Foreword

When the first edition of Google Hacks appeared, we were frankly a bit surprised that there was enough hacking going on to make up a whole book. No longer. People continue to discover more ways than we ever imagined to tweak, tone, and otherwise futz around with Google bits for myriad uses.

In the 18 months since Google Hacks first appeared, search has, if possible, only grown in importance. Not only is there more information than ever to be found—via email, computer hard drives, and newly digitized repositories of previously offline content—there is also a greater need to automate tasks and to locate that needle of information in a haystack that just will not stop growing.

We hope that you enjoy this new Google Hacks effort and continue to help us make the most of the world's information by making it universally accessible and useful.

--Craig Silverstein, Director of Technology, Google