Quick.as allows access to the search results from other sites in the one convenient location. It provides you with better information than Google (or at very least the same); and after the commands become second nature, it allows you to access to the information you want quicker and with less mental processing.

Who’s turn is it to wash the dishes?

So your are so indecisive that you can’t choose between Rock, Paper or Scissors. Well luckily for you, you can type in RPS (or Rock) in the search bar and Quick.as will decide for you!

I can’t decide if I should breakup with my girlfriend. What can I do?

Why not just flip a coin. It is a very effective technique for making these types of decision. Type in coin in the search bar to flip a coin.

Can Quick.as make life defining decisions for me?

Why yes it can! One of the Search Commands is 8ball. Ask it a yes/no question and it will give you an answer. You can send the answer to your friends and it will be the same … although the Quick.as Magic 8 ball is likely to change its mind every day or so!

Quick.as vs. Google.

Google’s well known mission is, “To organize the worlds information.” They do a pretty decent job at this, at least better than any other company. For that information to be useful, people then need to access the information. For the most part Google do a pretty decent job at this too. It implies that there are actually two components to Google’s core offering:

1. Organization of information; and
2. Easy access to information.

Organization of Information

Google is fantastic for gathering information on topics that you have not broached before. But what if you have broached the topic before? What if you are searching for information that you know will be found in a certain location? It would make sense to go directly to that location. People are becoming more familiar with the web and are, in general, a little more discerning. This is what Quick.as allows, and is a premise around which Quick.as was built.

* Who wrote “Confessions of and Economic Hitman,” and what other books has he written? – you search amazon.com
* How do I do a regular expression search in PHP (a programming language)? – you search php.net
* What is the population of Toronto? – you search Wikipedia.com

“Where Google is a search site, Quick.as is a location site.”

Quick.as allows you to put a “command” (a keyboard shortcut of sorts) in front of you search term and you will go directly to the search results of a particular site. Where Google is a “search” site, Quick.as is a “location” site.

Of course, if you do not use a “command” in front of your search term, it simply returns the Google search results. So at very least, using Quick.as to search the web is never going to require more time and mental processing than using Google.
Easy Access to Information

You could go to Google and do a search but if you know what you want is on Wikipedia (for example), that is an extra page load, requires mental processing, and most likely means time-consuming, “spastic lurching” from mouse to keyboard and back. A search on Quick.as avoids this. It gets you there quicker.

The time saving might no seem like much, but once the frequently used commands become second nature, the small productivity gain per search aggregates into a significant time saving over an extended period.

Quick.as also has “Quick Links” which are like bookmarks that appear on the page. They can be customized and have keyboard shortcuts too. This is a further productivity gain as generally the majority of sites people visit are sites they frequent regularly (e.g. social networking, web based email, news, etc.). It minimizes mental processing (you don’t have to remember the URL or select the site form your bookmarks) and time-consuming, spastic lurching from mouse to keyboard and back again applies here. This is discussed quite eloquently in an article called “Return of the Keyboard Shortcut.”

Quick.as allows you to access the search results from other sites in the one convenient location. It provides you with better information than Google (or in the worst case scenario it is the same as using Google). Further, after using it for a little while (and the commands become second nature), Quick.as will allow access to the information you want quicker and with less mental processing.

You should also check out this video.

Here are the Quick.as Search Commands

Quick.as Search Commands

• List is customized for: United States. Register and login to change countries.
• You can add custom Quick.as Search Commands after you register and login.

Command	Name	Example
8ball	Magic 8 Ball	A yes/no question
a	Amazon
ab	Amazon Books
acronym	Acronym Finder	e.g. WTF
actor	IMBb Actors
ad	Amazon DVD
am	Amazon Music
a9	A9 OpenSearch	e.g. iPod Nano
Amazon	Amazon
AMEX	American Stock Exchange	name or code
Amie Street	Amie Street Music	e.g. Hip Hop
AMS	Euronext: Amsterdam	name or code
Amazon Books	Amazon Books
Amazon DVD	Amazon DVD
Amazon MP3	Amazon MP3 Downloads
Amazon Music	Amazon Music
Answers	Answers	e.g. What is …
Ask	Ask
Ask Blogs	Ask Blog
Ask Images	Ask Images
Ask News	Ask Big News
Ask Shopping	Ask Shopping
Ask Video	Ask Video
ASX	Australian Stock Exchange	name or code
be	Bebo
blog	Technorati
BBC	BBC
Bebo	Bebo
Bloglines	Bloglines
Britannica	Encyclopedia Britannica
BT Junkie	BT Junkie
BT Junkie Aud	BT Junkie Audio
BT Junkie Games	BT Junkie Games
BT Junkie Soft	BT Junkie Software
BT Junkie TV	BT Junkie TV
BT Junkie Vid	BT Junkie Video
Buzz	Yahoo Buzz
c	Craigs List	e.g. Chair in Boston
cd	Cambridge Dictrionary
cl	Craigs List	e.g. Chair in Boston
calc	Calculator	e.g. 6*276
coin	Flip a coin
Calculate	Calculator	e.g. 6*276
Calculator	Calculator	e.g. 6*276
Cambridge Dict.	Cambridge Dictrionary
Celebrity xRank	Windows Celebrity xRank
CNN	CNN
Convert	Convet	e.g. X to Y
Convert Currency	Currency Convert	eg. 12 USD in AUD
Convert Distance	Distance Convert	e.g. 1 foot to cm
Convert Temp	Temperature Convert	e.g. 30 C to F
Convert Weight	Weight Convert	e.g. 1 pound to kg
Craigs List	Craigs List	e.g. Chair in Boston
Crunch Base	CrunchBase
CrunchBase	CrunchBase
Currency (Oanda)	Oanda Currency	eg. 12 USD in AUD
Currency Convert	Currency Convert	e.g. 1 USD in AUD
CVE	Canadian Venture Exchange	name or code
d	Dictionary.com
define	Dictionary.com
del	Del.icio.us
del.icio.us	Del.icio.us
delicious	Del.icio.us
dictionary	Dictionary.com
Dictionary (M-W)	Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Dictionary (C)	Cambridge Dictrionary
Dictionary (O)	Oxford Dictionary
Dictionary (U)	Urban Dictionary
Digg	Digg
Digg Image	Digg Image
Digg News	Digg News
Digg Video	Digg Video
Distance Convert	Distance Convert	e.g. 1 foot to cm
domain	Go Daddy Domain Search	e.g. example.com
eb	Encyclopedia Britannica
EBR	Euronext: Brussels	name or code
ELI	Euronext: Lisbon	name or code
Encarta	Encarta Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia	Encyclopedia Britannica
EPA	Euronext: Paris	name or code
ESPN	ESPN	e.g. Kobe Bryant
Exchange rate	Currency Convert	e.g. 1 USD in AUD
f	Flickr
fb	FaceBook
flip	Flip a coin
Face Book	FaceBook
FaceBook	FaceBook
Flickr	Flickr
FRA	Frankfurt Stock Exchange	name or code
g	Google
gf	Google Finance
gi	Google Images
gm	Google Maps
gn	Google News
goto	Go to a website	e.g. nba.com
gv	Google Video Search
Google	Google
Google Blogs	Google Blog Search
Google Books	Google Books
Google Catalogs	Google Catalogs	e.g. HBR
Google Code	Google Code
Google Directory	Google Directory
Google Finance	Google Finance
Google Groups	Google Groups
Google Images	Google Images
Google Maps	Google Maps	place or address
Google Movies	Google Movies	e.g. Seven
Google News	Google News
Google Patents	Google Patent Search
Google Products	Google Products
Google Reader	Google Reader
Google Scolar	Google Scolar
Google Trends	Google Trends
Google Video	Google Video Search
Go Daddy	Go Daddy Domain Search	e.g. example.com
GoDaddy	Go Daddy Domain Search	e.g. example.com
health	WebMD
IMDb	Internet Movie Database
InterNIC	InterNIC Whois	e.g. example.com
ip	What is my IP Address
IP Address	What is my IP Address
isoHunt	isoHunt
isoHunt Apps	isoHunt Applications
isoHunt Audio	isoHunt Audio
isoHunt Games	isoHunt Games
isoHunt TV	isoHunt TV
isoHunt Video	isoHunt Video/Movies
l	Windows Live Search
LastFM	LastFM	e.g. The Roots
li	LinkedIn
Linked In	LinkedIn
LinkedIn	LinkedIn
Live Academic	Windows Live Academic
Live Classifieds	Windows Live Classifieds
Live Expo	Windows Live Expo
Live Health	Windows Live Health
Live Images	Windows Live Images
Live News	Windows Live News
Live Products	Windows Live Products
Live QnA	Windows Live QnA
Live Search	Windows Live Search
ln	Windows Live News
LON	London Stock Exchange	name or code
Lonely Planet	Lonely Planet
lp	Lonely Planet
m	Mahalo
magic	Magic 8 Ball	A yes/no question
map	Google Maps	place or address
movie	IMDb Movies
mq	MapQuest
ms	MySpace
music	LastFM	e.g. The Roots
mwd	Merriam-Webster Dictionary
mwt	Merriam-Webster Thesaurus
Mahalo	Mahalo
Map Quest	MapQuest
MapQuest	MapQuest
MCE	Milan Stock Exchange	name or code
M-W Dict.	Merriam-Webster Dictionary
M-W Thesaurus	Merriam-Webster Thesaurus
Mininova	Mininova Torrent Search	e.g. Fedora
My Space	MySpace
MySpace	MySpace
MySQL	MySQL Documentation
NASDAQ	NASDAQ Stock Exchange	name or code
New York Times	New York Times
News (BBC)	BBC
News (CNN)	CNN
News (NY Times)	New York Times
NY Times	New York Times
NYSE	New York Stock Exchange	name or code
NYT	New York Times
NZX	New Zealand Stock Exchange	name or code
od	Oxford Dictionary
Oanda	Oanda Currency	eg. 12 USD in AUD
Oxford Dict.	Oxford Dictionary
pb	The Pirate Bay
photos	Flicker
Photobucket	Photobucket
PHP	PHP Documentation
Pirate Bay	The Pirate Bay
PirateBay	The Pirate Bay
rt	Roget’s Thesaurus
rand	Random Number	e.g. rand 100
random	Random Number	e.g. rand 100
rps	Rock-Paper-Scissors	gives you and answer
Reddit	Reddit
Rock	Rock-Paper-Scissors	gives you and answer
Roget’s	Roget’s Thesaurus
share	Stock Quote	e.g. LON:VOD
Share Lookup	Stock Quote	e.g. LON:VOD
SSE	Shanghai Stock Exchange	name or code
stock	Stock Quote	e.g. LON:VOD
Stock Quote	Stock Quote	e.g. LON:VOD
SZSE	Shenzhen Stock Exchange	name or code
t	Roget’s Thesaurus
tc	TechCrunch
td	Time & Date	e.g. Melb., VIC
toss	Flip a coin
Tech Crunch	TechCrunch
TechCrunch	TechCrunch
Technorati	Technorati
Temp	Weather	e.g. Melb., VIC
Temp Convert	Temperature Convert	e.g. 30 C to F
The Pirate Bay	The Pirate Bay	e.g. Linux Fedora
thesaurus	Roget’s Thesaurus
time-date	Time & Date	e.g. Melb., VIC
Time	Time	e.g. Melb., VIC
time in	Time & Date	e.g. Melb., VIC
tpb	The Pirate Bay	e.g. Linux Fedora
travel	Lonely Planet
TSE	Toronto Stock Exchange	name or code
tv show	IMBd TV
ud	Urban Dictionary
Urban Dictionary	Urban Dictionary
Video	You Tube
w	Wikipedia
wls	Windows Live Search
wt	Time & Date	Melbourne, VIC
Weather	Weather	e.g. Melb., VIC
WebMD	WebMD
Weight Convet	Weight Convert	e.g. 1 pound to kg
What is my IP	What is my IP Address
whois	Go Daddy Whois	e.g. example.com
wiki	Wikipedia
Wikipedia	Wikipedia
y	Yahoo
yt	You Tube	e.g. Numa Numa
yi	Yahoo Images
ym	Yahoo Maps
Yahoo	Yahoo
Yahoo Buzz	Yahoo Buzz
Yahoo Images	Yahoo Images
Yahoo Local	Yahoo Local
Yahoo Maps	Yahoo Maps
Yahoo Maps Bus.	Yahoo Maps Business
Yahoo Products	Yahoo Shopping
Yahoo Shopping	Yahoo Shopping
Yahoo Video	Yahoo Video Search
Yellow Pages	Yellow Pages	e.g. Florist in Boston
Yelp	Yelp Reviews	e.g. Chinese in Boston, MA
You Tube	You Tube	e.g. Numa Numa
YouTube	You Tube	e.g. Numa Numa

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 at 1:47 pm and is filed under News, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.