When using the World Wide Web for homework, news or the procurement of MP3s, you invariably end up using a search engine to find what you're looking for. Search engines are like a technologically superior version of the card catalogue that was used in elementary school. However, not all of them work the same way. Here are four of the very best search engines and what makes them so special:
Yahoo!! (http://www.Yahoo!.com)
Yahoo! is the cream of the crop when it comes to search engines. This web portal is by far the most popular search engine, and rightfully so.
Unlike many of the other search engines, Yahoo! sorts web sites into categories, thus allowing a user to find all sites pertaining to a specific topic. So if you type in the keywords "Pauly Shore Biodome," not only will Yahoo! direct you to sites pertaining to the Pauly Shore movie "Biodome," but also other Pauly Shore movies as well.
Also, Yahoo! is one of the most comprehensive search engines on the web. It will return search results for just about any keywords you can come up with.
However, maintaining such a comprehensive search engine has its drawbacks. The site is rife with outdated links that no longer work. While every search engine encounters this problem, Yahoo! seems to have an extraordinarily large number of "dead" links that won't take you to the page you're looking for.
Despite the number of dead links, the search results found on Yahoo! are generally more relevant to a person's desired search. This occurs because Yahoo! uses human beings to index pages, rather than computer programs. Thus, Yahoo! is able to get rid of irrelevant sites that people may mistakenly list in the wrong category.
Metacrawler (http://www.metacrawler.com)
The Metacrawler site doesn't really have its own search engine. Instead, it sends your query out to many of the most popular search engines on the web, such as Looksmart and Lycos. Metacrawler then takes the most relevant sites from sites and compiles them all on one page for you. It's as if you're searching eight search engines at once, instead of one.
Metacrawler is also great for searching for MP3s. It uses the same process described above, only it scours MP3 related search engines instead of regular ones.
The one drawback of Metacrawler is that it is sometimes slower than the other search engines since it's dependent on the other search engines. However, Metacrawler has increased its speed recently, and the delay is generally unnoticeable.
Altavista (http://www.altavista.com)
Altavista is one of the oldest search engines on the Internet. It was one of the pioneers in the development of search engine technology. Consequently, it has catalogued a huge number of web sites. Though it may not be as heavily advertised as Yahoo!, it is certainly comparable in its searching quality.
Altavista is extremely simple to use. You type in a keyword, and Altavista returns to you a list of the most relevant sites in order of relevance. However, it is Altavista's simplicity that is also its biggest drawback, for the site doesn't categorize results by topic like Yahoo! does.
Google (http://www.google.com)
Google is the new kid on the block when it comes to search engines, but is certainly deserving of its positive buzz. The creators of Google claim to have technology that allows them to index more web sites than any of the other search engines. After using Google, I believe it.
The Google technology makes it so that the position in which a site is listed in is based on things like the number of other sites that link to a particular site, rather than sheer number of keywords.
Thus, if "Toyotasucks.com" has the keyword Toyota 1000 times, it will still not appear on a search for "Toyota" ahead of "Toyota.com," because more web sites link to "Toyota.com" than "Toyotasucks.com." If you are in a hurry, this particular feature of Google will be of great help to you.
The best part of Google is its straightforward nature. Google doesn't have any advertising, unnecessary graphics or other distracting features. It just has a box for you to type in what you are looking for. The no-nonsense approach taken by Google is refreshing.
All of the search engines I have mentioned will help you on your journey into cyberspace. Though they each have their own strengths and weaknesses, they are the best in their class. Happy surfing.
