"It's simple - reeeaal simple."

May 12, 2007 10:59 AM

Sputtr is a front-end for searching a variety of popular sites, of course dipped in some Web 2.0 sauce.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane (29 comments total)

No AskMetaFilter?
posted by JaredSeth at 11:05 AM on May 12, 2007

Well that's overdone.
posted by delmoi at 11:24 AM on May 12, 2007

"A refreshingly clean way to search the things that matter the most."

There are indeed "refreshingly clean" ways to gargle, douche and wash your hair. Search? meh.
posted by ericb at 11:32 AM on May 12, 2007

wow, that's hideous.
posted by empath at 11:34 AM on May 12, 2007

Excellent! Thanks so much!
posted by nickyskye at 11:35 AM on May 12, 2007

This has got to be some kind of joke. Did you see their blog post where they touted their listing as an honorable mention to a "Top 100 Alternative Search Engines" list? Yes, top 100, and yes, after they finished the list they went back and added 32 more, and yes Sputtr was one of the 32, and yes it was number 32.
posted by grobstein at 11:38 AM on May 12, 2007

I'm so glad these guys fixed my biggest problem with web search -- the small text entry box. I always have trouble finding it on google.
posted by neustile at 11:42 AM on May 12, 2007 [2 favorites]

Wow, I spend all day every day online and I don't think I've ever seen so much design for so little functionality before.
posted by scottreynen at 11:44 AM on May 12, 2007

Blegh. Just use Mycroft....
posted by selfnoise at 11:48 AM on May 12, 2007

How is this different from my browser's (FireFox's) search box?* So far as I care to tell, I can add each of those searches to it no problem.
*Aside from not having a MeFi option...
posted by carsonb at 11:49 AM on May 12, 2007

In case the search box isn't quite large enough for you, I've whipped up another version.
posted by gwint at 11:49 AM on May 12, 2007 [10 favorites]

gwint: Please add garish colors and a three step "instruction" set that doesn't actually tell you to click any of the buttons.
posted by delmoi at 11:54 AM on May 12, 2007

gwint, do you want some intros to VCs? I think you've got the right stuff. Just title the page "search community" and you're all set, should be good for a 3 on 1.
posted by neustile at 12:03 PM on May 12, 2007 [1 favorite]

that sucks, no offense.
posted by bhouston at 12:29 PM on May 12, 2007

gwint, that is just the right size. Thank you.

My only feature request would be fading text. I don't really care what it says, just as long as it fades in and out.
posted by spiderskull at 12:40 PM on May 12, 2007

Very convenient. Thanks.
posted by hifiparasol at 12:55 PM on May 12, 2007

Dear Adobe,

On behalf of the internet community I implore you to immediately release a patch for all versions of Photoshop that eliminates the Rounded Rectangle feature. If you can also find a way to auto-detect any attempt to create a striped background and reformat the user's hard drive, that's great too.

Rounded rectangles are killing the internet. Only one design company can save it. (It would've been two companies but you already bought the other one.)

I hope that whole CS3 thing is going well for you. Say hi to Framemaker when you get a chance.

Much love,
chrominance.
posted by chrominance at 1:30 PM on May 12, 2007 [2 favorites]

On a slightly more serious note: NO, this is not simple. Any search engine that requires a three-step explanation is not simple. What are all those buttons for? Considering that the search bar already has a Google button on it, and that hovering over the other buttons changes "Search" to "Search [site]", you'd think that you click on a button to change the search parameters. But no—clicking a button executes the search.

Of course, when the search field is empty, all this does is send you to the site in question. Which turns Sputtr into a list of links and not a search engine. Considering the trivial amount of Javascript code it would take to block people from using the buttons until someone filled out the search field, I can only assume the current functionality is either severe laziness or a complete lack of usability testing.

The method for searching is so ass-backwards that I actually tried to drag-and-drop the buttons onto the search bar, thinking "oh, maybe those geniuses are just sooo Web 2.0 that they don't have time for any click that doesn't also involve a drag." But no, it's just that the search method is ass-backwards. This site is so full of FAIL.
posted by chrominance at 1:37 PM on May 12, 2007

mrquery.com has been doing this (without the web 2.0 spooge) for some time.
posted by Rhomboid at 2:17 PM on May 12, 2007

Bah, popurls.com, that's the shit and features metafilter.
posted by furtive at 2:26 PM on May 12, 2007

Has anyone read the JavaScript, by the way? It's pretty ugly. Not a whole lot of room for expansion.

And what happens when the number of buttons exceeds the window? Doesn't it become harder then?

By the way, for those of you who think this website makes your life easier, I seriously ask you to do a quick google search (or, if you insist, sputtr search) for "firefox smart keywords".
posted by Deathalicious at 4:55 PM on May 12, 2007

Gwint... that's a nice effort but the 'search Google' button is too small.
posted by Artaud at 5:49 PM on May 12, 2007

187; Considering that the search bar already has a Google button on it, and that hovering over the other buttons changes "Search" to "Search [site]", you'd think that you click on a button to change the search parameters...

The method for searching is so ass-backwards that I actually tried to drag-and-drop the buttons onto the search bar

It didn't outright infuriate me, but that was exactly my experience with it. I think it would be a useful site and the idea behind the straightforward interface is good -- it just fails in the execution.

They need a notifylist for "I will totally use it, guys! Just email me when it works right!" I would sign up.
posted by churl at 6:05 PM on May 12, 2007

it's a solution without a problem. I hope they're proud.
posted by pmbuko at 6:57 PM on May 12, 2007 [2 favorites]

Yeah, I totally can't see where their audience is.
posted by dhartung at 9:44 PM on May 12, 2007

"This site is so full of FAIL" - I've got to start using that.

Sigh... so many real problems online to fix, and somehow this was *not* one of them.
posted by rmm at 10:48 PM on May 12, 2007

Shouldn't someone tell them about the typo in their monikr?
posted by pracowity at 11:08 PM on May 12, 2007

"it's a solution without a problem. I hope they're proud."
– pmbuko

No more calls, we have a winner!
posted by fredosan at 10:15 AM on May 14, 2007

Remember when sites that collect information from users had privacy policies?
posted by Caviar at 11:28 AM on May 14, 2007