Eighteen rugby fields filled with servers

Not a day goes by that I am not amazed by the power of Google, the functionality of its products and the amazingly easy to use tools that are at my disposal. But when I speak to friends, family and colleagues about these cool tools, I discover that they do not know about them. So I have decided to share a few amazing things about Google with you. You might already know about them, but if you do not, enjoy them as I can hardly live without them.

Google servers: Did you know that Google has more than 450 000 servers? That is the equivalent of 18 rugby fields filled with servers. Read more about the Google platform at Wikipedia.

Google Flight Simulator: Google Earth now has its own built-in flight simulator. When you open the latest version of Google Earth, just click Ctrl+Alt+A and you are ready for your flight.

Google Calculator is better than the one on your desk. In Google, type your equation (such as “123 x 456”), search and your answer is there. Your could even try “43% of 876”.

Currency Converter: Not sure if your next trip to Las Vegas would be within budget? Try the currency converter (for example, “Convert 100USD to ZAR“).

Google Music: Google has the best information about every music artist. Type “music:Elton John” and all the albums produced by Elton John will be displayed. Keep on clicking and you will get to the lyrics.

Google Movie Reviews is something that would help in your choice in a movie or DVD. Type “movie:Titanic” and read all the reviews from trusted sources.

Google Napster: MP3s are scattered all over the internet, and turning Google into your own personal Napster is as simple as using the following search URL: -inurl:(htm|html|php) intitle:”index of”+”last modified”+”parent directory”+description+size+(wma|mp3)”Nirvana”. Just change “Nirvana” to your artist or song name.

Google Universe: Google is more than just a search engine. It covers the universe — Google Earth, Google Sky, Google Moon. (Keep on zooming, and you might find some cheese on the moon). Click here for a complete list of all the Google Tools and Products.

Google Office: No need for Microsoft Office, as Google introduced a whole Office Suite complete with Google Docs, Google Spreadsheets and Google Email — and soon we will start playing with Google’s version of PowerPoint.

Google Desktop: There is no reason not to find any old email, document on your own computer as you can turn your own computer into a searchable beast with the installation of Google Desktop. Then simply type Ctrl-Ctrl to search.

Google Software: And I have to say thank you to Google for the bundled deal of software. All the software you need in order to be more productive is now just one download away.

It is a hard task to add all the functionality of all the great Google Applications into one blog entry, but I had to share some of them with you.

The big question: What is the best Google Tool or application to date?

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