Summary

In this final chapter, you’ve literally been all over the map. Starting on a distant planet, you saw how Google Mars is developing as a repository of information and imagery. From outer space to urban space, Google Transit and Google Ride Finder are two applications under development that are aimed at making getting around your part of the world simpler. Although restricted to a number of specific markets at the present time, the data and user feedback being collected will help expand the service over time and make it a useful tool.

Searching and browsing for information isn’t an easy task! Some of the new products in the Google Labs are designed to make your browsing experiences easier. To keep track of search results and notes for future reference, Google Notebook offers a replacement for the multiple stickies stuck around your monitor or all over your bulletin board.

Specialized searches are a Google specialty, and they continue to develop. Related Links is a tool you can add to your Web site that offers sophisticated options for visitors to your site for further investigation. Accessible Search generates filtered search results listing Web sites that are likely to be used by users working with screen readers and other assistive devices, based on Google Co-op technology. Google Co-op offers means to develop your own custom search engines.

And what is to be done with all that data? Google offers two types of trend tracking described in this chapter. Evaluate trends in searching sorted by categories such as city and date, and track music trends for a specific group using Google Music Trends.