The Internet: Google’s hidden secrets

Google.org/flutrends is an “early-warning system” for flu outbreaks. By collating data on flu-related Google searches, the service compiles a state-by-state, “color-coded” breakdown of estimated flu activity.

Mail.google.com/mail/#settings/labs features add-ons for Google Mail. One, “Mail Goggles,” stymies drunken e-mailing, blocking access at certain times until you’ve “answered five mental math problems in 60 seconds.”

Google.com/alerts is a free “personal clipping service.” Type in a search phrase—your name or company, for instance—to receive an e-mail whenever the term’s mentioned online.

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Reader.google.com lets you “subscribe” to sites that cover your favorite topics, and then will deliver their text to you daily, “all nicely congregated on a single page.”

Source: The New York Times