Google Labs Opens Its Doors

Google let everyone in on some of its new ideas yesterday by opening up Google Labs, Google’s “technology playground.” I played around with each tool for a while and here are my first thoughts.

Google Glossary: Rather than simply point you to dictionary.com or Merriam-Webster for a formal reference definition, Google Glossary finds definitions from all over the Web, which likely contain a lot more information than a regular dictionary ever could. Very useful.

Google Sets: Enter a few items from a set of things - any set of things! - and Google will try to predict other items in the set. It works like the similar pages feature of Google Search but with words instead of websites. Practical applications? Maybe a recommendation search engine. If you like Radiohead, U2, and The Orb, here are some other bands that might interest you.

Google Voice Search: I didn’t call but I’m sure I wouldn’t ever be able to get through. The idea is that you call and actually say your search keywords and then click a link which opens a new window with your search results. If can’t get through either but you want to know what people are voice searching, check this out. A voice search technology combined with Google features would be extremely useful for situations that require hands free information retrieval, like driving, flying, etc. If the results were read back to the user, even better.

Google Keyboard Shortcuts: Very cool for users who can’t or don’t want to use the mouse. Only problem I spotted: “1-9 visits the corresponding result numbers.” The results aren’t numbered! Doh.