Google has obviously completely changed the way we search and access information. Whether you are deciding on a vacation destination or which pair of shoes to pick up or simply trying to find out the capital of a random country, the first place you would look for the answer is no doubt Google.
There are a variety of ways you can look for information on Google. Traditionally you search by typing the keywords into your browser on the computer or mobile phone.
You can also look for information using voice wherein you simply speak into the microphone of your phone or computer and Google uses speech recognition software to translate whatever you speak into a search query and gets you the right information. My favourite way of search on Google, however, is to search visually using something know as Google Goggles.
Goggles is a free application that can be downloaded from the Internet (www.google.com [1]
/mobile/goggles/) and can run on an Android or iPhone. Once installed, it allows you to take pictures of everyday things —landmarks, books, wines, etc — around you and instantly search for more information about it. All you need is a data connection on your mobile phone.
There are many everyday situations where Goggles ends up being a very useful application. Imagine that you are exploring a foreign country and while walking around you see an interesting landmark or building and you want to know the history of that place or want to get more information on it, then all you need to do is take a picture of it using Goggles and automatically it will give you more information about it. After a few hours of walking around, if you then get hungry and decide to get lunch, only to realise that the menus are in a foreign language, then once again all you got to do is take a picture of the menu in the foreign language and Google Goggles instantly converts the menu into the language of your choice! No need to feel foreign in a foreign country again.
Ordering a fancy bottle of wine at a classy restaurant and want to show off your knowledge about the history of the wine? Simple take a picture of the wine bottle using Google Goggles!
If you meet somebody at a conference or a business meeting, then instead of exchanging physical business cards and then manually entering all the data into your compute or mobile phone, you can simply use Google Goggles. Just take a picture of the business card and Google Goggles will automatically enter it into the Address Book of your phone.
Overall, quite an interesting and useful application that allows you to make better sense of the world around with a simple picture!
— The writer is a 25-year-old ethical hacking expert, a TV show host and the author of 14 bestselling books. He can be contacted at
ankit@deccanmail.com [2]
Links:
[1] http://www.google.com
[2] mailto:ankit@deccanmail.com