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Ask.comSmart search results help make this revamped engine a good Google alternative. Price: Free
Every few years, Ask.com (formerly Ask Jeeves) makes another run at Google, Yahoo, and MSN for a sliver more of search market share, and every few years it fails. This time, Ask revamped the search experience with advanced Ajax programming that makes it feel more like an application than a site. A slide-in toolbox on the front page lets you drill into map, image, encyclopedia, and tons of other search verticals without leaving the front page. You can even drag and drop these menu buttons to customize the site's look and feel.
Once you insert a search term, Ask, using its ExpertRank system, delivers a list of what it considers to be the most authoritative information sources. In the right panel it suggests related search terms but also lists ways of expanding and narrowing the search. All of this adds up to very efficient and focused results when it comes to creating broader one- and two-word searches. Looking for a new sports car, we queried "350Z" and got back not only direct links to forums and Nissan specialty pages but even recommendations of other specific sports car models to search. Unlike Google, which pours out millions of results, Ask succeeds by being one part recommendation engine and one part search tutor. Ask also has functional eye-candy in this revision. Select search results have "binocular" pop-up previews, which are thumbnails of the landing pages. This feature is a little less useful than it seems, since only the more substantial sites get these preview windows to begin with, so you really aren't weeding out many false hits. The maps, on the other hand, are supercharged, with walking and driving directions and drag-and-drop pushpins that let you calculate distances and find addresses by pointing to them. Perhaps the most valuable Ask innovation is the MyStuff feature, which saves your search results to a personalized space where you can make annotations and share results with others. Altogether, Ask adds up to a genuinely unique search experience. Although the interface is leagues ahead of Google and Yahoo, it seems unlikely that the site will catch up to the market leaders. "Asking" may not replace "Googling" any time soon, but it's nice to know there's a more user-friendly alternative out there. Featured Site Sponsors
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