Search Engine Watch is a resource designed to provide information to two distinct groups of users: web professionals (commercial webmasters, site designers and promoters), and web searchers. The Webmaster's Guide to Search Engines contains information on search engine design, ranking, and tips on how to make sure your site receives a high relevance rating. Search Engine Facts and Fun contains...

Sherlock, first described in the October 16, 1998 Scout Report, is the new search tool provided by Mac OS 8.5 which allows users to perform searches of Websites without opening a browser. One of the great advantages of Sherlock is its ability to create a plug-in for any Web-based search engine. Since the release, the collection of Sherlock plug-ins has grown to number over 250. A few sites have...

Search.com allows you to search over 800 engines, listed by subject areas from arts to Web. Each subject area presents a list of search forms, along with very brief annotations and "search tips." While there is no way to do a multiple engine search with a single command, the organization of Search.com allows the user to determine which engines might be appropriate. Search.com also allows you to...

This guide to finding resources on the Internet describes the many Web search engines available, their respective powers and disadvantages, and gives advice to users hoping to use the search engines effectively.

This meta-search engine helps users browse through search results more quickly by placing a navigation toolbar at the top of their browser. After conducting a search and selecting one of the results, users can view the previous or next result by clicking the appropriate buttons rather than returning to the original results page. Users can also open the previous or next page or search results at...

This site joins an already crowded field of portal/ multiple search engine sites. Like some of its peers, BigHub allows simultaneous searches of numerous engines, in this case nine, and includes several value-added features, such as stock quotes, news, weather reports, and free email. Unlike some of its competitors, BigHub also features a nice collection of specialty search engines in categories...

The October issue of Searcher magazine offers this article by Gary Price, Web searcher extraordinaire (see the October 3, 1997 Scout Report). The article, which "reviews the latest goings on in the search world and tries to provide some suggestions and tools to make you more knowledgeable and save you some time," is, as one might expect from Price, clear and detailed in its review of the latest in...

This site bills itself as the first "real" agricultural search engine (not just a searchable directory), indexing over 500,000 agriculture Webpages. At present, there is only one search option -- keyword -- though it supports boolean and other search aids. Results are ordered by relevance with a one-paragraph summary taken from the site. Returns in sample searches varied quite a bit in relevance...

Created by TheBrain.com, a visual information management software company, this new site offers a nifty way of browsing the Open Directory Project (ODP) (see the November 20, 1998 Scout Report). With WebBrain's animated interface, users can view their search and browsing results as a dynamic diagram instead of a long list. As with any other site that accesses the ODP, users can browse the...

Previously covered by the Scout Report in 2009, Wolfram Alpha, “the computational knowledge engine” is more astonishing than ever. The interface is deceptively simple. Just type what you want to know into the text field. For instance, “How many Buddhists are there?” returns not only the number of Buddhists worldwide (369 million); it also breaks the numbers down by country and provides a colorful...