I just noticed that when I start to type in a search query in Google that it pops up with suggestions based on my partial typing fragment. This isn't so useful and actually bugs me because my wife occasionally uses my computer too and, well, I don't want her to see all my random searches. How can I fix it? I'm using Firefox on a Mac, if that makes a difference....

Continue reading about How can I clear my search history in Firefox?

I can't seem to get a straight answer when it comes to how a site is coded/built and the affects that this has on SEO. After having taken a few web courses (design to SEO related courses) it seems to me that the "best practice" with regard to building a site that is search engine "friendly" is with CSS, utilizing as few tables as possible. I've been told by numerous instructors that tables can adversely...

Continue reading about Can using tables hurt my Search Engine Results (SERPs)?

I don't know how it changed, but suddenly the default search engine on my Apple iPhone 3G is Yahoo, not Google. Now I like Yahoo as much as the next guy, but I really want Google back. How the heck do I change the default search engine in Safari??...

Continue reading about How do I change the default search engine in Safari on my Apple iPhone?

This is a kind of mundane question, but I constantly bump into acronyms and jargon that I don't understand, whether it's in group email, Twitter, or on people's blogs or blog comments. Where can I find answers?...

Continue reading about What's the best place to define acronyms?

Cloud computing. What the heck does it mean, anyway? If you're confused by the phrase, you're not alone, because it's as prevalent now as the air we breathe. Without knowing it, you use cloud computing-based services everyday! Still, many aren't aware of just what cloud computing is and why it even matters. The basics of cloud computing is nothing new -- It's similar to the days of mainframe timesharing, where companies shared resources to process...

Continue reading about A Quick and Easy Intro to Cloud Computing

We're living in a noisy world. There a millions of blogs, and photos and radio shows and podcasts and websites, and… whew! There's a lot of stuff out there. So if you're just starting out, or even if you've been doing it for awhile, you probably wonder how you're going to get noticed. The bad news is if it was easy, you'd be noticed already. The good news is that there's never been a greater...

Continue reading about How Do I Get Noticed Online?

I have added quite a few public calendars over the last few years I have been using Google Calendar, and now find that I want to trim things. Problem is, I can't see how to *delete* calendars in Gcal!...

Continue reading about How do I delete a calendar from Google Calendar?

Thanks for all the help re: adding a Google search box to web site... BUT, what I really want to do is have a button that when clicked will submit a SPECIFIC querry to google from within my web page. I guess its the equivalent of replacing the querry box input mechanism with a predefined text string... how do I do that? or... maybe just being able to pass parameters to google search... is any...

Continue reading about How can I create a "search Google" button on my Web page?

I just learned about Google Webmaster Tools and am psyched to learn how to use them. My first puzzle, however, is how to "verify" my site with the tools. Can you explain that, please?...

Continue reading about How do I verify my site with Google Webmaster Tools?

Hi Dave. I'm working on some publicity for my little company and have just learned about the importance of search engine optimization. My Mom tells me, however, that visibility comes through press releases, but I have a sense she's hopelessly old school. What's your take on this?...

Continue reading about SEO and publicity through press releases?

I am quite frankly baffled why a huge company like Google would pay a bunch of programmers to develop yet another web browser, when we have Internet Explorer for Windows from Microsoft, Safari for Mac OS X from Apple, and the great third-party Firefox free web browser for both Mac and PC. What am I not seeing about companies that pay to develop software and then distribute it without charge?...

Continue reading about Why do companies pay to produce software they give away?

I've been talking to various people about improving my Web site and they keep talking about SEO. I've figured out that SEO = Search Engine Optimization, but I don't really understand what it means to improve my site on a search engine?...

Continue reading about What is Search Engine Optimization?

Is there any way to figure out the last time that Google visited my Web site? This would also be helpful when I analyze competitor's sites too......

Continue reading about When was the last time Google visited my Web site?

I own ledzeppelintickets.com and have 50,000 tickets to the concert that never happened. The story is on the home page. How do I harness the blogsphere to create a buzz for this item that is so targeted to a genre? I know that there must be a way to really jump start my sales with this method. Your resume is impeccable and I trust your input....

Continue reading about How do I sell Led Zeppelin Tickets to their cancelled concert?

I'm still falling down the well of Twitter, or is that falling into the Twitterverse? Anyway, I'd like to have a couple of different profile photos that I can switch between. Is this possible?...

Continue reading about How can I change my Twitter profile pic?

I think I'm hallucinating or something: it appears that I'm getting spam events added mysteriously to my Google Calendar schedule. What the heck? How is that happening, and how can I stop it occurring?...

Continue reading about Google Calendar Spam?

I need to find the sender of an email I received that was a death threat and the domain was @gmail.com. I have contacted the police and fear it will take too long for them to find out any information. Is there anyway you can assist me? The email address was deadlykillers61@gmail.com....

Continue reading about How do I track down who owns a Gmail account?

I just got a MacBook Air and have been enjoying having the world's lightest laptop. It's an amazing piece of engineering and while it appears to have some critical features missing (like a DVD drive or Ethernet port) the fact is that I never used those features on my older MacBook Pro laptop either so it's not anything I miss. Frankly, with my Corsair 8GB flash drive, it's just a super-modern version of "sneakernet" and...

Continue reading about Dave's Guide to Critical Mac Software

I saw your answer regarding how to modify a Google search box to only look through a specified subdirectory on my site (see Search only subdirectory in Google) and it's interesting, but where's the actual code? I need something I can cut and paste, please!...

Continue reading about Modifying search strings on Google site search?

Hi Dave. I'm an inventor and I want to do some research on competing patents without paying major bucks for a lawyer. Is there some sort of site where I can poke around and identify potentially conflicting or competitive patents here in the US?...

Continue reading about How do I search the patent database?