Search Wars

November 12, 2004 8:34 AM

Search Wars The BBC reviews five search engines, including Google and the new MSN beta
posted by Mwongozi (8 comments total)

I've found myself using A9 more because of the book search tab. Very powerful. Google still rules for the web.
posted by stbalbach at 9:13 AM on November 12, 2004

They left out mamma.com.

I have found stuff with that engine that I have not found with google.
posted by Danf at 9:14 AM on November 12, 2004

Search for "word" on MSN beta, and the first link is, surprise, surprise, the MS Word page.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 9:20 AM on November 12, 2004

Whatever became of Teoma? I mean, I know it's still there and all, but when it first emerged people were praising it as a "Google-killer".
posted by briank at 9:21 AM on November 12, 2004

IMO we can stop waiting for a "Google-killer," as multiple attempts have failed to produce even a "Google-ball-licker."
posted by scarabic at 10:02 AM on November 12, 2004

IMO we can stop waiting for a "Google-killer," as multiple attempts have failed to produce even a "Google-ball-licker."

Thats what they were saying about Altavista in the late 90's
posted by vacapinta at 10:34 AM on November 12, 2004

Does anyone else find it odd that the ability to directly answer a question like 'what time is it in Sydney?' is considered an appropriate test of a search engine? I can't imagine using a search engine to find such a specific piece of information. I also can't imagine trying to remember which specific pieces of information I might query directly, and which I'd need to keyword search for outside references on.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:48 AM on November 12, 2004

Search for "word" on MSN beta, and the first link is, surprise, surprise, the MS Word page.

I keep seeing this little tidbit all over the place and don't get what it's supposed to prove.

When I do it in Google it comes up second. If I was searching for the word "word" in a dictionary, I wouldn't expect to see Microsoft in the definition. If I was searching for the world's most popular word processor in an Internet search engine, I'd expect it to come up pretty close to the top.

I wonder what happens if I put the word "excel" into Google. I think Google might be in Microsoft's pocket!

But wait! I Googled the word "apple" and voila! I'M SO CONFUSED!
posted by eyeballkid at 11:50 AM on November 12, 2004