| AllTheWeb (FAST) |
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The chief rival to Google for search engine supremacy is AllTheWeb, which has moved ahead of fading contenders like AltaVista and Excite by focusing attention on raw search power and ease of use. |
| AltaVista |
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AltaVista began as a technology demonstration for hardware maker Digital (DEC) in the early days of the Web. For a couple of years, it was the biggest and fastest of the crawlers, a title it has given up to Google. It transformed itself as a portal, and now seeks to re-assert its role as an all-powerful search service. |
| Google |
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Google is a Web crawler, with an index that encompasses the full
text of 1.4 billion HTML pages and PDF files. This is currently the one to beat: bigger, deeper, faster, more relevant and richer in features than all the other search engines. |
| Hardin Meta Directory of Internet Health Sources |
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This is a prize winning directory of health care related links and has been called the health care list of lists. It does not directly provide health care information. It is arranged by diseases and specialties such as cancer or pediatrics and is searchable. It maintains a very high standard of quality by continually monitoring the sites it links to and removes those which are not updated and maintained. |
| Hotbot |
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Hotbot remains an independent search engine with unique power search capabilities. From the main page, you can define the style, date range, language, category, and results options for your search and for the die hards there are even more advanced search features. Results come from Direct Hit, Inktomi and Open Directory. |
| LookSmart |
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LookSmart is a key directory because its annotated listings are used by many other search sites, including major portals and nearly 400 ISPs and content providers. The front page of this directory/search engine is clearly laid out. You have the choice to search or to drill down through the categories. |
| Lycos |
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Lycos is a hybrid of directory and search engine with the emphasis
on the directory function. The main directory listings come from the Open Directory and engine results come from the Lycos crawler index, with additional results from FAST and Direct Hit. |
| MSN Live Search |
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Microsoft's search directory and engine is among the most popular on the Web. It provides results from the LookSmart directory, augmented by search listings from Inktomi and popularity rankings from Direct Hit. |
| Open Directory |
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Netscape's Open Directory Project, also referred to as DMOZ, is an open source, open code directory of 350,000 categories moderated by 35,000 editors. It is an important source because thousands of search sites use this directory as a data source, including Google, HotBot and Netscape Search. |
| Yahoo! |
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Yahoo! was the first directory on the Web and it's still the most popular search site on the Internet. For some purposes it remains the best of the best. More than any other directory or engine, Yahoo! has become a true portal and content site. Its personalization features lead the pack. |
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