Ever notice how opinionated people become about search engines? You don't have to go much further than looking at the comments posted between Google's and Microsoft's mapping tools. Rather than joining sides, I thought I would divert your attention to some of my favorite overlooked search engine features. Search tips on books, currency, nutritional info and so on.

Google Search Tips

Searching Books

Google has a beta product that searches book content. It doesn't include all books, but it offers content that doesn't display in Google's main search results.

To search Google print archives,

1. Go to http://print.google.com/

2. Type in your search query

3. Click the Search Print button

You can also combine your search with other advanced Google search options. For example, if I wanted to find books in Google Print with the terms web design in the title, I could type in the search box:

allintitle: web design

I find the print service most helpful when searching for biographical information. It often contains references I wouldn't find elsewhere. Google also include links for easy book purchase through a series of vendors.

Converting Currency

This little tool uses the main Google search page. You don't need different a URL, but type your request in the search box. Example formats include:

• 200 usd to euros
• 10000 yuan to usd
• 346.7 canadian dollars to usd

The foreign currency rates are provided by Citibank N.A and are for informational purposes.

Weather Forecasts

If you need a quick weather forecast, you can't get much faster than Google. Type weather followed by a city, state combination or zip code. Examples might be:

• weather 01095
• weather baltimore, md

The 4-day forecasts are supplied by Weather Underground.

Yahoo! Shortcuts

Yahoo's shortcut page is a great starting point as it includes a series of useful predefined searches ranging from airport conditions to package tracking. It also offers unique searches such as gas prices, which is essential for San Francisco Bay area residents.

All you need to do is to replace the sample query with your own item. Yahoo! will run the search and underneath the sponsored results, you'll see a result with a Yahoo! logo icon to the left. This icon represents a shortcut result.

MSN

I'm not apt to use MSN Search as much as Google or Yahoo! but there are two instances where I find this service easier and sometimes better food and facts.

Nutritional Info

For those people who track nutritional info, MSN is very good. Here are some example queries:

• potassium orange juice
• calories coke
• saturated fat half and half
• protein almonds

What's nice about the results is they provide several quantifies and variations such as size and type.

Encarta

I've always been a fan of encyclopedias so you would guess I would like Encarta.

I find it one of the easier ways to get fast answers to questions on people, places or things. The page is well organized and provides a nice summary with useful links.

While the pundits, critics and general population fight over who is the best search engine, you can experiment with some lesser-known features and draw your own conclusions. To each their own.

Referenced Resources

Google's Print Search page
Yahoo! Shortcut page
MSN Search page
Google's Mapping tool
Microsoft's Mapping tool