuala Lumpur City Center somewhere in Jalan Ampang.

Google maps are now available in 121 countries and only last week, Google announced the availability of the Google Map Maker in the Philippines that would allow Filipino map enthusiasts to edit local map data and share this with the rest of the Internet community.

“Palawan is a great example of a beautiful Philippine location with limited online visibility, outdated maps, and many unchartered areas. Local residents can use the Google Map Maker to make Palawan’s many beaches and other natural attractions accessible to local and international tourists,” Jason Chuck, Google product marketing manager for the Asia-Pacific, said in a statement during the launch.

With Google search, soon it would be easier to explore Philippine localities even for local tourists.

• Search for stock quotes?

Now that the stock market is always in the news and the world waits with bated breath the rise and fall of share prices, it is always helpful to know what’s happening.

To see current market data for a given company or fund, type the ticker symbol into the search box and it gives you a rundown of information on how the stock is performing. The more common ticker symbols for companies are MSFT for Microsoft Corp., INTC for Intel Corp., and CSCO for Cisco Corp.

This search capability is particularly important when you are closely following a stock or share price of a company or fund and especially now that the gyrations in the stock market can make fortunes crumble or rise sooner than the market expects or least expects it.

Tricks of the trade? Not really. The information has been available for quite some time in the Google help page. It’s just that most people do not really take time to read manuals or online help guides.

Now what’s in the word google? It is still a verb, definitely. It just added new layers of meanings to Web search.