Google talk
The presence of a search engine like Google has greatly eased communication and transfer of information in the internet. With new innovations dawning in the fields of science and technology, a very valuable discovery has been the VoIP which is also known as Voice over Internet Protocol. The Voice over Internet Protocol allows conversations to be carried out through the internet, the only basic requirement being a broadband internet connection. Google Talk, also prevalently referred to as GTalk, includes the instant messaging (IM) and VoIP services offered by Google. This program was first introduced by Google in late 2005 and is today a very popular means of communicating across geographical boundaries through the internet. The Jingle protocol aids in the working of the VoIP in Google Talk while instant messaging is supported ably by XMPP which enables XMPP customers all over to communicate with Google Talk users as they both are supported by the same technical tool.
It is necessary to remember here, that in order to subscribe to Google Talk, one has to possess a Google mail or GMail account. Chatting through Google Talk is also permitted through GMail. Moreover, social networking sites like Orkut owned by Google enable the users to communicate with members of their friend’s list in Orkut through Google Talk. Once logged in Google Talk, users are able to see the current status of those included on their friends list like available, busy or idle. These status messages can be chosen by the user himself according to his will.
Google Talk also facilitates voice mail services along with the VoIP. Even, users are able to receive instant messages sent to them while they were offline, once they are online. The option ‘sends files’ in the Google Talk chat window allows people to share files from across the internet with their friends.
Google Scholar
The communication benefits offered by the internet have facilitated educational opportunities as well and it must be mentioned that a huge amount of scholarly articles are now available to students all over the world on relevant topics on the internet. Google Scholar also referred to as GS is a search program offered by Google for free which provides a catalog of various scholarly articles along with their publishing details. It can be said without any doubt that it has been of great help to researchers worldwide as for them any information related to their object of study or interest can be obtained just a click away. It is definitely for most an easier means of attaining knowledge than running around different libraries often being unable to find all the necessary details.
The internet offers a comprehensive list of articles available, thus making it easier for the researcher to choose his requirements accordingly. Google Scholar boasts of having access to more websites and journals than many of its competitors like getCITED, CiteSeer and Scirus from Elsevier. Also recently in 2006, in order to combat the arrival of its major opponent Microsoft Windows Live Academic, Google Scholar introduced bibliography managers which are also available in the other search engines like getCITED, CiteSeer and Scirus.
However, Google Scholar has been criticized within academic spheres due to several reasons. It has been alleged time and again that searching by referring to publishing dates often produce erroneous results thus affecting research works. The database design is also unsatisfactory and not up to the mark. Moreover, certain journals and authorary articles have denied being a part of this search vehicle thus affecting the prospects of Google Scholar. But despite so, Google Scholar is still undeniably an easy means of acquiring necessary data and information from the internet.
Google product search
The name Google Product search is a recent title given to the service which was initially referred to as Froogle when it was introduced for the first time in 2002. The primary nomenclature was drawn as a jibe on the meaning of the word ‘frugal’ which meant prudent and economical. However, five years later in 2007, the name was altered to Google Product Search, by which it is known now.
From the very name Product Search, it is quite easy to determine what it means. To put it simply, Google Product Search is an automated search engine introduced by Google to allow users to find out various products and their prices and compare them amidst themselves to decide the appropriate choice. This search engine was designed and conceived of by Craig Nevill-Manning. The boundaries of the Google Product Search page allows the users to scribble the name of the product, upon entering which the search engine will provide a comprehensive list of the product, its manufacturing details and prices, thus presenting a comparison of costs enabling the client to make the perfect choice.
Using Google Product Search is profitable for most users as they do not charge any fees for subscribing to it unlike other price comparison search engines. While this Product Search is currently available only in selected countries of the world, its service is impeccable. Product Searches may be according to the best option matching the query entered or according to the varying degree of prices. No doubt, the presence of this Product Search has greatly benefited individuals. One can extensively study the pros and cons of the product and its prices before taking the final plunge of buying it. Now, Google Product Search is also available in Wireless Markup Language or WML and also in mobile phones.