What does the term "Ping" mean?
A:
Basically, ping is short for Packet InterNet Groper and it is a utility that is most widely used to check for network errors. It's the main utility that is used to verify whether or not a network data packet can be sent to an address (usually an IP address) without any errors.
Now, let me try to explain how a ping process works. First, a ping command is used to ping an IP address and that request is then sent over the network to the computer with that address. Once it's successfully received, the computer produces what is called a "pong" response. The time between the two is then calculated to come up with an average response time. If the ping, for some reason, does not make it through to its destination, the computer will then receive a timed out error.
So, if you've ever received an error like that, you now know that it's coming from the ping utility. The term ping is also used quite a bit in computer gaming. In this case, it goes by either a high ping or a low ping and it basically has to do with how fast of a connection a user has to the game server. For example, if you play games online, you'll want to have a lower ping rate (around 50 is good). If you have too high of a ping speed, you may not be able to play, because a lot of game servers only accept low pings. Well, hopefully that helps you all in understanding this computer term a little more. As you can see, it's all in the ping and the pong!
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Q:
Have you heard anything about a service called Google 411? If you have any information on it, please share it with us! Thanks!
A:
But of course! The service is called Google 411, but it is also known as Google Voice Local Search (that's a more technical name for it if you couldn't tell!) So, what can Google 411 do for you? Well, let's find out!
Google 411 is basically a service that allows you to search for local businesses through a phone line. With it, you can search for a business by either its name or just simply by a category. For example, if you're trying to find a pizza restaurant, you can search by the actual name (for instance, Pizza Hut) or you can search just by the word "pizza." If you want to find a hair salon, you can either search by the company's name or by the words "hair" or "salon." And you do it all with a phone!
To try Google 411, all you have to do is enter in this phone number on any phone: 1-800-GOOG-411, which is also 1-800-466-4411. You can do this from a home phone, a cell phone, etc. It doesn't matter, as long as you're using a working telephone.
Once you dial the number, you will hear a man's voice. He will ask you for your city and state and you just have to speak them into the phone. For example, I just tried this and I said "Toledo, Ohio." The recording will then go on to ask you for the business' name or a category you want to search under. So, keeping with my example above, I said "pizza" into the phone and Google 411 gave me the top 10 results for Toledo. There was everything from Papa John's to Pizza Hut to Inky's (a great pizza place in Toledo!) It gave me the option of starting over at any time as well. Pretty cool, huh?!
When you search by a category, listen for the result you're looking for and then just type in the appropriate number and Google 411 will automatically connect you to that business. And don't worry, all the connect charges are free too. That goes along perfectly with the toll free number, don't you think?! Now, if you're using a cell phone to do this, you can also receive a text message with the information if you'd like. This works along with the Google SMS service that's been around for awhile now. So, if you prefer text messages, just say "text message" into the phone and you can go on getting your information that way.
Like I said before, Google 411 is a free service, but depending on your phone service provider, standard phone charges may apply. This goes for text messages too, depending on what your cell phone provider's rules are.
Check it out today!
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