Search Engine Comparisons

Tom Kelliher, CS 102

Feb. 5, 2001

Administrivia

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Quiz Friday.

Assignment

Online reading assignment. See class home page.

From Last Time

AltaVista queries lab.

Outline

1. Comparing search engines.

2. Lab.

Coming Up

Evaluating Internet resources.

Comparing Search Engines

Types:

1. Directories:
   1. Example: Yahoo (actually, a hybrid).

   2. Like expandable table of contents in a book.

   3. How do they find pages? How do they rank pages?

2. Keyword indexes:
   1. Examples: Google, AltaVista, NorthernLight.

   2. Like index in a book.

   3. How do they find pages? How do they rank pages?

3. Metasearch tools:
   1. Example: MetaCrawler.

   2. A buffet of search engines.

4. People searching tools
   1. Who has them: Excite, Yahoo, Lycos.

   2. What you can find: address, phone number, neighborhood map, driving directions.

   3. Excite has a ``Reverse Telephone Search.'' How can they do this, technically? Ethically?

   4. Many states will allow you to search car registration records.