| Annual Search Engine Issue
During the past year, Web search technology has become red hot. The major search engines have introduced a steady stream of new search tools. In short, the pace of search engine innovation is amazing.
In this issue of ETB, we'll bring you up-to-date on the latest innovations from the major search engines- Google, Yahoo and MSN. We'll tell you about a new generation of desktop search tools, that enable you to not only search the Web but also your PC. And we'll tell you about the best new search engines, and how you can utilize them to find the information and resource you need to do business effectively.
What's new at the major search engines?
Google: Google continues to be the world's leading Web search engine, but Yahoo and MSN have redoubled their efforts to challenge it. Not about to be outdone, Google also continues to innovate at a furious pace. Here's what's new from Google:
- Last October, Google launched a desktop search program that can be used to search not only the Web but also the files on your hard drive. The program completed beta testing and was formally launched in March of this year.
- In April, Google rolled out a search history feature that keeps track of all of your Web searches, making it easier to rediscover your past queries and the search result pages you've viewed. This new feature is integrated with the main Google search and result pages, making it very convenient to use.
- During the last year, Google has also enhanced its popular Google News service by making it customizable. You can now create a personalized view of Google News by adding or deleting sources. Just click on the "edit" link in the upper right corner of each news section to start customizing your view of the latest news. You can also share your customized Google News page with others.
- Google has enhanced its local search tool, which can now display satellite maps of many locations. Look for the "satellite" link just below the street map in your Google Local search results. You can zoom in and out and drag the map around the satellite image viewer - very cool!
- Finally, Google recently launched a mobile version of Google Local, which enables you to utilize it from any Web-enabled cell phone.
Yahoo: During the last year, this Web search pioneer celebrated its 10th anniversary by making a renewed commitment to innovation in search technology. It established a Yahoo Labs research arm, similar to the one that Google operates, and it introduced many new search features:
- In January, Yahoo launched a desktop search tool, which it licensed from X1, a highly regarded developer of desktop search software. Yahoo Desktop Search indexes many types of files, including Office documents, Outlook e-mails, contacts, and much more.
- In late April, Yahoo launched a beta version of Yahoo My Web, a search history tool that makes personal, complete copies of an unlimited number of important pages, and also allows you to annotate them - ideal if your job involves conducting research on the Web.
- Late last year, Yahoo launched Yahoo Local, a search tool that allows you to find local businesses and merchants.
MSN: This major search engine, which is owned by Microsoft, achieved a number of important milestones during the last year:
- Earlier this year, MSN search switched over to its own search technology. Previously, it served up search results compiled from several of the other major search engines.
- Newsbot, the MSN news search tool, added personalization features last year that enable you to quickly and easily find news relevant to your interests.
- In December, MSN launched its own MSN Desktop Search tool, which is integrated with the MSN browser toolbar.
New and Innovative Search Technologies
A9 is a new search engine developed by Amazon.com. It uses Web and image search results enhanced by Google, Search Inside the Book from Amazon.com, reference results from GuruNet, movie results from the Internet Movie Database, and more. One unique feature of this promising new search engine is that you can easily zero in on a particular set of search results by clicking one of the buttons (books, images, movies, reference, history, bookmarks, and diary) on the right side of the search results page. A9 includes a search history feature that remembers every search you've performed - a great tool if you want to revisit a search that you performed several weeks or months ago. A diary feature enables you to take notes on any Web page and reference them whenever you visit that page, from any computer that you use -- a valuable feature. You can also set up bookmarks or favorites within your A9 account that you can access from any computer. A9 also offers a downloadable search toolbar.
Copernic has built a reputation as a supplier of high-quality Web search software that enables users to simultaneously search multiple Web search engines. The company recently entered the desktop search software market with the introduction of
Copernic Desktop Search. Like similar tools offered by the major search engines, Copernic's product indexes all of the files on your computer's hard drive and enables you to quickly search them using multiple criteria. Copernic Desktop Search installs as a search box within the Windows task bar, where you can quickly conduct searches of your computer. A pop-up window gives you access to a full suite of advanced search tools.
NewsFilter.com offers a simple, intuitive interface that enables you to perform keyword searches of the latest news, and to filter and sort the results. News stories are previewed in a window on the right side of the search results page, making it easy to zero in on the articles you're looking for.
Clusty: Last year, we told you about Vivisimo, an experimental enterprise search engine that clusters search results based upon the different meanings or connotations of your search terms. Since then, Vivisimo has incorporated its clustering technology into a public search engine with the unlikely name of Clusty.com. This cool search engine organizes search results into subject-related folders, giving you a quick overview of the main themes of your search results. This approach allows you to find what you're looking for very quickly, without having to wade through pages of irrelevant Web sites.
Spotlight: As part of the recent release of the new Macintosh OS X "Tiger" operating system, Apple Computer is shipping a new desktop search tool called Spotlight. It indexes not only files, folders, and documents but also messages in Mail, contacts in Address Book, iCal calendars, System Preferences, and applications. It can help you find these items quickly, even if you don't know where you stored them. As you know, I am a Mac fan, and this new feature is fantastic.
Conclusion
Clearly, 2005 has been the year of desktop search and Web search personalization. These powerful new tools can help you tackle information overload and can make you more productive; by helping you find the information you are looking for faster. As always, I encourage you to try each of these tools and retain those that work the best for you. Happy searching!
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