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Google timer

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Re: Google timer

#81

Post by Lewton »

aeon10 wrote: post #70
Lewton wrote: post #43

Yet again I am reminded that my google is not necessarily the same as 'your' google Just like how "define: something" doesn't show a dictionary definiton for me anymore, a functionality i used all the time. And now can't be sure whether was actually removed, or just removed for me!

quick tip : google.com/ncr for no country redirect.

This is something different than just being redirected to a different domain. I already have it set up so google.com/ncr is my main google page

It doesn't work on .com for me, it doesn't work on .dk (I'm from denmark). Doesn't work on .nl which someone reported worked for him. It's weird

Also tried it in both firefox and chrome.

And someone else mentioned it didn't work for him without a google account, I've tried both logged in and logged out

Re: Google timer

#82

Post by epsylon »

aeon10 wrote: post #70
Lewton wrote: post #43

Yet again I am reminded that my google is not necessarily the same as 'your' google Just like how "define: something" doesn't show a dictionary definiton for me anymore, a functionality i used all the time. And now can't be sure whether was actually removed, or just removed for me!

quick tip : google.com/ncr for no country redirect.

It doesn't work when logged in to google services. (I think it's been 2 years or something since it doesn't work anymore in that case)

Re: Google timer

#83

Post by edelans »

marcamillion wrote: post #75

This totally freaked me out. I clicked the link to be opened in a new tab - and continued what I was doing. I heard that beeping sound, and was completely baffled where it was coming from (didn't sound like it was coming from the speakers). You should have seen me picking up papers on my desk listening to them. I listened to every potential port on my phone to see if it was giving off this sound. I felt like I was go…

ahah, I did exactly the same =)

Re: Google timer

#84

Post by jpswade »

Lewton wrote: post #43

Yet again I am reminded that my google is not necessarily the same as 'your' google Just like how "define: something" doesn't show a dictionary definiton for me anymore, a functionality i used all the time. And now can't be sure whether was actually removed, or just removed for me!

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=define:something

Works fine for me.

Re: Google timer

#86

Post by welly »

magicalist wrote: post #33
thomasd wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe they have Facebook envy and now wants to keep every visitors they get on the site for as long as possible, just like Facebook. This is a departure away from their original philosophy in which their goal was to send users to the most relevant site for the user query as fast as possible. I hope they haven't forgotten that the reason Yahoo lose out to Google was precisely because of this. Yahoo switched their…

Google has been keeping users from calculator web sites with its calculator/unit converter since before Mark Zuckerberg even wrote Facemash[1]. A fairly obscure timer feature that only shows up when you search for a particular phrase is nothing like search portals of old, nor is this a departure from the different search result widgets they've had for a decade now. This feels like a feature that the OS should have bu…

Alfred app (http://www.alfredapp.com/) on OS X.

define 1 + 2 open etc.

It's "magical".

Re: Google timer

#87

Post by shubhamjain »

thomasd wrote: post #4

Google probably review their top searches periodically to determine utility related keywords and custom fit solutions to them. It seems that if they continue to do things this way, sooner or later, Google is likely to replace thousands of utility websites. This seems like a change in their philosophy from sending users to other websites in as little time as possible, to using Google as a portal. Interestingly, this c…

Should'nt they try doing some kind of partnership with WolframAlpha which is way ahead in NLP and producing useful results. I would love to see WolframAlpha results integrated within Google when they can be interpreted by the software.

Re: Google timer

#88

Post by rplnt »

program wrote: post #80
Zoepfli wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't work for me neither. Might be because I'm in Europe. The given URL redirects to www.google.de

I've noticed that is doesn't work if you aren't connected with your google account.

I'm logged in, have regional redirect disabled (i.e. I use .com) and it still doesn't work for me.

Re: Google timer

#89

Post by chii »

martin-adams wrote: post #66
ok_craig wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lesson: don't put to much stock into a product that can be replaced by a few lines of code on a search result page.

That's exactly my point. What if it wasn't a few lines of code, but something with a hefty investment in, then Google comes in with their own and just puts them top of the list because they can. Users don't get the choice because Google prioritise their own.

if it takes you hefty investment, it would also take google hefty investment to replicate your product. Sure you lose the google juice, but you could say the same for any product, and back when microsoft did it, they got sued.

If you provide the best product, even better than what google can provide, it won't matter that google put theirs at the top of their search results. e.g. G+ and facebook - no matter how hard google is promoting G+, it still hasn't gotten the traction of facebook.

Re: Google timer

#90

Post by josefresco »

ok_craig wrote: post #22
martin-adams wrote: post #8

Interesting side effect. There's this web site: http://www.online-stopwatch.com/timer/1hour/ which comes up top of the google search results for "timer for 1 hour" for me. Now there is absolutely no way they can compete with Google's own offering from an SEO perspective. While this example is trivial to some extent, does it set a precedent that while you can advertise and compete with Google, they can always have the…

Lesson: don't put to much stock into a product that can be replaced by a few lines of code on a search result page.

A counter-point to your argument. While I know Google offers calculator functions, and unit of measurement conversions, I usually don't know the exact format to use which will key the special functions. Typically searching Google for "percentage calculator" or something similar takes you to a site with a clear UI and instruction. Often times this is quicker than randomly entering searches into Google, hoping that my wording will spawn that special function.

So while yes, it's scary/crazy to launch a web app that is so easily clonable for Google, the "general use" nature of Google means that they'll never have these functions as prominent features. This leaves room for simple web apps who do a better job (or at least have a simple UI that is understandable).

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