BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..

Subject: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 12:30 AM

Being annoyed with google is nothing new or out of the ordinary,
But at least it used to pretend to be a proper search engine..

Recently, it seems impossible to just type a word to search it's spelling and definition.

All the results are now pages of links to products using that word as a name.

Not even the "Searches related to ...."
at the bottom of the page provide any other links
than to these products..

Yeah, ok, it's no great hardship typing "definition" immediately after the needed word,
But even so...

How much advertising revenue would google lose,
if they still grudgingly provided the definition as the first link
at the top of the page...???

pfr, a grumpy old git
who grew up with printed paper dictionaries and encyclopedias...

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Senoufou
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 03:20 AM

pfr, could you give some examples? Because I frequently type in a word I don't understand (especially new, modern vernacular) and up comes a useful definition headed by 'Dictionary'. I also use Google a lot for information which helps me solve my various crossword puzzles.
You're not 'a grumpy old git' at all! I too grew up with 'real' books and still find technology a wee bit daunting (Luckily my husband is brilliant and shows me what to do)

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: DaveRo
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 04:26 AM

Try define:grumpy
Put a dot on the front if the browser thinks it's a URL

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: ketchdana
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 04:32 AM

My "home" page is basically a file of personal links, two of which are:

"dictionary (oxford english)" which points to www.lexico.com/en/
and "dictionary (merriam-webster)", pointing to www.merriam-webster.com/

(Another, of course, is "mudcat", pointing to, uh, http://mudcat.org)
...Bob

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Mr Red
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 05:09 AM

All the results are now pages of links to products using that word as a name.

FWIW I use Yahpoo...... Looking for spelling I enter "**word** dictionary" and pretty much top of the list are links to dictionary pages and a range of spellings. Some American. So you have to pick Collins or OxfordOnline (eg) and avoid Merriam Webster (or visa versa) & ignore those that you don't recognise.

The one that pisses me off is Amazon sponsored adverts that just clutter, because going to their page reveals a search based on a subset of any terms I entered. Usually they ignore red whch is totally useless to me. OK, OK I don't need to look, but it is clutter. And anyway you can't get to basket without a "Prime Offer" page with a minute "don't bother" link. "don't bother" is my default, if not only position.

how is DuckDuckGo ? Not used it much but I have put it as default on Chrome (suck on that Goggle).

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Stanron
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 06:08 AM

I've used the Yahoo search engine for years. I can type just a word in Yahoo and get definitions on the first page. I do it quite often for both definitions and spelling.

When I first changed to Linux, Google was not available and Yahoo was the default. I had to search to find Google and over different versions of Linux operating systems stopped bothering. I've got Google bookmarked now but never seem to need it.

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 06:17 AM

Using Google Chrome on my Android tablet, I entered, separately, the terms "punk", "folk" and "rocker" with no embellishments.

"Punk" gave, in order, a dictionary definition of the term; an overview article of the musical genre with links to the artists, albums and videos;PEOPLE ALSO ASK:- (several non-commercial links); a Wikipedia entry on Punk Rock: many more references and links to articles and images in a similar vein.

"Folk" gave 3 small search boxes directing various genres of folk; an advert for clothing with the word folk in the company name;PEOPLE ALSO ASK:- (links to commercial and non-commercial sites); some more

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 06:25 AM

oops! Hit the send button by accident

To continue:-

...; some more adverts for the clothing company above; links to articles about festival; a dictionary definition of the word folk

"Rocker" gave

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Jack Campin
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 06:26 AM

Looking up "punk" on Bing gets two definitions, a few pictures and a Wikipedia entry as the first hits.

DuckDuckGo is just an anonymized front end to Bing so I assume it would feel much the same.

Bing is actually not bad.

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 06:37 AM

I keep doing this! My thumb rests right next to the submit button when I am typing.

Third time lucky:

"Rocker" gave a dictionary definition; a Wikipedia entry on the subculture; an advert for a BMX bike;PEOPLE ALSO ASK:- (non-commercial links); images of musicians and others clad in leather; several more dictionary definitions


I wouldn't have said that the commercial aspects were pushed too strongly in any of the entries. Certainly nothing to get upset about.

DC

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Mr Red
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 08:23 AM

Certainly nothing to get upset about.

It is something to rail about. If you were looking for a particular product, the first pages of hits you get are those that have paid to be there, one way or another. Goggle have been cited/fined for steering people to their system. Then there are those that can game the system. Most surfers just want, and settle if it is near enough.
If you are shopping for red at least half of the entries have ignored the request. Such is the nature of searches - scarlet will not get you there. Maroon or itsty-bitsy bits of it are red, which if you are a pedantic specialist has to be expected. Page 3 is the minimum depth for my searches. Then they start to repeat and you can bet they are the sponsors/gamers.

Actually I find E-Bay searches are acceptable, especially if you drill down. Amazon, pretty passé, but then I ain'ta byin'. Once alerted to something, the same is available on E-Bay and may include postage for a better deal overall.

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 10:39 AM

Yahoo was an index of sites submitted to it, not a true search engine. It has probably changed, but I got out of the habit of using it a long time ago. You can set up your preferences in Google (and most other search engines) and tell it to behave in different ways.

When looking for words (definition or spelling) I used to type
"define: x-word"
but now you just type the word and all of that turns up (and the correct spelling, if you weren't too far off to begin with.)

I dislike Bing, but Microsoft has set it as the only search engine default in it's Edge browsers. I've been testing Duck Duck Go for a while, but not intensively enough to have a report yet. (I set up different browsers with different preferences; primarily I use Chrome with Google as default).

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Mr Red
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 11:01 AM

(and the correct spelling, if you weren't too far off to begin with.)


Ahhhhhhhhhhh yes, and also the spelling of those that think they know how to spell, and those that don't care. And you are unsure in the first place!

EG I searched for Corvid-19 (I know, I know) because I was in idiot mode and pages were listed with that spelling and the correct one, and variation on it. (bird 'flu?)

Then there is the American spelling. And is that er, um, er - right?
(I'll grab my Oxford English Dictionary CD ROM ............... and leave)

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Senoufou
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 07:25 PM

Oh Mr Red I did the same thing in an e mail to my sister. She replied immediately and told me Corvid applies to crows. The trouble with her is that she knows absolutely everything. She's a walking Google!

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 07:49 PM

Librarians: Better than Google :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Joe Offer
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 07:57 PM

Google usually does what I want it to do, so what the hell? And my Android phone is terrific.

Wish I could get their highly-touted Android Auto to work the way it's supposed to on my car, though. When it works, it's really good for navigation....but it rarely works. Do I blame Google or Honda for that?

Can't say I get overly concerned about their knowing more about me that I know about myself. What? Me worry???

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 09:59 PM

I barely know how to discuss all this with folks who now do most of their searching and discussing on smart phones. I am not likely to ever have one, and I don't even have Windows 10.... I have 9 different browsers, 3-4 of which I use fairly often. I do NOT use Chrome or Firefox. I use Vivaldi and PaleMoon for most things, with FlashPeak Slimjet and SeaMonkey and Iron Portable for my Genealogy research. I use Google and DuckDuckGo for most searches... but for looking up words, I begin (on Windows 7Pro) with a stand alone program called WordWeb... it will then fetch definitions from many sources and let you do many things.

   Now.. I am not really against the clever technology of smart phones, but I see everyday the frustrations of people who are fining simple tasks increasingly awkward... from predictive text & auto correct to simple typing errors on tiny 'keyboards'.

There are new fears about what MS and Google are doing to herd all us sheep into smaller pens while giving us tasty treats to distract us while they edge closer to US having all our data stored in the 'cloud' with THEM!

   I still read a couple of NewsGroups in USENET that constantly link to new stories about MS & Google and the sheepherding.

YOU can read one by going to GOOGLE GROUPS (groups.google.com) and looking up alt.comp.freeware and reading just the last couple of weeks of posts from Yrrah, John C. and Shadow... and several others.

I know most folks can't be bothered with all this, but IF you still have a real desktop PC and want some insight, it can be enlightening.

Good luck...

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Joe Offer
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 10:13 PM

So, Bill, are you still using Windows 3.15? I mean, you really haven't been known as an "early adopter"....

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Mr Red
Date: 11 Mar 20 - 04:04 AM

Do I blame Google or Honda for that?

You sure it isn't the problem of the network. Handover from one cell phone mast to the next is not a problem per se for voice, but lost packets of data on SatNav apps must be pretty devastating for maps, especially because the Goggle app downloads maps as and when needed in small chunks. Though if you surf for "how to" you can download the maps permanently, but prepare for areas before going!
I use maps.me for walking, on a phone with no SIM card.

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 11 Mar 20 - 05:21 AM

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Donuel
Date: 11 Mar 20 - 05:40 AM

All Google employees are orderd to work from home

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Mrrzy
Date: 11 Mar 20 - 09:37 AM

And where is my birthday Google Doodle?

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 11 Mar 20 - 10:32 AM

Back to the op and looking for words...

I use the Google search to get suggestions for words I can’t spell and I’ve not noticed problems or changes.

I’m less likely to use it for definitions. The Chambers Dictionary app which I have installed on my Androids is my favourite for this (and for help with anagrams and finding words matching a pattern). I also have the WordWeb dictionary which I think is produced by the same software company as the one that writes the Chamber’s app and has the advantage of being free as well as, I think having more words, but I guess I have some sort of familiarity with Chambers…

I’ve long given up with printed dictionaries.. Some are way too bulky and pocket ones seem pretty useless. Mum has pocket sized ones by Collins and Oxford and it can be surprising what words that crop up in say the Guardian Quick Crossword are missing from these – and were are not usually talking a great vocabulary there (nor do I have that much of a vocabulary) – I keep trying to persude her to use something more suitable on her tablet.

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 11 Mar 20 - 12:50 PM

It happened on a few words one after another..
on this particular PC..

But I've always got far too many tabs open in chrome
at any one time..

So maybe it's an invading force of tracking cookies taking control...???

I'm more than 90% certain The PC is free of malware..

If I had time and inclination, I'd maybe need to do a controlled test
of the the same bunch of words
using google search on different devices...

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Mrrzy
Date: 12 Mar 20 - 09:52 AM

Though it wasn't there when I looked, later when I looked for something else, there was my bday doodle. All is now forgiven.

Except its weird refusal to forget my deadname.

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Bill D
Date: 12 Mar 20 - 03:56 PM

Joe... umm... I actually HAVE a Win 3.5 machine with 2 working Syquest (look it up) drives and a Nikon slide scanner attached, but the mouse died and they are hard to find. I also have a working XP and 2 Win 98 machines that haven't been online in years.

   I have just been consulting with a local friend who is a computer whiz about how to 'dispose' of old PCs that someone might find useful.

Yeah.. I hate to see 'stuff' just go in the trash when some kid might use them for playing games.

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Mr Red
Date: 13 Mar 20 - 05:24 AM

If you use what3words.com and go down to Streetview (exactly the same as from Goggle) the view you get on IE11 is different to the view on FireFox. Images from different days, different resolution. And probably from different server farms. On poor broadband IE11 is marginally better at actually doing the job, poorer resolution does not need the speeds. And there is a measure of luck, because moving around in street view can elicit an old view of, say, a car park in Sidmouth that when approached from another line shows the house that was built on it. And that house was built 3 festivals ago!
But the only alternative to Streetview on Goggl is Bing and that is but a poor substitute. Not sure about Apple, but they have been mapping the world, their white van came down my road, and I knew what it was immediately.

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 13 Mar 20 - 10:50 AM

I read something [on quora if I recall]
that cold war Russia had secretly compiled extremely well detailed street level maps
of the west, before google.

These maps were ordered to be destroyed later,
but ended up getting sold as souvenir novelty prints...

That's what I read, anyway...

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Mar 20 - 03:02 PM

That's why we love you, Bill D

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Rob Naylor
Date: 16 Mar 20 - 04:22 AM

PFR.... The old Soviet maps of the UK are really detailed.... Much more so than OS maps at the same scale. For example, the ones I have covering the Medway ports give bridge dimensions and load bearing capacities, as well as height clearance.

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Mr Red
Date: 16 Mar 20 - 07:43 AM

Old Soviet Maps, Metro

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Mar 20 - 06:03 PM

A friend of mine has decided that Facebook is totally awful (he isn't completely wrong) and he doesn't use Messenger or Instagram either (he used to have the most amazing flower photos up on Instagram - I mourn his absence). But he has decided that it's okay to use Google so he gets his news via YouTube, etc. I hesitate to point out that he's chosen the even bigger elephant in the room for fear he goes totally without connections to news or the world at all.

Subject: RE: BS: Google is crap - Google bashing thread..
From: Mr Red
Date: 17 Mar 20 - 06:29 AM

Elephant's Gerald