A simple search engine. Period.
Written: Jul 20 '01
| Site Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Customer Service: |
 |
|
| Accuracy of Search Results: |
|
|
| Number of Dead Links: |
|
|
| Multimedia Search: |
 |
|
| Download Speed of Results: |
|
|
| Advanced Search Features: |
|
|
The Bottom Line
The advanced net user can't live without Google, and the advanced net user shouldn't live without it either.
|
| Full Review |
Today, with dot coms bombing left and right, it's hard to find a site with a very simple premise. Google may be the diamond in the rough.
True, there are some different branches of Google, like Google Groups, but these are actually useful, and you need only access them if you want to.
Type in www.google.com and you get a simple text input bar. No tricks, plain and simple, you type your query. A page chock full of results will pop-up, usually you will find what you are looking for within 5 seconds of scanning the results.
Google Groups(groups.google.com) lets you search Usenet and newsgroups for free! It's a very nice feature if you don't have a news server with your ISP. It's also useful when Outlook Express "loses" you previously sent messages! (This happened to me yesterday!)
Google Image server is another remarkable innovation. Say you wanted a picture of Leo Laporte from TechTV. Just point to images.google.com and type a keyword for the image you are searching for. A page full of thumbnailed pictures will display and you can then click on which one you want.
There are some downsides to Google. Searching for a phrase is difficult. Say you typed in the query "above the fruited plane" 'Above' and 'the' would not be included because Google considers them to be "common" words. The only other downside to Google is that it now lists paid listings right at the top of the page. Granted, you may find what you are looking for in the pay service bar, but then again, it could just get in your way.
All in all, Google is a great search engine that the advanced web user can't live without, and one that the average net user shouldn't either.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
About the Author
Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 2 members
|
