Effective Screen Reading: Manage E-mail and the Internet More Efficiently

⏐214 Effective Screen Reading

Search Engines on the Internet

In 2000, the estimations on the number of registered Web pages

varied from around 4 to 5 billion. However, when the actual

calculation was done in 2002, scientists discovered that many

more pages existed than had been previously believed: the

search found over 550 billion pages. The amount of new pages

is obviously accelerating all the time.

There is so much information on the Web that any single

search tool can only find a fraction of it. More than 20,000

different search engines are currently available. These search

tools often specialize in particular areas and their use differs

from one another, as does their coverage across the Web. For

example, AltaVista can index about 2 to 3 billion addresses,

while Google has a coverage of about 7 to 8 billion pages.

However, even the best search engine will only cover a fraction

of the total.

It is no wonder, therefore, that a special “breed” of search

tools—metasearchengines—has emerged. These engines use

various individual utilities at the same time. In a metasearch,

Web search engines are simultaneously put to work together.

When confronting today’s mass of information, we are almost

compelled to resort to these “wonder machines.”

Search Tips—Stop Searching and Start Finding

Closely follow what new developments take place, and use only

the most effective tools. Check regularly the recent news from

Search Engine Watch (www.searchenginewatch.com), which

also carries a listing on specialty search engines. Use the right

tool for your search and you will find what you want quickly and

effectively. If you have difficulties finding key words, but know in

which category the item belongs, you can resort to engines

(such as Yahoo) that show pages hierarchically in vast themes.

If you want to have plenty of results, HotBot and AltaVista are

effective in showing a multitude of pages. However, if your

search is of a special nature, you should find a “specialist”

engine. These are small, limited search tools that often have

expert knowledge in narrow subject areas.

Observe accuracy and write exact key words and phrases in

the search field. Avoid using general words, because these will

give you a vast amount of results. When you encounter prob-

lems like receiving too many hits or wrong pages, sharpen your

Manage the Internet 215⏐

search and add different key words. If you search by phrase,

remember to use quotation marks. These normally correspond

to the exact order of words and therefore often produce the

desired results. Remember that your spelling of names must be

correct. If available, use specific languages for your search, and

learn to use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) correctly.

When too many hits appear, modify your search with new

key words. Although the difference may be slight, make a new

start and try other search utilities, like metasearchengines. They

will produce many results in a relatively small amount of time.

Some of the most popular include MetaCrawler, Ixquick, Profu-

sion, SurfWax, and Copernic. The first four on the list are ordi-

nary Web pages, the last one (Copernic) is a program and must

be downloaded to your computer. Both SurfWax and Copernic

include additional software that will make short summaries of the

pages selected. This enables the reader to concentrate on key

information, thus saving time. Besides, there is no need to read

through the whole text.

Summary and Onward

In this chapter, you have learned various techniques on

how to use the Internet more efficiently. We described

how the Internet works and why it is important to set

vision, goals, and/or an action plan when surfing the

Net. We offered a dozen tools for your Internet

sessions, for example correctly using fixations on lines,

benefiting from initial scrolling, and understanding

page elements. To support your natural memory, we

showed how to use favorites and how the manipulation

of the text will help your comprehension. Finding key

words fast in the text and applying your CS guide were

also demonstrated. Understanding different page

layouts serves as the key for reading Web pages

effectively. We demonstrated how to select the right

approach for your reading with skimming, scanning,

exploring, and in-depth reading techniques. Finally, the

latest Web search techniques and tips were presented.