Nowdays everything we do revolves around efficient search. Unfortunately, the average user is able to do little more than type what they want in the search field of google.com. While this suffice for the very basics we are missing so much power and efficiency. This is the first of a series of posts to introduce you to the wonders of modern search.

For simplicity most of our discussion will use Google as our search engine and Google’s Chrome browser. Most of the techniques I’ll be mentioning will work in most browsers and in most search engines. If fact, most of the techniques here can be used in tools like SharePoint and Outlook.

Let’s start by setting you up to do search. Here are the steps to set up your favorite browser. The first things to remember are that Google is not your browser and that your browser does not determine which search engine you use. These are completely separate things.

Internet Explorer

In IE the default search engine is, of course, Bing. Bing is Microsoft’s search engine which competes directly with Google’s search engine. To use the Bing search engine go to the word “Bing” in the search field in the upper right and type your search.

In order to use a different search engine you can go to that engine’s web site. In the screen shot at the left you can see that I’ve gone to google.com and I can use Google search from there. To use Google rather than Big as your default follow these steps.

1) Click on the triangle at the right side of the Bing search field.

2) Select “Find More Providers…”

3) Select your favorite search engine. Hover over the right side of the boxes to see more options.

4) Click on the search engine you want and select “Add to Internet Explorer”.

5) In the dialog select “Make this my default search provider” and leave the option for search suggestions checked.

6) You will now have both Google and Bing as options for search with Google as the default.

Google Chrome

One thing you will notice in Chrome is that there is no search field like there is in IE. That’s because you can type your search right in the Address field. Where is the address field? It is where you see www.google.com in the screenshot. Typing your question there and hitting enter will send you to the Google search results. Simple. There is no option for setting a different default search engine. If you want to use Bing or something else navigate to that engines web site.

Common Browsers include:

• Internet Explorer
• Chrome
• Safari
• Firefox
• Opera

Common search engines include:

• Bing
• Google
• Yahoo
• Baidu

Watch for additional posts in this series on Internet Search tips and tricks.

I’ve been busy lately helping Washington County, MN work through phase one of their new SharePoint 2010 implementation. It has been a particularly well thought out project and the folks out there are a joy to work with. Students have been learning how to navigate through SharePoint and the basics of document management using metadata. Like most employees, both corporate and government, the thought of abandoning folders and those 19th-century filing techniques is pretty frightening. Yet, despite a massive paradigm shift the response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic. I am looking forward to watching Washington  County build out a really fantastic document management and collaboration tool. The SharePoint developer on this project, by the way, was Vaughn Mulcrone who did a fantastic job.

Please take a few minutes to brush up on Internet safety.

If you like the way that I explain security and safety in my classes then you will love Google’s simple, easy-to-understand style.

Google’s new little explanation of online safety is a great introduction or review. Please never underestimate how important your security on the Web is.

Sawyer Training is, again, offering an opportunity to take a new Microsoft Office Specialist exam. Certiport is offering free vouchers to qualified individuals to take the new OneNote exam. There is no proctoring fee charged for beta exams.

Certification exams go through a beta phase where qualified candidates take a longer version of the exam. Candidates will not learn the results for several weeks. Those who pass will be certified as a Microsoft Office Specialist in OneNote.

If you qualify, a very limited number of beta vouchers are available for use at our testing center between 19-23 September 2011. Please contact George to schedule an appointment.

The OneNote 2010 Beta exam will be:

• an online exam (like the recent SharePoint 2010 Beta)
• about 50 questions
• a time limit of 90 minutes
• Testing appointments will be two hours total
• Results will be sent to candidates several week following the close of the beta period (4 Oct 2011).