Search Tools
When Google or Yahoo! return you millions of hits, if you are like me you look only at the first few before choosing one. The second thing is that the text of each hit is not so spiffy and sometimes makes little sense. Enter the Ms. Dewey search engine where the text of the hits is very readable and helpful. However, she is a pushy woman whose slinky videos of herself distract me from my inquiries, and I could soon get tired of her nagging instructions. But you might enjoy it. (Kim Komando)
I wonder whether those clever folks at Google realized what they had wrought by releasing Google Maps. It seems that you can combine a Google Map with many different kinds of data and show the world how and where that data is distributed – the result being known as “a mashup.” Many people have seen an opportunity here, and some of the intriguing results can be found at a blog called Google Maps Mania: World Cup sites, Iraq War Casualty Map (by home town), and where Tom Cruise or Halle Berry live. (Netsurfer Digest)
We have been able to search the Web for text-based documents since its 1995 beginning, a mere ten years ago. Later was added the ability to search for images (photos and graphics) and now, for some time, we have the chance to search a vast collection of millions of video clips at the Yahoo! collection. Enter your keyword(s) into the search box, and up pops a list of clips; and alongside each is a single frame from its clip and a brief description. Clips are displayed in your choice of media players, and the images will be rather small and of low resolution—even with a broadband connection; but it is a start. Yahoo does not speak for the copyright of these clips. (Netsurfer Digest)
Not to be outdone, Google is at it again, this time with a large library of video clips that you can search from the familiar Google search box. Some clips are just a few seconds long, some an hour or more. This effort is still (12/05) in Beta, or public test, mode and in my opinion deservedly so. It’s all very well to show you a series of still frames from a keyword search, perhaps with some text to tell you what to expect. There’s too much dross—amateur clips of poor quality and incoherent or no sound, made with handheld cameras panning aimlessly around. “We simply index what content owners upload and have no control over the quality and sound of the resulting content” says Google. I also found some delightful nuggets here; you’ll need to take your time to find them. (Netsurfer Digest)
If you are searching the Web for something specific, you can enter your query in a search engine like Google or Yahoo! Alternatively, you can drill down through a formally structured directory as in Yahoo! or Google. If you don’t know what you are looking for—that is, you are just browsing from one site to another at random—you may enjoy the experience but also feel you are not really getting anywhere. Halfway between these approaches is the use of a portal site such as refdesk.com. Its home page is structured informally yet is wonderful to wander through and is stuffed with links, some of which you’re sure to find useful. It’s a bit like impulse buying when you’re wandering through Wal-Mart, really, and is tempting enough to consider making it your own home page. (Netsurfer Digest)
Discussion Groups have been a phenomenon on the Internet for many years, long before the World Wide Web. Those with a certain interest, however specialized, can find those of a like mind and can share their knowledge and expertise with others in a willing audience. One of the best ways of locating a group to match your interest is through Yahoo Groups. From this index, I chose Hobbies & Crafts, then Collecting, and then Antiques, where I found over 700 groups to choose from. I quickly located the public Antique Auction group–with 1494 members–and viewed several recent messages; plus, I can browse its message archive. There are also private groups you have to register for. If you never participated in a Group before, first take a look at Help in the top right-hand corner of any Yahoo! Groups page. (Yahoo!)
You may have become used to a Google web search producing a list of several hundred thousand hits within a fraction of a second, and that is indeed an impressive feat. However, Vivisimo claims to have moved the ball even further forward with its “clustering technology.” Your Vivisimo query produces a hit list as usual but accompanied on the left with a context index of several folders as subheadings. It’s an attempt to make it easier for you to get closer to exactly the link you want. For example, I entered “african violets” and the context index showed folders that included Care, Books, African Violet Society, African Violets Forum, Greenhouses, Pots & Watering. I’m not yet certain this system is best for me, but take a look–it may be right for you. (Netsurfer Digest)
