A totally unrelated question about Google

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

07/11/2005 10:31:38 PM · #1

Why do so many people think this is such a great search engine?

They may produce more results than other search engines, but there has not been one time - NOT ONE TIME - that I have tried to use Google where I found what I wanted easily. I get thousands of reults yes, but there is rarely anything I am searching for on the pages that come up. For example I put in PhotoImpact RAW Plugin and I get nothing useful - only PhotoShop sites. What good is that if I don't have PS?

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

Canon RF 24-70 f2.8 L IS

07/11/2005 10:36:05 PM · #2

That's what happens when money talks. Instead of realistically-ranked hits, you get a strong preference for commercial sites. It's not just Google, they all do it.

Nikon D200

07/11/2005 10:44:10 PM · #3

I entered:

+"photoimpact" +RAW +plug-in

and didn't get anything related to Photoshop.

One thing I like about Google is that you can also use the minus sign to eliminate (within the same search) site that contain things you don't want. For example:

+"photoimpact" +RAW +plug-in -Photoshop

Are you using the + and - signs in the search box?

dsa157

Canon EOS-50D

Canon EF 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM

07/11/2005 10:47:22 PM · #4

Originally posted by Alienyst:

why would you possibly suggest that you got nothing useful back? The very first link in the result set using your search terms gave me the name of the company from which I imediately was able to get a link to the product to buy it.

How is that not useful?

Additionally, if you learn some very basic ways to submit queries (quoting phrases, using the "+" or "-" to weight terms, etc) you can refine your search results even more.

As they say, it's a poor carpenter that blames his tools.

Dave

awpollard

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

07/11/2005 10:55:08 PM · #5

I only use Dogpile as it searchs all the biggies like Google, Yahoo!, Ask Jeeves etc...

shadow

Sony DSC-W1

07/11/2005 10:56:11 PM · #6

Originally posted by Alienyst:

Why do so many people think this is such a great search engine?

because of their clean interface.

CorySmith

07/11/2005 10:59:43 PM · #7

no pop-ups

totaldis

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

07/11/2005 11:54:53 PM · #8

google is more than a search engine, its an entity. there stock is at an astonishing 293$. my guess is they are doing something right. as for their search engine. i love it.

07/12/2005 06:59:36 AM · #9

Originally posted by A1275:

I entered:

+"photoimpact" +RAW +plug-in

and didn't get anything related to Photoshop.

Not true - I just did the exact same search and EVERYTHING is photoshop related. Yes, they mention PhotoImpact, but except for the first result that came up which was for Noise Ninja, all the rest were photoshop related.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

07/12/2005 07:01:54 AM · #10

Originally posted by dsa157:

why would you possibly suggest that you got nothing useful back?

Buy what? PhotoImpact? I have it and that was NOT the first result that came up on my search. The first site that comes up in the search is The Plugin Site which I found useless. And for blaming the tools? I am not 'blaming' the tool. I just find Google USELESS no matter how I enter the search. It has NEVER produced results that were useful to me.

I didn't ask people to do the search for me - I know how to use Google. I asked WHY people thought it was so great.

Message edited by author 2005-07-12 07:05:34.

PaulMdx

Canon EOS-1D

07/12/2005 07:11:56 AM · #11

Originally posted by Alienyst:

Why do so many people think this is such a great search engine?

From the bottom of Google's homepage:

"©2005 Google - Searching 8,058,044,651 web pages"

That's why. You may be surprised to hear it's actually not easy to search 8 billion pages in a fraction of a second.

07/12/2005 07:17:40 AM · #12

Have they got you snowed...they don't search all those pages every time you enter a search term.

ganders

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

07/12/2005 07:20:46 AM · #13

Originally posted by Alienyst:

I didn't ask people to do the search for me - I know how to use Google. I asked WHY people thought it was so great.

Because it's the best search engine out there, in my experience.

It's pretty rare that I ever need to find something out when Google hasn't led me to the information I needed. The fact that "it has NEVER produced results" for you suggests that actually you DON'T know how to use Google to produce results for you - so I wouldn't be too sniffy about people trying to help.

With the specific search, your main problem would seem to be the term "plugin"; if you were after information about RAW files in PhotoImpact, then a search on "PhotoImpact RAW" pulls up oodles of pages (all, sadly, which seem to suggest the it doesn't support them...) In fact, the very first link is to the manufacturers website, and that leads you nicely into their support forums:

(relevant thread on RAW files)

Perhaps your mistake is assuming that Google will immediately answer your question; all it does it point the way to the websites that will help. And in that, it still outclasses every other search engine I've tried.

gprinsloo

Nikon Coolpix 990

07/12/2005 07:33:24 AM · #14

Firstly they do not search the pages. they build and index and search that, hence the speed.

It depends on the web page maker and what they pur in their tags. ALL search engines see the same stuff(Meta tags).

The problem is most developers realise that to get a hit they need to include catch words, "Photoshop" is certainly one.

Make use of the " (Quotes) to enter exact words. Otherwise raw might return rawlings,rawhide etc.

try the following

+"photoimpact" +"raw" +"plug-in"
Results 1 - 10 of about 4,970 for +"photoimpact" +"raw" +"plug-in". (0.03 seconds)
ULEAD BECOMES PROMINENT IN THE RETURNS.

instead of

photoimpact raw plug-in
Results 1 - 10 of about 9,220 for photoimpact raw plug-in. (0.21 seconds)
PHOTOSHOP IS PROMINENT IN THE RETURNS.

Hope this is helps.

Sigma 18-125mm f/3.5-5.6 DC for Canon

07/12/2005 07:34:21 AM · #15

Originally posted by ganders:

The fact that "it has NEVER produced results" for you suggests that actually you DON'T know how to use Google to produce results for you - so I wouldn't be too sniffy about people trying to help.

Perhaps your mistake is assuming that Google will immediately answer your question; all it does it point the way to the websites that will help. And in that, it still outclasses every other search engine I've tried.

Excuse me...I do know how to use Google, thank you very much!

I don't expect it to immediately answer any question. As a search engine I expect it to produce results that match the criteria I enter. I try to use Google since it is easy and available, but I find that every time I do I am disappointed with the results and go back to using Ferret - which when using the same search criteria always produces results that are relevant.

I didn't ask for help, I aksed for opinions why people thought Google was so great. I may not know how to use my camera to all its advantages and produce stunning pictures with it, but computers is one thing I know.

Message edited by author 2005-07-12 07:36:54.

sabphoto

Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+

07/12/2005 07:44:24 AM · #16

Originally posted by ganders:

(all, sadly, which seem to suggest the it doesn't support them...) In fact, the very first link is to the manufacturers website, and that leads you nicely into their support forums:

(relevant thread on RAW files)

Ya beat me ganders, I looked all over their site and read about the program and nothing says anything about supporting RAW files, even in the latest patch 10 nothing is mentioned.

I like google because it is clean, fast to load and I don't have to "search" for the search option, plus there is the tons of other stuff like the maps and foogle that you can access IF you want to, it isn't thrown down your throat like most do. I agree that the more you pay the more your links will come up but I know that other non-paying sites do come up also, it took me a long time to figure it out but I finally got my name and website to show up without paying.

Message edited by author 2005-07-12 07:45:02.

Kavey

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

07/12/2005 07:46:39 AM · #17

Originally posted by Alienyst:

Originally posted by ganders:
The fact that "it has NEVER produced results" for you suggests that actually you DON'T know how to use Google to produce results for you - so I wouldn't be too sniffy about people trying to help.

Perhaps your mistake is assuming that Google will immediately answer your question; all it does it point the way to the websites that will help. And in that, it still outclasses every other search engine I've tried.

Excuse me...I do know how to use Google, thank you very much!

I don't expect it to immediately answer any question. As a search engine I expect it to produce results that match the criteria I enter. I try to use Google since it is easy and available, but I find that every time I do I am disappointed with the results and go back to using Ferret - which when using the same search criteria always produces results that are relevant.

I didn't ask for help, I aksed for opinions why people thought Google was so great. I may not know how to use my camera to all its advantages and produce stunning pictures with it, but computers is one thing I know.

Perhaps their opinions are based on knowing how to use it effectively and therefore being able to find what they are looking for.

I'm an IT Trainer and, in the early days of the web, used to run a course on accessing the information on the web, much of which focused on using available search engines and directories effectively. None of the options were that great so I'd cover several, including tools such as dogpile that listed results from more than one search engine or directory.

When Google came out it blew the other search tools out of the water again and again and again.

I still check out alternative search tools regularly but find google is still blowing them out of the water.

I do make sure I'm aware too of which listings are commercially elevated in the ranks and which are genuinely the top matches.

ganders

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

07/12/2005 08:25:41 AM · #18

Originally posted by Alienyst:

Excuse me...I do know how to use Google, thank you very much!

My apologies.

Your assertion that it "never produced" results for you, and the fact that for me (and, it would appear, lots of other people) it reliably DOES produce results, made me ASSume otherwise.

dsa157

Canon EOS-50D

Canon EF 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM

07/12/2005 09:01:50 AM · #19

Originally posted by Alienyst:

Excuse me...I do know how to use Google, thank you very much!

I don't expect it to immediately answer any question. As a search engine I expect it to produce results that match the criteria I enter.

so what exactly were your expectations given the criteria that you entered? Since you didn't weight any of the terms more heavily you got many results for photoshop and plugins and the top ranked results in the set included PhotoImpact. What would you have preferred to see in the result set?

I didn't ask for help, I aksed for opinions why people thought Google was so great.

People have given you their opinions, but since they seem to disagree with your preconceived notion that Google doesn't work very well, you don't seem to want to hear what the rest of us like about it, so what was the point in starting this thread in the first place?

If it is a rant, fine, then move it into the Rant section. If it is truly a discussion about interesting features and capabilities in Google versus other search engines, then I'll offer up an additional option - Google has a beta service they are testing called Google Suggest which, as you type in your search query, returns related search terms and the number of results in the result set to help you refine your search. Pretty cool.

Dave

PaulMdx

Canon EOS-1D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

07/12/2005 09:07:23 AM · #20

Just going back to your original point, Chris.. Is there a search engine that's better?

sabphoto

Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+

07/12/2005 11:25:50 AM · #21

Originally posted by dsa157:

...I'll offer up an additional option - Google has a beta service they are testing called Google Suggest which, as you type in your search query, returns related search terms and the number of results in the result set to help you refine your search. Pretty cool.

Dave

Hey this is pretty cool, thanks for the heads up dsa.

saiphfire