BBC Puts The Big Players To The Test
The BBC has compiled reviews and comparisons of the top five search engines. Take a look at what they had to say:

And the verdict?

Google, MSN, and Jeeves get points for being too cluttered (and Yahoo is unceremoniously skewered), MSN is hurt for being unstable. BBC clearly likes engines that provide answers and categories for queries that can mean several things, but it seems fine with Google, since their results are so relevant as to make an "answer engine" unnecessary. BBC gives no verdict, but it seems to pick Jeeves for answering questions and offering classifications of searches. Google loses for having too much information, MSN for being too green, Yahoo for being too messy, and A9 for being too pop-culture centric, and not good with obscurity. Fans of any search engine can find reasons to disagree, but still, a very good roundup.
(via Search Engine Lowdown)

- posted by Nathan Weinberg @ 11/12/2004 01:41:00 PM