The Internet has become an intrinsic part of modern life. But it is not only because of instant messaging or social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. It is also the repository of information like never seen before. With a computer in front of you, you will not need to phone a friend or take wild guesses. Simply type your doubt in the search bar and within seconds, the digital gears wrench up all possible answers to your query.
Acknowledging that a lot of computer time is devoted to info chase, Net search biggies are continuously enhancing the processes that make searches faster and easier. Google has dominated the search space for a long time now, but the other two leading names in this domain, Bing and Yahoo!, are now ready to take on the competition. Of the numerous features offered by these, here are just a few interesting ones that each engine is best at.
Google: Now voice and visual
Undoubtedly, most of us find Google the most useful among search engine. But this doesn't mean that the company isn't working to develop it further. Taking into consideration the increasing user base and search patterns, Google keeps on introducing innovative services or tweaks the design. To avoid twiddling thumbs, Google has come up with 'Instant Search'. It is so innocuous that many people might have missed this utility. When you start typing your search terms in the search bar, Google's machines are already at work and give you options of what you maybe looking for. These appear below the search bar. With every additional alphabet typed in, the engine keeps refreshing the results for you to see. Google says this innovation saves 2-5seconds per search.
This service is not restricted to text search. Google has recently introduced two new search mediums-image and voice. Its instant image search is facilitated by pressing a small camera icon on the search bar. This allows a user to drag an image, paste a URL or even attach a picture and Google takes the visual input and churns out the results. For instance, if you paste a picture of the Qutub Minar, you will get references to Delhi, New Delhi, Indian history, Delhi tourist spots, etc. It is a quick way to identify things that you only have pictures of. Voice Search, a part ofthe mobile space on Android, has also made its entry on the Google search. Here, a user can vocalise the search instead of typing in the keywords. Available in a few selected countries, the microphone icon on the search bar will indicate the launch in the region. Remember, your laptop or desktop needs a microphone for voice search.
One other service that Google offers, and of which most of us are aware, is the music search for Indian user. It is restricted to Hindi songs but it is an interesting and useful search for a nation that hums collectively. Visit www.googlemusicsearch.com and key in the search words: name of the artist, song or even the album. A list will appear with tabs, including formats, videos, amazon.com, ebay.com and web. On the right side of the page, a media player appears. It will play demos that are 30 seconds to 1 minute long. Google's Real Time searches are aimed for fetching the most relevant and live updates for any queries.
Bing: Related searches
With Google progressing and strengthening its hold in the search domain, Microsoft would be foolish if it sat idle. Launched two years ago, Microsoft's Bing has some interesting features. To start with, the home page. While Google believes in doodles for celebrations and remembrances according to the occasion, Bing gives a fresh new look to its homepage every day. The idea behind having a new image every day is to make people aware of the range of content a search engine can look for.
All search engines simplify search by having various tabs-web, images, videos, maps, etc. With Bing, even while sitting in India, you can change the location to USA to access a few more options such as "shop-ping", "travel", "entertainment" and "search history". Holding the cursor over any of these terms prompts further results. For instance, when your cursor hovers over "image" Bing may ask you whether you want to "find computer wallpaper or black and white images". With the video tab you can quickly find TV shows, watch music videos or see sports videos.
The search results have been customised to a great extent under the "Related Search" tab. So, for instance, if you search for a term like "Fresco", the result list include details of restaurants of that name, the definition of the term, fresco painting, Mexican food, pizza, art, etc. The "Explore pane and Quick Tabs" show tabs below the search bar-while searching for a musician, you could find tabs showing video, images, shopping and blogs. The Autosuggest feature (for words and phrases) gets you results much faster. This works best when searching for a global term. The best is the video search that makes watching videos even easier by previewing the video for you.
Image Search include infinite scroll, eliminating the need to go to a new page for more results unlike on Google. Considered to be the best for browsing images, this search does not really work well when looking for high resolution images. Bing is ideal for finding out the specifications of automobiles. For instance, typing in 2011 Toyota Camry Specs displays base retail price, fuel economy, base engine, etc in the US market.
Other areas where Microsoft has focused on is Entertainment (for music, games, TV and movies) which organises everything under one hood. Travel is yet another feature that helps in users to book tickets with the help of a wise search on the basis of analysing different airfares and hotels. However, because sorting through search results can often be time-consuming, Bing organises popular results in a way designed to exhibit the answers people are looking for.
Yahoo!: Search with the world
The Yahoo! Search home page (search.yahoo.com) with its white background resembles a Google Search page but here the web, image, video, news options lie above the search tab. Where Yahoo scores over Google and Bing Search is the Trending Search that appears on the homepage itself. A part of re-launched Yahoo! Clues, it allows users to see what other people are searching for on the web. Holding a mouse on any of the top trends displays a few results without moving away from the page-these include twitter results, view videos and images, personal websites of persons searched for, etc, wherever applicable.
Another prominent feature that appears on the homepage is the Apps tab. This feature is aimed to let users discover apps from categories including games, entertainment, education, healthcare and fitness, social networking, productivity for or iPhone and Android smart-phones. The "More" tab allows the user to customise search using sports, shopping, answers, directory, jobs, finance and even all search services.
For any keyword searched on Yahoo!, a box appears with Amazon, Surf Canyon, One Riot, Google and Twitter icons. Another interesting feature of Yahoo! Search is its ability to send an email directly from the search bar. Log in using a Yahoo! ID, just type '!mail abc@gmail.com' and hit enter. It will direct you to a compose mail. Taking on Google's Instant Search, Yahoo! has also introduced its Search Direct. Available in the USA at the moment, this service is believed to deliver answers and direct access to the websites before one completes the query or even hit the search button. You can also access Yahoo! search at search.yahoo.in but the above mentioned features of trends and apps are not yet available on the Indian page.
