Start your engines.Web searches missing the mark? Here's how to find what you want--fast The Internet has made it easier for us to do research. But as you've probably discovered, a simple keyword or phrase can yield millions of results that often have nothing to do with your query. So how do you find what you need? The key is to tailor your search so that you spend less time in front of the computer. When conducting a search, avoid wording it in the form of a question (unless you're using, say, AskJeeves.com), and make keywords or phrases as specific as possible. This will reduce the number of irrelevant hits you get. Advanced queries also narrow the parameters of your query by using expressions such as "and" "or," and "not" (known as Boolean operators One of the Boolean logic operators such as AND, OR and NOT. ). And keep in mind that filters can block certain sites (such as those that are sexually explicit) from appearing in your results. To get you started, let's look at five popular search tools. Power Search Tools ALTAVISTA A search on Altavista.com yields Websites that closely match your query, as well as those that are closely related. In addition to the Advanced Search mechanism, the site also provides a Search Assistant that lets you select date ranges, a geographical location (global), or a particular Website for your search results. One tip for cutting down the number of unrelated results: Select the Language option, so that if you only want Spanish-language sites, that's what you'll get. AltaVista (www.altavista.com) Pros: A helpful Search Assistant; Language option lets you further narrow your search Cons: None Bottom line: An excellent search engine, especially for advanced queries EXCITE Excite.com lets you view results from newswires, related Websites, or general directories. The results offer links to Findwhat.com and Excite's Ask the Experts page. Excite does have one drawback DRAWBACK, com. law. An allowance made by the government to merchants on the reexportation of certain imported goods liable to duties, which, in some cases, consists of the whole; in others, of a part of the duties which had been paid upon the importation. : You can conduct an advanced search only after you've initiated a primary query. One way to advance your search is by using the plus (+) and minus (-) operators. The "+" should be placed in front of keywords that must be in your results, and the "-" should be placed in front of keywords that must not be in your results. Excite (www.excite.com) Pros: Offers query results in three formats Cons: Duplicate DUPLICATE. The double of anything. 2. It is usually applied to agreements, letters, receipts, and the like, when two originals are made of either of them. Each copy has the same effect. search results Bottom line: Good for general queries GOOGLE (Google, Mountain View, CA, www.google.com) The largest search engine on the Web, founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two Stanford University students. In 1996, they developed their "BackRub" search engine, named after its unique page ranking method (explained below). Google.com lets you search more than a billion Websites. The advanced search tool lets you search specific or related Web pages and conduct special searches beyond the Google engine, including Macintosh-related Websites, government sites, and university and college Websites. The user-friendly engine provides links to other engines to compare the results. Google.com also has a function called I'm Feeling Lucky I'm Feeling Lucky is a term and function used by the Google search engine. When a user clicks on the button the user will be taken directly to the first search result, bypassing the search engine results page. , which lets you view the Website of the first result in your query. And for even quicker searches, you can attach the toolbar A row or column of on-screen buttons used to activate functions in the application. Many toolbars are customizable, letting you add and delete buttons as required. Toolbars may be fixed in position or may float, which means they can be dragged to a more convenient location in the to your browser browser Software that allows a computer user to find and view information on the Internet. The first text-based browser for the World Wide Web became available in 1991; Web use expanded rapidly after the release in 1993 of a browser called Mosaic, which used . Google (www.google.com) Pros: Offers two versions of results--printable and e-mail. (Also offers link to get reprint reprint An individually bound copy of an article in a journal or science communication permission for each query) Cons: None Bottom line: The best; excellent for obscure and advanced queries LYCOS Lycos.com delivers results that are broken down into popular sites (based on site traffic)and Websites that are most closely related to the search query. It also offers a link to another Lycos-owned search engine, HotBot.com, where you can compare additional query findings. One drawback is the advanced query search, which has very tight search parameters. But one way to compensate for the inflexibility in·flex·i·ble adj. 1. Not easily bent; stiff or rigid. 2. Incapable of being changed; unalterable. 3. Unyielding in purpose, principle, or temper; immovable. of the query search is to use the "+" and "-" operators. Lycos (www.lycos.com) Pros: Links to another Lycos-owned search engine Cons: Advanced Search mechanism is limiting Bottom line: Fine for general queries YAHOO See Yahoo!. (World-Wide Web) Yahoo - Yet Another Hierarchical Officious/Obstreperous/Odiferous/Organized Oracle. (Or a member of a race of brutes in Swift's Gulliver's Travels who have the form and all the vices of man, or an uncouth or rowdy person). ! Yahoo.com, interestingly enough, is powered by Google.com, one of its partners. Results outside of the Yahoo! domain are pulled from Google.com. The advanced search features a date range; however, it is not as flexible as the range offered by AltaVista.com. Restricting and prohibiting operators ("+" and "-") must be positioned in searches or you won't find what you're looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. . The key to using these search engines is patience. Give yourself time to manipulate manipulate To cause a security to sell at an artificial price. Although investment bankers are permitted to manipulate temporarily the stock they underwrite, most other forms of manipulation are illegal. the advanced search functions and check out the sites' suggestions on related links. It will be worth your time. Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com) Pros: Offers query results in three formats Cons: Advanced Search mechanism is not flexible Bottom line: Good for general and some advanced queries |
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