Brief Reviews Of The Major Search Engines - Strengths, Weaknesses And Recent Changes
Options page. It has also added Web Guides, which are recommended websites about many subjects that are continually rated by Lycos' users.
Strengths - Lycos' offers an extensive and unique menu-based search system. For instance, you can easily look for pictures, sounds, web site reviews, personal homepages, newsgroups, Reuters, stocks, recipes and several other options using a drop-down menu on the regular search page. A full range of special features, from stock and company information to Lycos Games is available.
Weaknesses - Lycos is a relatively small search engine (30 million web pages), and search results are likely to be limited for that reason.
Especially Useful For - Inexperienced and beginning searchers. In addition, Lycos' ability to do one-step searches for some of its menu options (i.e.recipes and downloads) can be convenient for searchers at all levels.
NORTHERN LIGHT - AN EFFICIENT INFORMATION-FINDER
Recent Changes - Northern Light (http://www.northernlight.com) has added a well-thought-out, menu-based Power Search page which includes some menu options that I haven't seen in other search engines. For example, it gives you the choice of restricting your results to company information, directories and lists, learning materials, questions and answers, event listings, job listings, for sale, press releases and reviews.
Another new feature is the capability to limit a search to industry information. If you've ever tried to find information about the way a product is manufactured without retrieving a lot of websites that are selling that product, you'll appreciate the merit of this search option.
Strengths - Northern Light is wonderful for research. In addition to searching the web, you can search its Special Collection containing thousands of journals. Any individual articles that result are available online for a fee.
Along with your results, Northern Light presents you with "Folders" about different aspects of your subject. Selecting a Folder causes Northern Light to display a list of your results from that perspective.
Northern Light indexes 67 million web pages making it the third largest search engine.
Weaknesses - Don't go to Northern Light for fun and games or recommended websites. There are no special features or subject guides.
Especially Useful For - Research, complex searches, and finding industry information.
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