How to Track Google Merchant Center Revenue

October 20th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Google Merchant Center makes it easy to follow your online sales. If you use Google Merchant Center to sell products online, monitoring your incoming revenue is paramount. Keeping an eye on your sales can quickly get complicated, but fortunately, Google Merchant Center has a very user-friendly interface for tracking all payments. Once you have your Google Merchant account connected to your bank account, you will be able to start receiving payments. As soon as that happens, you’ll be able to access your revenue reports.

Difficulty:Moderately Easy1

Sign into your Google Merchant Center dashboard.

2 3

Review the information within the Payouts page. This page will display all financial information relating to your merchant account. Available financial information includes recent sales, sales still awaiting payment, funds paid to your bank account, refunds and chargebacks.

4

Click “Payout Details” or “Transaction Details” within the “Download Data to Spreadsheet” section. This will create a printable report that you can save to your hard drive. The report can be opened by any spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice Calc.

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Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Center, Google, Merchant, Revenue, Track

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Does Google Index WordPress Drafts

October 11th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Google uses spiders or robots to “crawl” the Internet for new pages to add to its index. Google’s indexes allow the servers to more quickly find relevant search results, such as your blog posts, without having to pour through every Web page at the time of the search.

According to Google, its spiders find new pages to add to the index by searching for links on pages that already exist in the indexes. If you have save your WordPress post as a draft, it is not yet published on your blog there are no links to your draft for Google’s spiders to discover. Thus, your WordPress drafts will not become part of Google’s indexes until after you publish the post and the spiders have a chance to crawl your site once more.

WordPress does provide temporary viewing addresses for drafts so that you can preview them before publishing. However, even if you created a link to this temporary URL from a page on your blog that already exists in Google’s indexes, WordPress only allows the blog author and administrators to view drafts. WordPress will not grant access to the content of the post to Google’s spiders and your draft will not become part of Google’s indexes.

When you maintain a blog or website with WordPress, you want visitors to be able to find your site by searching for relevant terms. For example, if your blog is about graphics and you create a post about the best editing programs, you will benefit if your blog post appears in Google’s results for “graphic editing software.” Thus, you should ensure that there is a link to every blog post, page or other content on your site so that Google can add this content to its index and you can increase exposure to your blog. WordPress drafts do not contribute to this exposure. If you are creating a time-sensitive or surprise blog post, you will not want Google to index your drafts before you publish the post to the public.

WordPress does allow you to change the status of a post back to “Draft” after the post has been published. You may do this if you have accidentally publish an incomplete post or published a draft too early. It is possible that Google could crawl your site and add the post to its indexes during this time. It is impossible to pinpoint how much time Google requires to index your site. According to the company, spiders “regularly crawl the web to” add new pages to the index. However, Google gives no concrete time-frame and states that factors such as PageRank, links to a page and other factors affect crawl frequency. In the event that you accidentally publish a WordPress draft, Google may not see it to add it to the index if there are fewer links to the post.

Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Drafts, Google, Index, WordPress

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How to Make a User Enter a Captcha Before Redirecting

A captcha is an effective way to cut down on spam email and message postings. The increasing amount of personal and financial information on the World Wide Web has made it an attractive target for unscrupulous marketers and criminals. A large number of groups operate “spiders” or “bots,” which are programs that travel through the web; they can be used to harvest personal information such as email addresses, post unwanted advertising messages in blogs, or create accounts for various purposes.

One way to stop these programs is by using a “captcha”, which is a simple word or pattern recognition test that the user must pass to continue. Captchas are designed to be easy for humans to solve but difficult for computers, thus making automated use of these sites difficult. By far the most popular captcha program is Google’s free reCAPTCHA. For others, see the links in the Resources section.

Difficulty:ModerateAdministrative access to your sitePHP language supportAn HTML editor1

Visit recaptcha.net and create an account (or sign in with a Google account if you have one). Click “Add Site”, enter your site’s domain name, and click “Create Key” to obtain public and private keys. Make a note of these keys, or leave the page up in your browser; you will be using them to communicate with Google’s reCAPTCHA server.

2

Download the PHP reCAPTCHA library from the Google Code site listed in the References section below.

3

Unzip the PHP reCAPTCHA library and place the file “recaptchalib.php” into the folder on your site that includes the page with your form.

4

Open your HTML editor and create a file called “verify.php”.

5

Put the following code at the top of “verify.php”:

In the third line above, replace “your_private_key” with the private key you obtained in Step 1. Leave the quote marks in place. Toward the bottom, in the “else” section, place the code that you will use to redirect the user after the test. Save the file.

6

Open the page on which your form appears in your HTML editor.

7

Create a new

In the fourth line above, replace “your_public_key” with the public key you obtained in Step 1. Leave the quote marks in place.

8

Save the file. reCAPTCHA should now be working.

The Google Code site in the References section includes a complete guide to the reCAPTCHA plugin.

The public and private keys must be entered accurately (cutting and pasting is best). Do not confuse them, or the test will not work.

Your form needs to be set up to get its variables with $_POST rather than $_REQUEST.

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What Is a FeedBurner ID?

November 5th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Google FeedBurner is a free service that lets generate and manage RSS feeds for your website or blog. Each generated RSS feed has its own unique identification, which is quite simple to locate, as long as you know where to look. FeedBurner users and developers who take advantage of the service’s Application Programming Interface (API) should know where to find the ID, as it may be needed in blog plugins and applications.

A Google FeedBurner ID serves the purpose of identifying a particular feed. As there are millions of feeds “burned” or served up by FeedBurner, each one must be easily identifiable by their system, otherwise it would start serving the wrong content for each feed. Since Google’s acquisition of FeedBurner in 2007, ID numbers became identification names, which are generally chosen by the user when setting up the feed.

To find your FeedBurner ID for a feed you manage on the service, you’ll need to first log into the site. After you are logged in, click the feed title link. On the next page, click the “Edit Feed Details” link near the top. The text in the “Feed Address” field is your FeedBurner ID for that particular feed. It is unique for each feed and cannot be the same as any other feed.

Your FeedBurner ID may be required by plugins on different blogging platforms, like WordPress or Movable Type. It is useful to know where you can find this information, so you can easily input the information in the plugin’s settings page. However, sometimes a plugin asks for the full feed address, which includes the ID too.

If you are a software or application developer, you might need to access a FeedBurner ID with the FeedBurner API. If you have designed an application that requires user input of the ID, then you want to know where to find, that way you can give clear instructions to the user.

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Why Does My Google Earth Have Low Resolution?

Many Google Earth images are at a low resolution for reasons ranging from unavailability of high-quality images for a geographic area to cloud cover. For security reasons in some areas of the world, Google Earth will provide only low-quality, pixelated images that obscure details of buildings or important installations.

Since Google Earth’s introduction in 2005, Google has constantly updated its database of images to provide up-to-date, high-quality aerial images. Some are available in three-dimensional views. Google obtains the imagery from a number of sources, including satellites, airplanes, hot-air balloons and even model airplanes. Google uses the best imagery it has available, but some aerial images may be as much as 3 years old. Google Earth users can use program options to control resolution. The lowest resolution is 256-by-256 pixels; the highest available is 1,024-by-1,024 pixels.

Resolution available for a particular geographical area largely depends on Google Earth user interest. Large cities, major points of interest and historical landmarks generally can be viewed at higher resolutions, and sometimes in 3-D. An October 2008 PC World article reported some images available in resolutions as high as two feet per screen pixel. Remote areas of the world, including oceans and deserts, generally are less detailed.

Google Earth’s aerial images of certain areas are intentionally obscured for security purposes. For example, the roof of the White House is digitally altered to conceal security installations, according to a June 2009 article by Focus. Images of some military bases where buildings and other objects could be potential targets are pixelated. Among them are Reims Air Force Base in France, the NATO C3 Agency in Brussels, Belgium, and the NATO Air Base in Geilenkirchen, Germany.

Images of the nation of Israel are heavily pixelated, according to a June 2011 article by PC World. Israel is subject to what’s known as the “one-meter threshold,” which means that U.S. companies, including Google, can show images of Israel at no higher resolution than one pixel per square meter. The 1997 National Defense Authorization Act included a provision limiting the resolution of commercially distributed satellite imagery of Israel.

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How to Delete Your Favorites History From YouTube

October 11th, 2011 | Add a Comment

YouTube gives the user the ability to create a favorites list in which she can save her favorite videos, then quickly find them again. After you’ve used YouTube for a long period of time, your favorites list may contain videos that you no longer enjoy or want to watch. To reduce the list and keep it up to date, you can delete selected videos from the list, or delete the entire list and start fresh.

Difficulty:Easy1

Log in to YouTube, then click on your name at the top of the page and select “Favorites.” A list of all the videos you have added as favorites displays.

2

Check the box next to each video you want to delete from your favorites list. If you want to delete all the videos, check the box on the menu bar above the first video. A check mark appears next to each video you select.

3

Click “Remove” to delete the videos from your favorites history.

Bookmark any YouTube videos in your favorites list that you want to save, as you cannot recover your YouTube favorites list after you delete it.

Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Delete, Favorites, History, YouTube

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How to Use Google Earth on Your iPod Touch Without WiFi

November 9th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Google Earth, a program from Google that allows you to search for and zoom in on any location in the world, is available from Apple’s App Store and can be installed directly onto your iPod Touch. Google Earth requires an Internet connection to download information and images, which it caches on your device until you delete them or overwrite them. You can run Google Earth when you’re away from your Wi-Fi network but should pull up the data you need on-the-go beforehand so that it is cached and available sans-wireless Internet access.

Difficulty:Easy1

Tap the “Google Earth” icon to open the app while you have access to a wireless network.

2

Tap the “i” icon to open the options menu. Tap “Clear Cache.” This will purge your previous searches and free up space.

3

Zoom into the areas you want to cache for use when you’re away from your wireless network. For example, if you’re going to hike on a specific trail and want to use your iPod Touch to keep your bearings, zoom in on that trail to cache its images.

4

Start Google Earth like normal when you’re without Wi-Fi. You will be able to zoom into the areas and pull up the information you accessed last, which is cached on your iPod.

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How to Animate Words & Do Slide Delays in a Google Docs Slideshow

October 14th, 2011 | Add a Comment

HomeInternetGoogle InformationGoogle DocsHow to Animate Words & Do Slide Delays in a Google Docs Slideshow

The Web-based Google Docs productivity suite includes a minimalist slide show application called Google Docs Presentation. While the software lacks some of the more advanced features available from Microsoft Office PowerPoint, Keynote or LibreOffice Impress, the slimmed down interface enables you to create dynamic slide shows that can be easily displayed on your website. Google Docs Presentation does support basic fade animations on text and images and you can configure a timer delay on embedded presentations that are set to automatically play when your website is loaded.

Difficulty:Easy1

Navigate to docs.google.com and select the slide show you want to edit or click “Create New” and select “Presentation.”

2

Insert the slide text using the Presentation toolbar to format the size, color, font and alignment of the text box.

3

Click the box surrounding the text you would like to animate.

4

Right-click the text box border and select “Incremental Reveal.” The text will fade into display when the slide show is playing.

1

Navigate to docs.google.com and the slide show you want to edit or click “Create New” and select “Presentation.”

2

Click the drop-down menu beside the “Share” button and select “Publish / Embed.”

3 4

Click the “Automatically advance presentation to the next slide” drop-down menu and select the increment at which you would like to delay automatically advancing the slide when the slide show is embedded on your website.

Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Animate, Delays, Google, Slide, Slideshow, Words

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How to Use Google Maps in a Print Ad

October 9th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Google’s brand has expanded to include a wide variety of services. Google has trademarked its logo as well as the imagery associated with its brand, such as Google Maps. If you want to use an image from Google Maps in a advertisement, either print or online, you must properly attribute the material to Google. To facilitate this process, Google has created the Google Permissions tool, which allows you to quickly ascertain the required attribution for using Google’s trademarked materials. Print advertisements don’t require specific permission to use a Google Maps image, just proper attribution.

Difficulty:Moderately Easy1

Browse to Maps.google.com and search for the map that you want to use in your advertisement. Adjust the map using the tools available; for example, you can zoom in and out with the slider on the left side of the map. You can switch to satellite view or add elements using the tools in the upper right section of the map.

2

Press “F11? on your keyboard to set your browser to full-screen mode. Press the “Print Screen” button on your keyboard. The location of this key varies from one keyboard to the next, but it’s typically on the right side of the keyboard, either along the top row of keys or near the “Scroll Lock” and “Pause/Break” keys. Press “F11? again to exit full-screen mode.

3

Open the editing program that you are using to create your advertisement. Click on the point where you want the Google Map to appear and press “Ctrl+V” on your keyboard. If you crop the image, you must keep the attribution at the bottom of the Google Map image. You cannot remove the attribution or make it to appear that the image is not from Google.

Google does not permit you to stitch together more than one Google Maps image to create a larger image. In addition, Google’s logo must be conspicuously visible. Do not resize the map so that the logo is too small to read.

Photo Credit Feng Li/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Google, Print

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What Is a Google App?

Google Apps provide an online office solution. Google Apps is a suite of office and communication applications designed for businesses, schools and nonprofits. Most typically, “Google Apps” refers to an office-type suite comprising Google Docs, Gmail, Google Groups, Sites, GoogleTalk and Google Calendar. Like other office suites available commercially or for free, the applications in Google Apps work seamlessly with each other: Google Docs (which contains word processor, presentation software, spreadsheet and drawing software) works easily with Gmail, and its online storage capacity is useful for real-time collaboration.

Google Docs is an office suite made up of a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation software. It’s considered by many to be a simpler version of Microsoft Office, the industry standard in office software. Running through a browser and a high-speed Internet connection, Google Docs provides stripped-down tools for each purpose.

Google Docs has no animated text or graphics in the presentation software. The word processor offers far fewer fonts, and the spreadsheet has a much simplified “Format Cell(s)” dialog. Compared to leading mail applications Outlook and Thunderbird, Gmail is a user-friendly and full-featured competitor, and the Google Calendar offers versatile functionality. As far as collaboration goes, the online suite facilitates work: Since the apps are browser-based, collaboration in real-time is just a click away.

Google’s communication apps offer multifeatured solutions. Gmail is one of the most popular email platforms worldwide, and Google Talk integrates voice and video chat as well as SMS texting and phone calls using Google Voice. Once you’ve created an account with Google Voice and chosen a VOIP phone number, you can text anyone and make a phone call right from your Gmail portal. With the Video and Voice plug-in, you can make and receive video calls.

The Google Apps Marketplace offers add-on applications that compete with almost any office software available. You can shop for CRM, or customer relationship management, apps, project management apps, social networking apps, email marketing apps, collaboration apps and graphic design apps — all running through your browser.

Some of the more popular apps include Aviary, a graphic design suite; WonderGraphs (wondergraphs.com/google), an app for creating high-quality graphs and charts for reports and visual analysis; BrightPearl (brightpearl.com), Insightly (insight.ly) and Zoho CRM (zoho.com/crm/) for business CRM and MailChimp (mailchimp.com) for email campaigns.

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Quick Reference Guide to Google Voice

October 18th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Google Voice allows you to make free long distance and local calls from your landline and mobile devices, including smartphones. Google lets you choose your own phone number and charges nothing for this service as of August, 2011, unless you make international calls; the rates for these calls are currently quite low. When choosing a Google number, use a number that’s in your area code so that your local friends and family can call you without incurring long distance charges.

On the left pane of the main Google voice window you’ll see buttons for making calls and sending text messages. This pane also displays buttons for retrieving recorded messages and viewing a record of your calls. Pressing the “Contacts” button opens a list of contacts, each with their own button. Click a button to call the contact without dialing. The right pane of Google Voice fills with the items from one of the commands just mentioned. For example, clicking the “Contacts” button fills the right pane with a list of your contacts.

To set up Google Voice, first get a free account with Google, either by setting up a Gmail account or going to the Google accounts home page and entering your existing email address. Get a Google Voice phone number by clicking the “Get a Number” button from the Google Voice home page at http://voice.google.com. Follow the prompts that Voice provides to search for an available number and then assign that number to your account. After choosing a Google number, choose an existing phone that Google will ring when someone dials your Google number and a pin number to access your voice mail.

To make calls with Google Voice, click the “Call” button on your Google voice home page. Google will display a dialog box prompting you to enter the number you want to call. After typing the number, Google will dial the number, then dial the forwarding number you specified when creating your Google account. When you answer this phone, Google will connect you to the person you called.

When someone calls you on your Google voice number, Google will ring the forwarding phone you specified when signing up for Voice. When you answer that phone, Google will tell you who’s calling you — if you choose this option through the gear-shaped “Settings” control on your Google Voice home page. Google then offers these options for responding to the call: you can accept it and begin speaking with the caller. Or, send the caller to voice mail and listen as he leaves a message. A third option is to accept the call and begin recording the conversation.

To check your Google Voice voice mail, call your Google number. When you hear the greeting, press the asterisk key on your phone to enter the voice mail system. Key in your pin number when prompted. Google will play your messages and prompt you with options for archiving or deleting each message. Note that Google will use its voice recognition system to transcribe voice mail messages to text, if you choose.

Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Google, Guide, Quick, Reference, Voice

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Is It Lawful to Use Pictures off Google?

Pictures are property belonging to the copyright owner. Federal copyright law protects pictures posted on the Internet, as long as the owner of the picture claims a copyright. Generally, this means you cannot use pictures from Google except for limited educational, civic, or religious purposes. However, copyrights do not protect all pictures on Google , so you may be able to use some pictures that have entered the public domain. Alternatively, you can always obtain permission from the creator of the picture — if you can track the owner down through Google or another method.

Federal copyright laws protects original creations of literary or artistic work, such as pictures. Copyright protection is automatic, if picture owner wants it. The owner of the picture does not have to register the copyright with the government, nor does the owner of the copyright even have to list any notice that the picture is copyrighted. Accordingly, you should always assume that a picture on Google is copyrighted.

You always have the right to track down the owner of a picture and ask for permission to use the picture. Google typically is not the owner of the pictures that appear on Google searches, so you don’t need Google’s permission. The owner of the picture can give you permission to use the copyrighted picture. Of course, as a practical matter, tracing the owner of the picture maybe too difficult or time-consuming to be worth the effort.

Pictures that end up in the public domain are not subject to copyright protection, which means you can use any pictures that are in the public domain. The Internet, or Google in particular, is not the public domain. Instead, the public domain is a legal term of art that means that the owner of the picture has released the picture for general use. In other words, the owner voluntarily disclaims the copyright. It is often difficult, if not impossible, to determine whether a picture found using Google has been released into the public domain. Again, you should always assume that pictures are copyrighted unless you know for certain that it was released to the public domain by the copyright owner.

Copyright law provides one import exception for use of copyrighted pictures. Specifically, the law allows the “fair use” of a picture without permission from the copyright owner. Fair use generally means an educational, scholarly, civic, religious, or charitable purpose. For example, you can use a picture in a school report or journal article, or in a fundraiser for your local church. Fair use, of course, does not allow you to use a picture as part of your profit-seeking business operations.

“Patent, Copyright & Trademark”; Richard Stim; 2010Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images

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What Is a Google Mod?

October 15th, 2011 | Add a Comment

The term Mod most commonly refers to software that has been reprogrammed to offer new customized features. The term Google Mod has several usages related to the Google Chrome web browser, Google’s main search site and online services. Mod is a short notation for any of the following terms: module, modification, or moderator. Modules and modification deal with a range of activities that improve or change the functionality of a Google service, while moderator refers to a specific forum style web application offered to Google account users.

The term mod is frequently used in programming circles to refer to software that has been reprogrammed to allow for greater customization or uses unplanned by the original authors. This can range from simple changes in appearance, or the inclusion of new buttons, to more essential core changes.

Although somewhat of a misnomer, such sites are not true modifications of a Google service. One usage of the term Google Mod refers to websites that emulate or parody the main Google search site. An example is the online translation site Gizoogle which works as an online translator like Google’s own translation service, only converting the phrases given into Jive.

A Google module is a plugin that can be downloaded and applied to your Google chrome web browser to change its performance. An example is the Pagespeed module which optimizes interaction with web searches to double normal speed of result retrieval.

Google moderator is a feature offered to people with a Google account that allows them to hold online conversations in a forum style format. This application is free to any Google account user.

Photo Credit Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images

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What Happens if I Don’t Use My Google Voice Account?

Use either the Web-based or Android app to keep your account active. Voice over Internet Protocol technology makes it possible to place and receive phone calls through your Internet connection, without using a landline or wireless phone service. Google Voice is an example of a VoIP-based calling application. Google Voice is free to use as of the date of this publication, but has some requirements, including the amount of use required to keep an account active.

Google Voice is a Web-based program that allows you to make calls over the Internet. With Google Voice, you receive a standard phone number in your area code, which you can use to make and receive calls. The program also allows you to send and receive text messages. The program works with your Google account; when it’s linked to your Gmail account, you can place and receive calls through your Gmail inbox. Google Voice also has an Android application, which you can use to make calls or send texts through your handset’s Internet connection.

As of the date of publication, Google Voice operates as freeware. You must create a Google account, which will link your Gmail email and Google Voice number. You have the option of linking an existing phone number to your Google Voice account for forwarding. After signing up, you will need to log in and make at least one phone call every nine months to keep your account active, according to the Google help desk. If you do not meet the minimum requirements, Google may consider your account inactive and cancel your Google Voice number.

If do you not meet the minimum login requirements and Google deactivates your account, you can sign up for a new Google Voice account. You can use your existing Google account information to sign up with Google Voice again. However, if Google canceled your Google Voice account, you may lose the phone number you originally had. During signup, you may have to choose a different Google Voice number.

When you download the Google Voice app from the Android Market, the app will require that you enter in your Google Voice number and password. If your account goes inactive, you will have to change the app settings to include your new Google Voice number. This can cause login errors, and you may have to delete and reinstall the Google Voice app on your handset.

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How to Sync My Mac With Google Docs

Use Syncplicity to automatically sync Google Docs with a specific folder on your computer. Google Docs allows you to upload documents to the Google Docs server, and view and edit these documents from any computer with an Internet connection. It can be a hassle, however, to have to manually upload all of the documents to Google Docs and save all of the documents you have uploaded to Google Docs onto your computer. However, the Syncplicity application allows to you automatically sync the documents on your computer with the documents in your Google Docs account.

Difficulty:Easy1

Open a Web browser and navigate to syncplicity.com. Click the “Downloads” link, followed by the “Personal Edition Download Free” link. Click the “Select This Plan” link beneath the “Free Personal Edition” heading.

2

Enter your first and last name, your email address and a password for your account in the spaces provided. Confirm the password and click the “Sign Up Now” button to sign up for a Syncplicity account.

3

Click the “Download Syncplicity” link to download the application.

4

Double-click the application’s installation file and drag the icon into the “Applications” folder. Double-click the “Syncplicity” application icon to launch the application. Syncplicity runs in the background, so once you launch it, it is always running.

5

Right-click on the folder that you wish to sync with Google Docs and move your mouse cursor over the “Syncplicity” option. Select the “Add Folder” button from the Syncplicity menu.

6

Navigate to my.syncplicity.com, type your Syncplicity account email address and password in the spaces provided, and click the “Log In” button.

7

Click the “Google Docs” tab, followed by the “Link to Google Docs” button. Type your Google Docs account email and password in the spaces provided, and click the “Continue” button to sign into your Google Docs account.

8

Click the “Grant Access” button. Select the folder you added to Syncplicity in Step 4 and select the file type you would like the Google Documents to be saved as.

9

Click the “Finish” button to synchronize Google Docs with the computer. Now, any documents in the folder you added to Syncplicity are added to Googled Docs, and any documents uploaded to Google Docs are added to the folder.

Photo Credit Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News/Getty Images

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Why Are Parts of Google Earth Blurry?

Dozens of satellite images of sites featured on Google Earth are intentionally blurred out because they are considered sensitive for security or privacy concerns. The satellite mapping service, launched by Google in 2005, features high-resolution images of thousands of cities around the world, including aerial imagess taken about 800 to 1,500 feet off the ground. Among the sites that are blurred out are key government sites, such as the White House; and U.S. military installations, such as Air Force bases.

According to Focus.com, a technology expert website, the Google Earth images of the White House roof have been modified so as not to display the air defense or security features in place. In addition, the residence of the Vice President of the United States at Number One Observatory Circle has been obscured. Ramstein Air Base, which is located in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany, and the headquarters to the U.S. Air Force in Europe, is blurred out on Google Earth. Multiple sites belonging to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, including the NATO C3 Agency in Brussels, Belgium and the NATO Air Base in Geilenkirchen, Germany are also obscured.

In February 2007, after discussions with the government of India over security issues, Google agreed to show blurry, low-resolution images of certain military bases and government buildings in India. In December 2008, investigations by police in Mumbai, India found that the terrorists who launched attacks against sites in southern Mumbai had used maps from Google Earth to help plan their attacks. However, Computerworld reported that many printed tourist maps had information about the locations — including hotels, a restaurant, a residential complex and a railroad station — that the terrorists attacked.

In March 2009, The New York Times reported that California Assemblyman Joel Anderson of San Diego had filed legislation that would force Google and other providers of online satellite mapping services to blur images of “soft targets,” such as schools, hospitals and churches. However, the legislation had not been approved by the California Assembly as of 2011.

According to a February 2007 TechNewsWorld article, Google has generally complied with requests from governments to blur images. However, Dorota Huizinga, an associate dean at California State University at Fullerton, was quoted in the article saying that if Google Earth has images of certain sites, then it’s likely that many intelligence services around the world have the same or better images, and blurring them will do little good.

Some images featured on Google Earth are unintentionally blurry or unclear. According to Google Earth’s Help section, Google Earth sometimes shows images of areas that have clouds or discoloration, which may cause the images to appear blurry. In other cases, Google was not able to obtain a high resolution image of a particular area.

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How to Block Chilling Effect on Google

November 8th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Using Google to get the search results you want also means that you need to eliminate the results that you don’t want, which can include websites that you know you don’t want to view. You can block the Chilling Effects website — or any other website — from your Google search results if you are logged in to your Google account.

Difficulty:Moderately Easy1

Log in to your Google account or create a new one at the Google Accounts Web page (see Resources).

2

Go to the Google homepage, type “Chilling Effect” in the search box and click the “Search” button.

3

Scroll down the page and click on the “Chilling Effects Clearinghouse” result.

4

Click “Back” to return to the search results page. Click your browser’s refresh button.

5

Scroll down the page until you come to the “Chilling Effects Clearinghouse” result and click the “Block” link that now appears next to it.

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How to Delete a Google Analytics JS

October 13th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Google Analytics is responsible for monitoring traffic to your website and displaying a breakdown of demographic information regarding your site’s visitors. While these charts are often helpful, adding the analytics file requires your users to load additional resources. You may prefer to track this information locally and will no longer have need for the Google Analytics JavaScript.

Difficulty:Moderately Easy1

Open the file on your site containing the Google Analytics embed code, such as the “header.php” or “index.html” file in Windows Notepad.

2

Press “Ctrl” and “F” and type “ga.js” to search for the Google Analytics embed script.

3

Select the lines of text containing the “ga.js” reference, beginning with “ ” below.

4

Press the backspace key to delete the JavaScript.

5

Press “File,” then “Save” to save your document.

Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Analytics, Delete, Google

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How to Call a US Number in Google Talk

October 13th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Google Talk offers two options: a plug-in that lets you talk via voice with contacts on the Web and a software program that lets you talk from your desktop. The desktop program lets you chat with your online contacts. The plug-in, on the other hand, gives you the ability to actually call phones from your computer — and these phone numbers do not need to belong to your Google contacts. Instead, you can manually enter a U.S. number and call it from your Google account.

Difficulty:Moderately Easy1

Install the Google Talk voice and video chat plug-in from Google.com/talk if you have not already done so.

2

Visit either Gmail, Orkut or iGoogle and sign in to your account.

3

Click “Call phone” within the “Chat” section of the page. This brings up a small number pad.

4

Click the flag just above the number pad and then select the United States as the country you are calling.

5

Dial the number, including the area code, using the number pad. Press “Call” to place your call.

To make an international call, you use the current Google Voice calling rates. Just add credit and dial the number. You can select the applicable country code by clicking the the flag drop-down or by typing it directly into the window.

Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Google, Number

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How to Change the Years in Google Earth

October 15th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Google Earth shows the best map imagery available for the area viewed. Historic imagery, available for many areas, is viewable instead of the most recent or best aerial photography. Availability and time lines vary by place, but you can easily view changes based on the years. Although there are several methods to access the imagery, Google Earth has a feature to alert you when historic imagery is available for the area you’re viewing.

Difficulty:Easy1

Zoom in to the desired area. As you zoom in, check the “Imagery date” information located at the bottom left corner of the map window.

2

Click on the button showing the year located to the right of the “Imagery date” notice. If historic imagery is available for any of the viewable area, the date button shows the year of the oldest available photography.

3

Slide the time line tool, which opens once you click the year button, to view all available photography by date.

You can also click “Historic imagery” in the “View” menu or click the clock icon on the map menu bar to open the time line.

Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Change, Earth, Google, Years

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How to Retrieve a Deleted Google History

October 20th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Google Chrome can access the settings from the System Restore tool to recover deleted history. If you accidentally delete your history from Google Chrome’s Web browser or if you want to check up on Internet surfing habits for your kids, only to discover they have deleted the history, you can retrieve the history using the System Restore tool available on Windows machines. Google Chrome saves your browsing history in a registry file that System Restore can access and use to bring your machine back to its state on the day that the history was deleted. The System Restore tool does not affect new documents, pictures or other data.

Difficulty:Moderately Easy1

Open Google Chrome and click the “Tool” icon in the upper right corner of the browser window. Click the “All History” button to find the earliest date for which there is history recorded. This tells you the date when the history was deleted.

2

Click the “Start” menu and enter “system restore” in the search field.

3

Click the “System Restore” tool in the results field.

4

Click the circle next to “Restore my computer to an earlier time” and click the “Next” button. Click the most recent bolded date in the calender that comes up before the date the history was deleted in the first step. Click the restore point on the list for that date. Click the “Next” button.

5

Save any of your work and close any open programs. Click the “Next” button and allow Windows to shut down and restart with the same settings before the date that the history was deleted.

6

Launch Google Chrome from the Start menu and click the “Tool” icon in the upper right corner of the Web browser. Click the “History” option and scroll through the information.

Photo Credit Patrik Stollarz/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Deleted, Google, History, Retrieve

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How to Troubleshoot the Browser Compatibility of Google Docs

October 19th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Google Docs is a free Web-based service that allows you to manage and share documents, surveys, spreadsheets and presentations from one convenient place. All you need is a Web browser and an Internet connection to access to your documents. Some browsers and operating systems are not supported by Google and you won’t be able to access your documents properly from these incompatible platforms. Verify that your browser meets Google’s system requirements to enjoy full use of Google Docs.

Difficulty:Easy1

Open any Web browser and log in to your Google Docs account. Click a document from the center pane of the Google Docs window. If you can view the document, your browser is compatible with Google Docs. If you cannot view the document, proceed to Step 2.

2

Navigate to the Google Docs System Requirements page.

3

Locate your browser and operating system in the chart on the Systems Requirements page. If an “X” appears next to the browser and operating system, it means Google Docs should work with your configuration. If you do not see an “X” next to your operating system and browser, Google Docs is not supported and may not work.

Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Browser, Compatibility, Google, Troubleshoot

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How to Sync SMS on an Android

October 19th, 2011 | Add a Comment

The Samsung Infuse is an Android phone launched in March 2011. Keeping tabs on your short message service text messages is important. Syncing the SMS message on your Android phone allows to you access the messages elsewhere if your phone is out of power or not receiving a signal. You still have access to the information stored in your SMS messages. Your Android can sync your SMS messages to your Gmail account by installing an app on your phone, or you can switch to using Google Voice for your SMS messaging so that all your messages will be automatically synced to your Google account online.

Difficulty:Moderately Easy1

Unlock your Android phone and open the application launcher. Find the “Market” icon and touch it to launch the Android Market. Press the magnifying glass button to launch the search bar. Type in the name of the app you want to use to sync your SMS messages. Some options are SMS Backup, SMS Backup + and Google Voice. Press “Enter” to search and then tap the listing for your choice. Touch the button under the heading “Install” and then touch “OK” to accept the permissions for the app and install it on your Android.

2

Set up SMS Backup by first browsing to Gmail on your computer. Click the gear icon in the upper right and select Gmail Settings. Click “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” and then click “Enable IMAP,” which turns on the Internet message access protocol. Click “Save Settings.” Open the SMS Backup app on your Android phone and enter your Google Account user name and password. Touch “Backup” to perform a manual backup of all your SMS messages to your Gmail account. The default setting is for new messages to be automatically synced to your Gmail.

3

Configure SMS Backup + by browsing to Gmail on your computer. Click the gear icon in the upper right and select Gmail Settings. Click “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” and then click “Enable IMAP,” which turns on the Internet message access protocol. Click “Save Settings.” Open the SMS Backup + application on your Android and tap the “Connect” button. Log in with your Google Account when prompted and then tap “Grant Access.” Press the “Backup” button to manually back up your SMS messages for the first time. When that’s done, touch the check box next to “Auto Backup” to enable automatic syncing of your messages.

4

Browse to voice.google.com to request a Google Voice account. With the account you will be able to start a new phone number or migrate your current phone number to the Google Voice service. All new SMS messages will come to your Android through the Google Voice app. Open the app and sign in using your Google Account. You can also log into your Voice account online to see your synced SMS messages and even send messages from the Web. This will not sync any old SMS messages you have on your phone, but it will save all the new messages you receive after starting to use Google Voice.

Google Voice cannot receive MMS—or multimedia message service—messages.

Photo Credit Ethan Miller/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Android

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How to Combine Google Waves

October 14th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Click and drag to combine waves on Google. Wave is an application that was developed by Google for the purposes of online collaboration. Each new shared message, or wave, can be shared with and edited by anyone the wave’s creator chooses to share it with. Waves can also be combined with a simple click-and-drag process. While Google has ceased development on the Wave application, it can still be accessed by users as of July, 2011.

Difficulty:Moderately Easy1

Navigate to wave.google.com, and sign in to your account.

2

Locate one of the waves you want to combine, and select it with your mouse to open it from the list of Waves on your screen.

3

Locate the second wave you want to combine in the list, and click on it. Without releasing the mouse button, drag that wave to the wave you opened in step two and drop it by releasing the mouse button.

Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images

Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Combine, Google, Waves

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How to Block Google Subjects

October 15th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Remove irrelevant Google search results by blocking specific subjects with the exclude command. With hundreds of millions of Web pages to choose from, searching for a specific subject on Google can sometimes seem like searching for a needle in a haystack. If Google returns irrelevant subjects when you search with specific keywords, you might want to block these subjects from your Google search. To block specific subjects from appearing in search results, use the “exclude” command in your Google search.

Difficulty:Moderately Easy1

Launch your Web browser and go to Google.com.

2

Type the relevant keywords for your search into the Google search input box.

3

Enter a “-”minus sign after the last relevant key word. After this sign, add the keyword for the subject that you want to block. You can exclude as many subjects as you like, but you must place a minus sign before the keyword for each subject that you want to exclude. For example, to search for information about the snow leopard create, you might want to exclude all references to the Macintosh computer system of the same name. Your complete search string might look like this: “snow leopard -macintosh -computer -os”.

4

Press the “Enter” key on your computer keyboard or click the magnifying glass button beside the Google search input box to launch the search. Google displays the search results in the main window. Experiment with your keywords and exclusion keywords until you filter results to return relevant Web pages.

Do not insert a space between the “-”minus sign and the exclusion keyword or Google will mistake this as a hyphen.

Photo Credit Chris Jackson/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Block, Google, Subjects

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How to Pick Up Google Map Categories

Google Maps allow businesses to list their locations, descriptions, hours, phone number and more. To be found by people, though, you need to be sure you are listed in the correct categories. You can choose more than one category, but you want to make sure the categories you choose are official. For instance, “Pizza Restaurant” is a Google Maps category, but “Pizzeria” if not. Using the latter will make it much harder for potential customers to find you.

How to Transfer Contacts From Google Apps to a Google Account

Your account in Google Apps is distinctly different from your regular Google account. If you are moving from a Google Apps account to a regular Google account, you can export your Google contacts in Google CSV format and import them into your Google account. Google recommends using the Google CSV format for transferring contacts between Google accounts. Gmail’s contact manager can import Google CSV-format files directly, preserving all your contacts and their associated information.

How to Do the Cat on Google Emoticons

 The emoticon resembles a cartoon cat face. Programmers at Google specifically designed the iGoogle program so that users can create cartoon figures and emoticons by simply typing in a short collection of symbols, such as parentheses, numbers and brackets. One of the emoticons supported is that of a cat’s face. The face uses common symbols that rotate automatically into the position where they resemble a cartoon cat when you complete the emoticon.

What Is a Journalist’s Role Today?

The age of instant communication and connectivity has transformed journalism. Bloggers now perform many of the roles once reserved exclusively to professional journalists working for major daily newspapers: commentary and opinion writing, investigative reporting, and analysis of public documents. Many professional journalists have adapted to this new media environment by becoming “curators” of links, emphasizing transparency in news-gathering, using social media, and mixing reporting with impassioned commentary.

How to Redirect URLs With Google Analytics

 Google Analytics users can implement redirect URLs to track hyperlink clicks. With the Google Analytics service, website designers and managers can keep track of how many people visit their pages and how long they stay on them. In addition, Google Analytics stores other information about visitors, such as the browser they are using and what search terms led them to the page. If you also want to know how many users click a certain link on your webpage, you can set up a redirect URL with your Google Analytics account.

How to Use Firebug on Google

Firebug, a Web development tool originally released for the Firefox Web browser, lets you view a website’s source code for troubleshooting or optimization purposes. Firebug also gives you the ability to see what the website would look like if certain elements of the source code were changed, without the change impacting users of the live website. Although the full version of Firebug is only available for Firefox as of the date of publication, there is a reduced-functionality version for Google Chrome called Firebug Lite. If you prefer to browse the Web on Chrome or need to develop a website that works well with both browsers, install the Firebug Lite extension for Google Chrome.

How to Embed Google My Maps & Allow Users to Update

 Embed custom, collaborative maps on your website with Google Maps. You can embed a customized Google Map into your website and allow your site visitors to edit the content pinned to the map. Google My Maps allows a collaboration feature that makes it possible for other users to edit and leave comments on your custom maps. You need access to your Google Account via Google Maps and to be able to directly edit your website HTML files and upload a saved copy to your site’s servers.

How to Delete Google History From Yahoo Answers

Yahoo! Answers is a question-and-answer communication tool sponsored by Yahoo! that allows users from around the world to post questions and have other users answer those questions. By using Yahoo! Answers, you can share your expertise on a subject and have your answer voted as the best answer for a particular question. When using Yahoo! Answers, you can save specific search criteria, based on your expertise, so that Yahoo! Answers will suggest relevant questions for you to answer. If you want to delete your saved search history, you can do so by removing the saved searches from your Yahoo! Answers account.

What Are the Dangers of Using Google?

 If information is out there and accessible on the Internet, it will be indexed and searchable by search engines like Google. The world’s largest search engine, Google, indexes extremely large amounts of data to accurately produce search engine results. Much of this data can be personal in nature and even accessible to third parties unbeknown to the user. It can be an extremely useful tool for finding information on just about anything, including personal data that can be exploited by hackers and those with malicious intent.

How to Put a Google Gadget in Facebook

The Google Facebook Gadget is a program that shows Facebook notifications on your desktop. The gadget communicates with your Facebook profile to show you your latest messages, pokes and friend requests. Google Gadgets are additions to Google Desktop, which is a free software from Google that makes searching your computer as easy as searching the Web. In addition, Google Desktop helps you organize information from the Web and show you new mail and personalized news.

FAQs for Google Bots

Google bots, spiders or crawlers are specially developed algorithms that scan millions of Web pages and index them on the Google search engine results page. Google uses many bots of different types to crawl different types of Web pages to index them on the results page. Since Google has the highest percentage of users compared to other search engines, most websites design their pages for Google bots to find and index according to the changing algorithms.

Can You Export in Google Reader?

 Google Reader launched in October 2005. Many websites, particularly blogs and news feeds, provide a version of their content as an RSS feed. You can use an RSS subscription reader such as Google Reader to read the latest content from all the feeds to which you subscribe in one place, as opposed to manually checking each source multiple times per day to see if they have posted new content. If you want to move your subscriptions from Google Reader to another service, you can export your subscriptions.

How to Change the Google Group Discussion Order

 Use Google Groups to discuss topics with people from around the world. If you’re interested in using Google Groups to discuss topics with people, you can change the discussion order when you start reading a group. Google Groups is a free online system that enables people to create new discussion groups on any topic from anywhere in the world using a Web browser. You open a Google Groups group and read what people have written, and then participate by typing comments in response. You can easily change the Google Group discussion order with just a click of the mouse.

How to Troubleshoot the Intel GMA 950 for Google Earth

 The Intel GMA 950 is a graphics chipset used in netbooks and laptops. The Intel GMA (Graphics Media Accelerator) 950 is a flexible, low-cost integrated graphics core used in laptops and netbooks, where low power consumption is important. It provides fast graphics performance and video rendering without the need for a separate graphics card. Google Earth is a graphics-intensive program that provides users with a detailed 3D globe, representing the Earth as seen from space or the air. Due to the high system requirements of Google Earth, you may need to troubleshoot the software when using the Intel GMA 950.

How to Connect Tumblr With Buzz

Google Buzz is a social networking site that puts an emphasis on short status updates — much like the Twitter microblogging service. In addition to composing text-based updates to share with your Buzz followers, you can also import updates from several other websites into your Buzz account. One such site is Tumblr. You can learn how to connect Tumblr to Google Buzz by following a few steps.

How to Increase Clicks on Google Ads

Google’s AdSense program allows amateur and professional website owners with high-quality content to display advertisements that allow a website to generate income. For your website to earn money through AdSense, however, readers must click the advertisements you display. If you are new to AdSense, you may find that the click-through rate of your advertisements is low and that your website earns little money. A good AdSense CTR depends on ad relevancy, design and positioning. Change these elements to improve your AdSense performance.

How to Get a Reciprocal Link

As the old adage goes, if you want to make a friend, be a friend. The same holds true for getting reciprocal links on your website. Always provide a link on your website before asking for a reciprocal link from someone, and search websites that already rank in the first page of a search engine’s results for keywords related to your website. Keep in mind that popular websites get a lot of spam, including automated requests for reciprocal links, so always be polite when requesting a reciprocal link, and don’t be upset if you don’t get a reply.

How to Use Google Translate for API & PHP

Google’s translation API is a useful tool for developers who wish to provide their users with the ability to translate foreign-language Web content into their native languages. PHP is the primary programming language that is used to interact with the Google Translate API, which can be called to using different parameters and then output results into specified languages and formats.

How to Track Repeat Business in Google Analytics

 You can keep track of repeat visitors with Google Analytics. Google offers a free Web statistical service called Google Analytics that lets you access a range of information about people who visit your website or blog. For a company that is looking to attract and retain customers, it is important to know how many repeat visitors you have to your site and how often they return. Google Analytics generates a specific report detailing your site’s statistics for first-time and repeat business.

Disadvantages of Google Apps

Google Apps allows you to create and access your documents from any computer with Internet access. It is cheaper than many other online apps alternatives, but with the pros come several major disadvantages. These problems affect businesses and enterprises more than individuals, but everyone should take these cons into consideration before using Google Apps.

How to Contact Google to Cancel an Account That Has Been Compromised

If possible, secure your Google account before sending in an account cancellation request. Since your Google account may be associated with services such as Gmail, Google Docs and Google Checkout, taking action now may prevent harmful consequences. If you are unable to access the account, notify Google immediately so they can help you recover the account. You will not be able to cancel the account until you are able to log in again. Expect a response from Google within 24 hours.

How to Make Your WordPress Blog More Google Friendly

Make your WordPress blog more Google friendly to increase your standing in search ranking and, ultimately, drive more traffic to your blog. Install plug-ins that allow you to add search engine optimized titles and descriptions to your posts. Create a Google XML sitemap to submit to Google so it can index the blog. Use title and description tags for images embedded in your blog posts to increase your standing in Google search rankings.

How to Cut & Paste Data From Google Docs to Other Documents

 Google Docs makes it easy for you to share your documents. Google Docs is a comparatively new approach productivity software. Not only does Google Docs let you create and edit various document types for free, but it also stores those documents securely online and gives you easy options for sharing those documents with others. Google Docs includes many innovative features among productivity software, but it also has all the basics covered, like cutting and pasting data, which you can do with just a few mouse clicks.

How to Use Google Analytics for Examiner

 Examiners can keep track of page views with Google Analytics. Examiner is an online news portal that hires freelance writers to write for revenue share. While Examiner uses a proprietary system to keep track of page impressions and ad revenue, the company allows its writers to keep a count of their page views by inserting Google Analytics code into their profile pages. This means a writer can receive updates directly from Google about how much traffic each article is receiving on a daily basis or over a specified period of time.