GENIUS FORUMS

Just a quick question, maybe it is out of place, but feel free to delete or lock thread.

Does anyone suggest an alternative? You all seem to know your internet surfing skills, so should I switch to msn for a change? The appearance of all the bots has peaked my interest in the search engine debate. Any advice or suggestions on that subject from the peanut gallery?

There are search engines other than Google.
There's Yahoo.
I don't know whether Alta Vista is still going.
There's Ask.com; which has the advantage of answering questions instead of merely conducting boolean searches. (ask jeeves)

You didn't make clear what problem it is you're trying to solve. So I'm not clear on what the proper solution would be.

Those first three are all the same, not sure about ask.com, but I am looking for a new search engine, preferably something other than msn. I'm going to be switching from Windows to Linux soon, so maybe I can use a new search engine, and start a whole new online life, so to speak. Just looking for tips, I'm willing to explore the alternatives. (I learned on yahoo and windows, now I can just see what else is out there.)

If you haven't already done so, why not try the following with every search engine you can find?

From each search engine, search for:

search engine

... and see what you get.

Kind of like a programming loop of some kind, but you can't program your web browser to do anything, at least not unless you really know what you are doing. Yeah, I know the orig. question is better left up to good old fashion independent research.

snow bunny wrote:Those first three are all the same, not sure about ask.com, but I am looking for a new search engine, preferably something other than msn. I'm going to be switching from Windows to Linux soon, so maybe I can use a new search engine, and start a whole new online life, so to speak. Just looking for tips, I'm willing to explore the alternatives. (I learned on yahoo and windows, now I can just see what else is out there.)

Which Linux distro are you going to use? I dual boot with Ubuntu, and sometimes multiboot with another Linux like Mint or Mandriva. For this kind of thing, i.e., surfing, Linux is now cleaner, faster, and more stable than Windows. IMHO, of course.

I haven't even looked at it yet, one is a Kubuntu 7.04 (64 bit) and one is a Feisty Fawn (32 bit).


I checked out dogpile, and they are the same as yahoo, giving me all the annoying yahoo adds.

Dogpile is a metasearch engine. It gives you results from the likes of Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask all in one place.

Dave Toast wrote:Dogpile is a metasearch engine. It gives you results from the likes of Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask all in one place.

What, pray tell, is a metasearch engine? Don't tell me that it just steals the results from other engines, and gives you half from here and half from there.

Meh!

That concept looks very complicated. I don't really use the web for doing serious research, more just getting stuff from wikipedia and other "quick answers." I suppose you can study anything, and search engines is as noble a subject as any other.



brokenhead, I have a burnt copy of 64 bit and 32 bit, not sure of any of the differences between the other versions you mentions. I just worry that my printer won't work and that I won't be able to plug in my vidcam. Any compatibility issues there? I don't want to install it and then realize that it can't do everything I need it to do. I suppose I can boot from the cd and just give it a test run first, looks like it is going to be kubuntu.

brokenhead, I have a burnt copy of 64 bit and 32 bit, not sure of any of the differences between the other versions you mentions. I just worry that my printer won't work and that I won't be able to plug in my vidcam. Any compatibility issues there? I don't want to install it and then realize that it can't do everything I need it to do. I suppose I can boot from the cd and just give it a test run first, looks like it is going to be kubuntu.

You can't use the 64-bit version unless you have a 64-bit processor, you know that, right? And I'll bet you don't, since XP is 32-bit, if that's what you are currently using.

If you have Ubuntu 7.10 on a CD (I think they call it "Gutsy"), then it is a live CD. Most Linux distros are live CD's these days. Do what you said and boot to the CD first. Also, check out distrowatch.com. They are really on top of the wide-open Linux and Unix area. If the live Ubuntu doesn't work, just DL and burn a few other live distros and one of them might just fill the bill.

Ubuntu and Mandriva are both very easy to install and to update, if you have broadband. SUSE is also easy to install, although I have not been overwhelmed with their peripheral support. Make sure you are using kernel 2.6 or later - although I'm pretty sure they are all up to that by now.

If you have enough disk space, don't be afraid to dual- or multiboot. It's not hard. That way, if you ever need to install a program that is only available for Windows (and odds are you already have such programs), you will still have a working Windows partition. Also, if you have a lot of data like documents, music, or video and photos on your C drive, you won't have to transfer them to CD, DVD, or Linux partition. You can access NT drives with Linux, but not vice versa, meaning this type of data will still be avilable if you keep the NT partition on which it resides. I believe Linux can read FAT32 as well, but I have never needed that, so I'm not sure.

The big reason to dual-boot is if there is one peripheral that just doesn't have suitable drivers under Linux, you will still be able to use it. That way, if you keep updating your Linux (which is a snap with Ubuntu!), eventually a working driver for that device might be included with the update, then you can get rid of the Windows and go 100% Linux.

If you do decide to dual-boot, get a recent copy of Partition Magic. That way, you can create and size partitions to your needs. It is a must have. You can shrink your Windows system partition (usually C:) way down to yield unallocated space for your Linux partition(s). Let me know if you need Partition Magic - I know where you can get it for a song.

brokenhead wrote:

brokenhead, I have a burnt copy of 64 bit and 32 bit, not sure of any of the differences between the other versions you mentions. I just worry that my printer won't work and that I won't be able to plug in my vidcam. Any compatibility issues there? I don't want to install it and then realize that it can't do everything I need it to do. I suppose I can boot from the cd and just give it a test run first, looks like it is going to be kubuntu.

You can't use the 64-bit version unless you have a 64-bit processor, you know that, right? And I'll bet you don't, since XP is 32-bit, if that's what you are currently using.

If you have Ubuntu 7.10 on a CD (I think they call it "Gutsy"), then it is a live CD. Most Linux distros are live CD's these days. Do what you said and boot to the CD first. Also, check out distrowatch.com. They are really on top of the wide-open Linux and Unix area. If the live Ubuntu doesn't work, just DL and burn a few other live distros and one of them might just fill the bill.

Ubuntu and Mandriva are both very easy to install and to update, if you have broadband. SUSE is also easy to install, although I have not been overwhelmed with their peripheral support. Make sure you are using kernel 2.6 or later - although I'm pretty sure they are all up to that by now.

If you have enough disk space, don't be afraid to dual- or multiboot. It's not hard. That way, if you ever need to install a program that is only available for Windows (and odds are you already have such programs), you will still have a working Windows partition. Also, if you have a lot of data like documents, music, or video and photos on your C drive, you won't have to transfer them to CD, DVD, or Linux partition. You can access NT drives with Linux, but not vice versa, meaning this type of data will still be avilable if you keep the NT partition on which it resides. I believe Linux can read FAT32 as well, but I have never needed that, so I'm not sure.

The big reason to dual-boot is if there is one peripheral that just doesn't have suitable drivers under Linux, you will still be able to use it. That way, if you keep updating your Linux (which is a snap with Ubuntu!), eventually a working driver for that device might be included with the update, then you can get rid of the Windows and go 100% Linux.

If you do decide to dual-boot, get a recent copy of Partition Magic. That way, you can create and size partitions to your needs. It is a must have. You can shrink your Windows system partition (usually C:) way down to yield unallocated space for your Linux partition(s). Let me know if you need Partition Magic - I know where you can get it for a song.

Did you mean you can keep both Windows and Linux, if you "dual boot"? You were correct that I am using XP because I never received the Vista Cd I was supposed to receive when I purchased a new laptop. I no longer have that laptop (smashed it in a fit of rage), so I am on an old school desktop. I hope to buy a new computer eventually, but now I am going to be trying out Linux with what I have. I don't know really what 64 bit versus 32 bit is all about. I figured that XP was 64 bit, but I am just installing a new OS, so I am pretty much in the dark. I am still worried about my printer, but if I have problems, I might drop you a PM. I hope you don't mind, I'll only do so if I have no other recourse.(You were kind of talking over my head on a lot of that stuff!) I am looking forward to attempting to setup the Linux system, either the Kubuntu or the Feisty Fawn, probably the Feisty Fawn, if I don't have the proper hardware. I can try both of them out first on the direct boot from the cd. Thanks for the info. .