Google Wants to Make You a Power User

Google is offering you a chance to step up your search game. The company said it will provide a series of six courses in July to turn the average Google user into a power user. The free 50-minute classes can be taken during a two-week window beginning July 10. Google promises that by the end of the course, you'll be able to find whatever you're looking for much more quickly in your Google searches. The classes will include interactive activities to practice new skills, opportunities to connect with classmates using Google Groups and  Google+ with Hangouts-on-Air featuring Google experts. Those who pass the post-course assessment will receive a printable Certificate of Completion. In the meantime, Google offers a page full of search tips by topics such as " Planning a Trip ?" and "Trying to win a bet?" Did you know that the search engine ignores punctuation and other special characters? Capitalization? Unnecessary. Google sees "New York Times" the same way as "new york times," so when you search Google, save yourself a bit of typing by sticking to lower case letters. To register for Power Searching with Google, visit the  course homepage.  New classes will become available Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday starting on July 10 and end on July 19. Course-related activities will end on July 23.

• 5 Unsettling Uses of Google Glasses Camera
• Facebook Moves Toward Universal Email
• A Rat is Smarter Than Google