Best Search Engines
There are a handful of search
engines on the Internet today. Which are best for students? Which are
best for teachers?
This webpage will sort through it all and index the best search engines
for the following categories:
Search Engines for News
Kid
Safe Search Engines
"I Need to Know" Search Engines
Top
"Unknown" Search Engines
Weather Search Engines
Search Engines for News
www.yahoo.com - My favorite
aspect of Yahoo! News is their "Most Popular" Section. A great site to
see to catch up on the most covered news stories around
the world. The site also ranks the news stories within the
categories of World, US, Sports, Entertainment, Business and others.
All categories are easily navigable and for the most part, uncluttered.
Sarah's Tip: Need to find
details on a local news story? Plug it into Yahoo's search box, click
on "News", and
matches will pop up below! The results are
ranked by recency. Very helpful.
www.msn.com - Very similar to Yahoo. A
great site to use to search for major stories in the world. This site
has many of the same aspects of Yahoo! News, however, I
find it a bit "clogged" up with advertisements and links to other pages
within MSN.
Other sites to consider: www.cnn.com
www.news.google.com
Kid Safe Search Engines
www.yahooligans.com
- This site totes itself as being "the Web Guide for Kids". It is a
safe and monitored search engine for kids to use while
browsing the Internet. It also has a great color scheme that is fun,
even for me, to look at. The page in general is very kid oriented, with
jokes of the day, questions, and links to visit if you need help.
www.ajkids.com - Good old Jeeves.
He answers your questions in a jiffy! This site is easy to navigate and
also has links to information on major subjects. Results yield a
response that says: Jeeves can answer... with a few topics listed below
that are related to the query, instead of the traditional "category"
heading.
Other sites to consider: www.kidsclick.org
"I Need to Know" Search Engines
www.google.com
- Always a staple in the search engine industry. A simple research
returns a bazillion sites in an easy to view fashion, grouped by
relevancy to the original query. You know a search
engine has reached iconic status when
it is used as a verb in an episode of Law & Order...
www.wisenut.com - Sorts search
results into relevant categories in an unimposing fashion. The screen
is filled with
results, not just lists of categories. It also has "sneak a peek"--
allowing
you to look at the site before committing to going to it.
Sarah's Tip: User can
enable Wisewatch, an option to provide better & safer browsing for
kids.
Other sites to consider: www.askjeeves.com
www.ez2find.com
Top "Unknown" Search Engines
www.alltheweb.com
- While this site may have been a staple to other lists of top search
engines, I had not heard of it until
this class. So I gave it special
recognition in its own category (until I found kartoo!). Comparable to
Google.com, it searches very fast and delivers the search results on an
uncluttered page.
www.kartoo.com - This site is fun!
It shows the search results in a kind of "map", linking the results to
major categories. It shows the website's sizes by showing a large
document icon for larger sites and a small icon for the smaller sites.
If you roll your mouse across the web address, it shows you a
screenshot in the left hand column. Check it out! An added bonus
is the genie that floats on the screen.
Weather
Search Engines
www.wunderground.com - This
takes you beyond the Weather Channel and straight to Meteorology 101.
This delivers
results in a well organized format. It goes into great detail
about cloud level, dewpoints, jet streams, and pilot maps. Yes, pilot
maps... just in case you were wondering if the weather was condusive to
taking your 747 for a spin. This site gets its information from linked
personal weather stations around the world. You can even search where
to find the closest weather station.
www.weather.com - Now, not to get
in trouble with the Weather Channel or anything, their website's
weather information page is very informative. The downside I find is
that the advertisements are interspersed with the results, and I find
myself struggling to interpret the radar screen, only to realize I am
looking at an insurance advertisement. You can also search for
information on past hurricanes and storms.
Other sites to consider: www.accuweather.com
This
page was created by Sarah Hopper to complete the Search
Engine assignment for SLM 521