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by Editors of University of California, Berkeley Library
This review includes a chart comparing the features of three major search engines recommended by the UC Berkeley Library -- Google, Yahoo! and Exalead.com. (Back in 2006, Ask.com was the third search tool… listed.) The editors recommend against using metasearch or clustering tools, warning that their indexes rely too much on paid inclusions, but they do make some exception for Clusty and Dogpile. The way Clusty clusters results can be useful, and Dogpile has helpful features useful to researchers.
by Brendan O'Connor
This blog entry is the most recent comparison review we found. Based on results of 500 random queries, the top four search engines are compared for relevancy in blind tests. Testers rate results as relevant… if at least one of the first five listings is judged "highly relevant." While Ask.com falls behind, the other three -- Google, Yahoo! Search and Live.com -- "all answer about 80% of queries effectively."
by Danny Sullivan
by Joe Barker
by Joanna Stern
by Jessica E. Vascellaro
This article discusses the new Yahoo! Search Pad note-taking option, liking the way it offers this tool automatically if it detects you might be doing research at Yahoo! Search. A Feb. 22, 2009, article… here by Alex Wright discusses tools under development for searching the "deep web." In January 2009, columnist Katherine Boehret reviewed Surf Canyon and Google SearchWiki, both of which let you customize search results.
by Editors of StraightUpSearch.com
This detailed single-product review recommends giving a try to a new search engine, Browsys Powersearch, which is really like a search portal. For example, you can log into Facebook from it, in order to… continue your search there. Another February 2009 review here recommends Yahoo! for its new Search Pad tool. An Aug. 15, 2008, review compares Google, Yahoo!, Live and Ask for results of a query "Olympics," finding the most useful results at Live.com.
by Nathania Johnson
by Edward Lewis
by Saul Hansell
This insightful article compares the Google search engine with the Wolfram Alpha search technology (due out in May 2009), noting that Google's dominance is due not only to its continually improving search… methodologies, but also to "the breadth and depth of its offerings, such as e-mail, maps, cloud computing and most important, advertising." The reporter, Saul Hansell, includes a link to a detailed discussion of Wolfram Alpha.
by Phil Bradley
by Larry Dignan
by Greg R. Notess
by S.E. Kramer
by Wendy Boswell
This article by the About.com guide to web search recommends the 10 search engines she's found most reliable. Another undated article at this site, "All-Purpose Search Engines," also lists 10 search… engines. This is a little confusing, but Google heads both lists, and all the search engines in both lists get reviews based on the author's own tests. (Note: ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com, but the two don't share an editorial affiliation.)
by Adam Pash and contributors to Lifehacker.com
More than 7,800 readers vote in this poll responding to a New York Times article on how large Google's market share is becoming, and how it dominates the search arena. About a third of the readers say it's… too big but they love it anyway, with another third saying Google deserves to be this big because it makes good products. Quite a few other articles here cover search engines. A July 2007 article praises the direct information provided at Ask.com, while another 2007 review praises Yahoo! for its Search Assistant features. Searching this site for "search engine" produces a long list of reviews and tips.
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