The Mind of Dr. Mac

When I offer a suggestion or solution to other Mac users, I’m often asked, “How do you learn these things?” Or “Where did you learn that?” There is no single answer. I am an inveterate researcher with an unquenchable curiosity. Every day I read literally dozens of Web sites, newsletters, news groups, forums, tweets, blogs, and RSS feeds. And, of course, I use Google extensively to research specific issues or problems.

I depend on far too many resources to tackle them all at once in a single post, so think of this as the first in a series…

How I Learn Mac and iPhone Stuff: Part I

When I need specific information about a product or problem I almost always start with a Google Web search. But while the little Google search field in the address bar of most browsers is handy, you might not always want start there. Rather, you might want to try Google’s Advanced Search.

The easiest way to get acquainted with this feature is to click the Advanced Search link on Google’s main page as shown here:

This will replace the single search field shown above with the multi-field Advanced Search form shown below:

The form should be pretty much self-explanatory, but if you want some help click the Advanced Search Tips link in the upper right corner as indicated above.

In addition to helping you understand the Advanced Search form, these tips show you how to construct an advanced search you can initiate right from your browser’s toolbar, so you don’t even have to bother with the Advanced Search form.

For example, to learn more about a jungle cat you might type this:

[ jaguar -cars -football -OS ]

into your browser’s Google search field. Google interprets that as, “search for pages with the word jaguar but exclude pages with cars, football, or OS on them.”

So, the next time you search the Web, try an Advanced Search. In many cases it will provide better and/or more relevant results, and save you both time and effort.

I’ll have more great learning resources for you in the near future, so check back here soon.

Google, iphone, issues, mac, research, troubleshooting

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