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Google Search By Number
fizz writes "Well, Google has done it again. This time, simply enter any tracking number or id number into the Google search box, and Voila! You have a link to the shipper and tracking information. They have a funny little mom/son tech talk bit on the blog about this."
Google is becoming the one-stop shop for information. While I know their motto is, "Do no evil", I can't help but feel a little squeamish about it.
"I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey
Favorite Hidden Google Features?
Just because someone's mom doesn't know something about Google doesn't make it new.
Most of /. probably knew about this, since it's been around since at least February 2004
That page contains the request Are there other types of numbers you'd like Google to search? Please email us at suggestions@google.com.
Today's page contains Are there other types of numbers you'd like Google to search? Please contact us.
If in the last year Google received suggestions for other numbers to be searched, they do not seem to be implemented today. Drivers Lic #'s, SSN's, Lic Plate #'s, are not likely to be included. What numbers could Google search?
Test signature: Brett Walker
Google has had this feature for a very long time. I don't see how this is news.
And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start
To mold a new reality... closer to the heart
even cooler: check out the first google map hack (it even blew the pants of the google maps crew):
http://paulrademacher.com/housing/
Ya-who?
Put them into Google every day to see if they're on the move...
I wonder if you could then call the shipper and tell them the ship-to address is wrong and have whatever it is sent to your house...
Someone's bound to try it, i betcha.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
User types "666" into the Google search box, hits Enter. "AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
If you enter their website traditionally, UPS requires that the user click the annoying "By selecting this box and the Track button, I agree to these Terms and Conditions." Google bypasses this. What are the legal ramifications of this bypass?
Google just keeps on being cool. I'm still looking at places I've lived in satellite maps, I'm trying to fill out my massively increasing gmail account, finishing editing some videos to upload and now I don't need to figure out what tracker number goes where? I love you, google.
I also like that I can type weather frederick md and get my weather or define:pragmatic and get a definition.
http://www.busyweather.com/
No support for DHL yet.
I typed in 42, and the first search result was The Answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything!
I won't belive there's a dupe till I see proof!
I've been using this to track packages for a year. The internet archive says it's been available since February of '04.
But anything on the Google blog is news, I guess.
... my car keys. So what good is it?
--- Attorneys Assisting Citizen-Soldiers & Families -
Google search on "google package tracking" yields this December 11, 2003 Google Weblog post.
http://google.blogspace.com/archives/001089/
Ok maybe sketchy isn't really the word I should use here, but wasn't there a report on wired.com like two weeks ago about how google tracks your every move if you are logged into there service (gmail account). So they know exactly who you are (because of the email info) they know what you are searching for (everytime you type in a search query) and now all they need is to see what tracking numbers you put in...they see what you buy, and they can sell this info to massive companies, or hell to advertising companies and bombard you with spam or banners when you go on there site. That or they just wanna create a better service for all of us...(right) P.S. Yeh its a pretty far fetch idea, but then again anything is possible when you live in a time when Senators wanna tax you for every byte you download off the net.
"Well, Google has done it again"
Yes, they managed to get on slashdot for something really, really old.
Having this information crawled and therefore easily available to a world-wide audience makes me nervous. What if you are having passports or some other ID material shipped? Or medical tests? Interception is now that much easier. I know the protection before was via obscurity, i.e. the information was not crawled, but, personally, I think that shippers should not make this information crawlable.
-LLM
Annoy a Conservative...
I am not blaming Google of course, it is the fault of the university and the professor.
i think that this is actually an old feature. i know that i've used the numeric stuff before.
a -search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=f irefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official
like for instance if you type in the word "pi" the first thing returned is the value of pi
http://www.google.com/search?q=pi&sourceid=mozill
i've also used it to find out information about cars via the VIN number.
Is it 5:30 yet?
If you're going to report on breaking Google features, shouldn't you also mention that they came out with an e-mail service? a separate search for Linux-related topics? a way to shop and compare prices?
This is what happens when geeks get billions of dollars (from going public) and have no parental supervision. :)
Sugapablo
1. Nobody said it was new
2. It was hidden! So to a lot of people, it is new. It is new to me, and I use google every day.
I don't understand why this making the news is such a dork-irker. Geeks on their high-horses. *sigh*
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
Hehe, I'm just kidding about the last one.
-russ
Don't piss off The Angry Economist
I'm seeing Google turning too much into a niche operator today. Most new stuff is focused on IE, the Windows platform and on US data. This may be the single largest combination of browser, OS and geography, but it is still a very small niche in the big scheme of things. Unfortunately, today google seems to focus harder onto that niche, not less.
Lots more space for nimble competitors, I guess. And at least for the precence-style apps here, like mobile maps, underground GPS, line-based chats and so on, Google doesn't exist, period.
Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
I'm waiting for the day I can type in "F/22/Southern California" and get a list of interested, available women. =P
C'mon Google, help us out! =]
'mmmmmmmmm.... forbidden donut'
I wish I'd thought of this years ago. You mean I can avoid paying income tax just by earning nothing? I'll tell the payroll department right away! Think of all the money I'll save!
Well, not exactly. It's a very cool hack. My #1 feature request is to link it to Google's satellite maps also.
Mmmm.. Donuts
Give me a break. Google has done this for nearly 2 years now.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
I'm sure you will find a link to google maps soon along with the whitepages info. Notice that if you enter an address into the google main search page, you will get links to google maps, mapquest and yahoo, since google is following the principle of finding information for you from all good sources, even if google has a product with that information.
"When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to resemble a nail." - Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
Did anybody notice this :
Enter anything you want to search on www.google.com input box, click "Google Search" and VOILA!! Google displays the webpages containing those keywords!!!
It's so old that they had it when Yahoo! was still funding Google and Google was starting to do the Yahoo!! backend. It still works in Yahoo! btw.
'I am become Shiva, destroyer of worlds'
Since Gmail is already scanning my messages, why doesn't it pick tracking numbers out of my e-mail? Then it could do something useful and give me a link to the shipper.
Yorkspace
I have been using this all week and I've already made three appointments to see apartments that I found on there. It is insanely useful.
The Google Maps sightseeing blog doesn't quite have its utility, but is hours of entertainment nonetheless.
If you have ever tried to locate drivers or a manufac for an unknown piece of hardware, you can find the brand and model with its FCC number, which is required to be on the hardware. Good for computer geeks!
... just put a little "Did you know?"-like tooltip at the bottom of the main search page? (Much like the default Firefox page.) It doesn't even have to appear every visit -- just 1 out of 5 times, 1 out of 10 times, etc. Regardless, the average web user will visit Google often enough to pick up on some new tricks. Making these features well known will only reinforce people coming back to Google.
I've known about this Google feature for awhile now. The calculator feature is also very useful. So useful you'd think regular Google users would know about it by now, but every time I use it in front of someone, they always seem suprised and I end up teaching something new.
- sm