21. how about... if it bought feedster and technorati and made them more stable

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by peter caputa

22. they settled out of court for missapropriating the name google from the aliens

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by jim

23. I admit that the results that google returns are very good and probably the most relevant of all the search engines. I just wish they were better. One example I can give is that I am Coldfusion programmer by trade and if I have a problem, I first look on google for the answer. Probably 8/10 times I cannot find the answer i want and instead have to go to a forum or a mailing list to get the answer. This may be a problem with what I am searching for or it could be that Google isn't smart enough to figure out what I want. Maybe if they had a contextual search rather than just a keyword search that would make it better. Just my 2 cents.

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Eric

24. It seems like the search engine experts who optimize many popular sites know, for the most part, how Google works. For the many of us who don't, this is ruining results simply because the unoptimized sites are at a disadvantage. Unfortunately, this leads to irrelevant results at times.

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by webDate Online Dating Software

25. I think it would be nice if Google had optional voice recognition and you could search based on speaking a line into the engine, such as a quote from a text, speech, film, play, fiction, poetry, and etc.

also, a music search would be nice. hum a few bars or strum a few notes and find out what's out there.

the translation service could be beefed up by adding pronunciation for words and phrases.

the existing definitions are rolling out great, could use suggestions for possible misspellings.

i still want a gmail account too.

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by rb

26. 1. Integrated RSS/Atom feeds into gmail.
2. Offered an RSS/Atom feed of Google News
3. Allowed to me ALWAYS exclude sites specified by me from my searches.
4. Allowed for a broad array of topic-specific searches (much like it's Microsoft, Linux, and Apple specific searches)
5. Allowed me to search my local hard drive
6. Allowed me to search Stuff I've Seen (search just web pages and documents I have viewed in the last X months)
7. Allowed me to search just a group of sites I have specified (example, create a topic called ASP.NET, include all my favorite ASP.NET sites, now I can search just those sites.)

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Daren

27. ... if ...

1. they offered 1gb web hosting with php and cgi..

2. they released their own OS.....

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Oz

28. No matter how thoroughly expert we are at defining a search, we always find ourselves searching through endless threads looing for the right piece.

If Google could read my mind, I can just imagine how much wisdom it could create as a foundation for informing all that I do.

Bit of fantasy never hurt.

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Colby Stuart

29. ...And I'm not sure I'd want it to be, either. But if there were a way for Google to guage the technical acuity (and, ergo, expectations) of a user and incorporate that information into whatever search criteria had been entered, such difficulties in finding applicable results as are commonly encountered by Eric the Colfusion Programmer, for example, could potentially be circumvented (by the exclusion of hits with a more "pedestrian" context), while providing for greater leniency toward those who have a hard-enough time simply double-clicking on the AOL icon. I picture a set of radio buttons numbered 1 - 10, below the Search bar or on the Preferences page, prompting users to "rate" themselves on their perceived skill-level (or overall intelligence, even), although most idiots would probably give themselves far too much credit, only to find themselves disappointed with the end-result of the product -- as if Google's current spell-checking capacity weren't enough. (I suppose there could be some sort of "weighting" algorithm in place to maintain balance, but I'll cut the conjecture short, being in no mood to think about numbers right now.) The point is to control the degree to which the semantic commonality of a set of prospective search results is considered prior to returning them. Although Google may not yet be "perfect," I'll at least remain grateful that it doesn't patronize the way Windows does....

Just as an afterthought, it would also make a great deal of sense (from my limited perspective) if Google could/would query more than simply ten search terms at once. You know, just in those odd circumstances wherein 14 million + results are offered and ya can't be any more specific about what you're looking for without writing a book.

I imagine my window of opportunity for receiving a gmail account, per this thread, has expired, but the question was too good to pass up. Should another become available, however, I'd be delighted and honoured to accept it. (;

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Duncan

30. Natural language searching is a world away, currently, but I think this would be useful.

Under Advanced Search:
Natural Language Search [beta (like everything else)]

Sample search:
"Who won the Wimbledon Men's final in 1982?"

Google (if it does not understand the question) returns:
"Are you searching for the name of a person?" [based on keyword "Who"]

Response:
Yes

Google returns:
"Is this person a male?" [based on response and keyword "Men's"]

Response:
Yes

Google returns:
"Are you searching for the name of the man who won the Wimbledon final tennis match in 1982? [based on responses and previous keywords]

Response:
Yes

[insert Magic]

Google returns:
I found 3 results:
"Jimmy Connors", http://www.wimbledon.co.uk/, and 12 other sites [link similar to Google News showing number of sites reporting this answer]
"John McEnroe", http://jimmystennisworld.com/, and 2 other sites
"Martina Navritalova", http://tennissucks.com/

It would also be useful if Google could read XML, instead of returning "Unrecognized file format." I mean, come on, it's only text.

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Harry

31. they could intergrate all their existing services into one single account so that we can access all their services with one login.

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Luc

32. I often end up with very long strings of text in the search field before I have narrowed the results down sufficiently (e.g., "SpamAssassin 2.6" SMTP timeout rule stop harvesting "No such user here"). It would be nice if I could easily save the first 10 pages of results to refer back to later. Often when I return to do a search weeks later the results have changed.

I am sure I have missed the window of oppurtunity, but I would love a gmail account. Thanks.

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Wes

33. it could read and write to my mind. I wouldn't have to type in searches or click-thru on links. No need to worry about Flash, or Java; display issues or compatibility because it would be automatically downloaded to my brain. Of course there is concern about the effects of viruses and browser highjackings with this neurological feed. I guess bandwidth in terms of brain function and connection speed/access would also be an issue.

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Michelle

34. IF it could search everything in my PC. All we need is a fantastic local search for files , emails, attachments in my PC and my local network ....

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Kadu Martins

35. ...it knew my taste in women ;)

Seriously, a massive improvement would be if it could filter out those annoying price comparison sites whenever I search for a product.


And a gmail invite would be great, esp. considering that Blueyonder mail has been up and down like a yo-yo for the last 3 months. Damn ISP :(

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Michael Ward

36. I would really like it if I could design a website for myself and have it hosted by Google.

Yahoo has Geocities so when is Google going to offer an alternative?

That is my wish on the list. :)

Otherwise, I really like Google. And a BIG :P THBZZZZZ!!! to the lawyers!

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Ruth Rader

37. They would give me a G mail account

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Jake Schirm

38. the responses were excellent... i just finished a third round of gmail invites... if you responded to this query and i did not mail you an invite, please feel free to re-request here in the comments field... thanks! best... j.

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by judith

39. ...it used its clout to improve the indexing (I don't know the technical term) of serious web sites worldwide. That might go a long towards improving the search relevance problem. (Although the folks asking for XML reading capabilities may be on the same page here.)

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Alexander

40. They made some elegant improvements to their brute force Google file system to better manage structured, semi structured, and unstructured metadata allowing for continuous indexing, analyzing, correlating, and classifying to better find and act on relevant information that is tailored to your specific needs.

Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Steve