Linz, Stacia

SLM 521

Search Engines

 

Search Engines

An annotated set of search engines, in five categories:

  1. Q & A  format:

UCLUE  (http://uclue.com)

This is a paid question and answer engine—but you only have to pay if you ask. It’s free to browse, and the results are amazing.

ANSWERS.COM  (http://www.answers.com)

The only drawback to this engine is that results are truly improved and sensitive to phrasing-- in the form of a question. Answers.com is two-fold: reference answers + wiki-style (collaborate, community) answers.

  1. GENERAL search engines:

       BING   (http://www.bing.com)   

I can see how this is wooing people from Google. Very clean. I like the related searches along the left side, as well as keeping your search history in that column. Otherwise, feels very similar to Google with hotmail, images, etc. across horizontal top buttons.

              GOOGLE CAFFEINE  (http://www2.sandbox.google.com)

Purported to be faster and more comprehensive than Google Standard, this was in the works to compete with Bing. I like that there is the option to give input on this version (and it’s sans Adsense ads). Say what you will, I am a huge fan of Google, and always start there and see where it takes me.

  1. KIDS’ search engines:

CYBERSLEUTH KIDS  (http://cybersleuth-kids.com)

An internet search guide for K-12 students, it’s nicely organized with searchable clipart, games, and information by discipline. Not as “snazzy” as Kidsclick!—but functional and useful, kid-friendly.

               KIDSCLICK!   (http://www.kidsclick.org)  

A  websearch for kids by librarians—I love almost everything about this. My own children were naturally drawn in to the set-up, easy to navigate.

  1. SHOPPING engines:

NEXTAG  (http://www.nextag.com)  

“The Age of Innocence” yielded first a nail polish color, then pretty far down in the rankings, the Edith Wharton novel. Does multiple related searches easily found along left column: grouped by category, price, brand, sales & deal, etc.

YAHOO! SHOPPING (http://shopping.yahoo.com)

Interesting that the same experiment in Yahoo Shopping yielded immediate results and links to the Wharton—though it listed DVDs before books. Easy to use, feels familiar—haven’t been on this engine in a while, but seems the same as years ago. Sometimes predictability is good, though.

  1. SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ARTICLES:

SCINET (http://www.scinet.cc)

Initially I was not impressed by this very plain search engine—but functionality is good, and I found what I was looking for. Also, I liked the ability to rate, comment, modify and report each listing.

                BRIGHT HUB (http://www.brighthub.com)

This was my favorite search engine I explored. “Bright Hub’s goal is simple: share knowledge about how the simplest scientific idea evolves into tomorrow’s technology.” It’s really nicely done, with excellent contributors and yielded me/pointed me to really fascinating search results.

  1. TAG CLOUD  engines:

               QUINTURA (http://www.quintura.com)

This is really, really a great way to search if you are a visual thinker. The tag cloud runs along the left third of the screen, and the more standard results on the right. Has a nice embedding and sharing functions.

DEEPERWEB (http://www.deeperweb.com)

This beta version by Google, combines traditional results with tag clouds, as well as separate answer results for metrics, wiki, business, blogs…I will definitely be using Deeperweb. It has all the same functions I am used to/can access with Google Standard.