A search engine or search service is a program designed to help find information stored on a computer system such as the World Wide Web, inside a corporate or proprietary network or a personal computer. The search engine allows one to ask for content meeting specific criteria (typically those containing a given word or phrase) and retrieves a list of references that match those criteria. Search engines use regularly updated indexes to operate quickly and efficiently. Without further qualification, search engine usually refers to a Web search engine, which searches for information on the public Web. Other kinds of search engine are enterprise search engines, which search on intranets, personal search engines, which search individual personal computers, and mobile search engines. However, while different selection and relevance criteria may apply in different environments, the user will probably perceive little difference between operations in these. Some search engines also mine data available in newsgroups, large databases, or open directories like DMOZ.org. Unlike Web directories, which are maintained by human editors, search engines operate algorithmically. Most web sites which call themselves search engines are actually front ends to search engines owned by other companies.

History

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The very first tool used for searching on the Internet was Archie. (The name stands for "archive" without the "v", not the character from the 'Archie' comic book series). It was created in 1990 by Alan Emtage, a student at McGill University in Montreal. The program downloaded the directory listings of all the files located on public anonymous FTP (File Transfer Protocol) sites, creating a searchable database of filenames.

While Archie indexed computer files, Gopher indexed plain text documents. Gopher was created in 1991 by Mark McCahill at the University of Minnesota. (The program was named after the school's mascot). Because these were text files, most of the Gopher sites became Web sites after the creation of the World Wide Web.

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Search Blog

It’s Friday and Stefan is Back! And so is Free T-shirt Friday
Bing Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:25:00 -0000
Stefan is back! Which means Friday’s With Stefan can resume and another Free T-Shirt Friday theme for you all to search for. To make up for our absence last week we are adding a free copy of Windows 7 to the winners for this week’s FTF#. So check out the video and tweet us @bing #FTF and we will pick the winners.  (Please visit the site to view this media) Happy Friday all! Kristin Meldahl
Everyone Could Use Some Extra Cash and A Free Trip!
Bing Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:25:00 -0000
As my suntan fades more and more each day and as people’s Facebook status updates are saying that they are heading to Hawaii…Mexico…and I sit here in this dreary weather pondering when I might see the sun again…I have a new found hope! Today I heard in the hallways that there is an exciting contest that is going to be announced next week that includes; Free CASH, a trip to a very sunny destination, a movie star like makeover,  as well as some face time with “The Face of Entertainment” himself…Wahoo!...There is a light and I can’t wait!  Can’t give away too many details but I can say it is worth checking back next week to find out more! Make sure you follow Bing cashback on Twitter and Facebook for the latest. Here’s to looking forward to some rays, cool hard cash, a fabulous makeover and some one on one time with one of your TV idols. Kristin Meldahl - Bing
MSN and Bing - a Match Made in Redmond
Bing Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:40:00 -0000
  The Hallways here are all a flutter as we celebrate with our MSN teammates. Today marks another milestone in the history of the MSN Homepage. With a new, streamlined and less cluttered appearance you will be able to navigate more quickly to the information and services you use on a daily basis like online videos, local information, news, entertainment, sports, money, lifestyle and of course your familiar Bing search experience built in. You will see Bing’s integration throughout the MSN experience in key areas including shopping, travel, local, and as a way of highlighting hot topics, trends or people. Detailed local information is offered on the new MSN Local Edition, which is the only local online source that smartly combines Bing search and your real-time community news, which is grouped by ZIP code. But wait. There’s more. With the new MSN homepage, you will now be able to stay up to date with all your friends and social networks like Windows Live, Facebook and Twitter right from the homepage. The new MSN homepage preview will begin rolling out tomorrow (November 4, 2009) and become widely available to over 100 million U.S. customers early 2010. We encourage you all to try it out and let the MSN team know what you think. As always your feedback is important to all of us. Congrats to the MSN team. The new MSN has never looked so good. Kristin Meldahl and the Bing Team Other posts of interest: The New MSN Homepage Unveiled Staying Healthy With MSN and Bing Bing Maps on the New MSN Homepage
Mobile Madness Round 2… Then and Now
Bing Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:25:00 -0000
The availability of Windows phones earlier this month was a great kick off to mobile madness and a good excuse to give some sneak peeks of our new Bing™ for mobile app. We have been hard at work trying to bring Bing to all sorts of mobile devices, to provide customers with an amazing search experience wherever they are. As we are feeling nostalgic for some reason today, we thought a little trip down memory lane was in order. It all began in 2007 (well 2005 if you want to go back to betas but for the sake of time, let’s start in 2007). It was the year of No Country for Old Men and the Indianapolis Colts winning the Super Bowl. It was also the year we shipped a new, integrated mobile search experience on the Windows Mobile platform, and began adding some cool features to the Windows Mobile search experience including real-time traffic, maps and directions, movie times, gas prices and even voice search (which we think is wicked cool). We also shipped a version for BlackBerry devices equipped with location awareness functionality to enhance searches. We know, you are wondering “what have you done for me lately?” Well, last week we unveiled the new and improved Bing for mobile browser, give it a try at m.bing.com from your web-enabled device. Today, we’re happy to share that the Bing for mobile application is available on the brand new Verizon BlackBerry Storm 2, and is now rolling out to Verizon BlackBerry Storm 1 users. Simply go to the Bing icon on your device to use the app. Here’s a look at what you’ll see.                Bing for mobile was designed to help mobile users make decisions and get where you need to be quickly and easily when you are on the go and the new app takes that to the next level. A few updates you’ll notice: Map Your Way with quick access to maps, driving directions and traffic information. And with an improved auto-locate feature, you can find where you are and where you are going. Quick Answers with a customizable mobile homepage you can save your favorite searches making it easier to get the information you want quickly. Act Locally and quickly find information on local businesses including nearby restaurants or a local movie theatre with the latest showtimes. Type Less, Search More with the voice search feature. Speak your search query into your phone and Bing does the rest. Give it a try and let us know what you think. Justin Jed, Bing for mobile Other post of interest: Bing for mobile now live at m.bing.com
Where Do The Zombies Gather on This All Hallows Eve
Bing Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:39:00 -0000
There is a crisp bite in the air, a light drizzle coming down and fog covering the ground on this All Hallows Eve, and we’re starting to get scared. With Halloween upon us we suspect you have begun to gather your fellow vampires, witches, goblins, and if you dare zombies for this frightful occasion.  We over here at Bing have gathered a few zombies together to inspire some last minute costumes ideas, in our newest visual search experience (still in beta) - feel free to explore and refine to find the perfect Halloween inspiration.  What does tomorrow hold for you? Some tricks or treats? A Halloween party or two? Maybe a trip to a haunted house or maybe even a haunted mansion? Wherever the day and night takes you, we hope it is ghoulish, creepy and the most of all fun! Happy Halloween! Kristin Meldahl – Bing Other posts of interest: Haunted hotels: Discover a room with a boo Bug Killer – A Channel 9 Halloween special It’s a Full Moon for Bing Today Ghost? Bumble bee? No? Ok, This Year it is a Vampire!
Bing for mobile now live at m.bing.com
Bing Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:25:00 -0000
Today we released an update to the Bing for mobile browser at m.bing.com. In addition to being a great resource for local searches, quick answers, and maps, we have some new features to tell you about: NFL feature – type a team or player and see upcoming games, stats, and scores. While the game is on, you can get real-time updates on the plays. (U.S. only)              Flight status – enter the airline and flight number and get the latest departure and landing times.              Bing for touch devices Great news for you touch phone owners in the U.S.: we have a new version of Bing just for high-resolution touch devices. We optimized for touch navigation to make the most of your phone, and added a great new Movies feature. Search for Movies in your city, and you’ll see the movies playing nearby, showtimes, overviews, and even trailers and video clips.              You can get to this version by going to m.bing.com with your iPhone, Zune HD, T-Mobile G1, Verizon Imagio, or Samsung Omnia. We’ll be adding support for new devices over the next couple of months. Try Bing today at m.bing.com Give the updated Bing a try now by visiting m.bing.com with your mobile phone. It’s available in 31 countries for just about any phone with an internet connection. For more information about Bing for mobile products, visit our website at www.bing.com/mobile. Justin Jed – Bing mobile Other posts of interest:  Use Your Voice to Text, Call and Search with Bing
Bing at TechFlash Seattle – Women in Tech
Bing Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:03:00 -0000
Last night at the TechFlash: Women In Tech event we were able to meet some great women in the tech industry. Bing was there in full effect giving away all sorts of Bing goods and chit chatting in the hallways. After a jammed packed social hour of eating, drinking and mingling we all headed into the main room where a panel of very talented and insightful women continued the discussion. Shahla Aly, vice president at Microsoft kicked it off talking about the declining number of women in the tech industry and what we as a community can do to help spark interest in the younger generation. She highlighted some of the work Microsoft does with high school girls through a program called Digigirlz and really called on us to help change the declining trend of women in tech. The panel of women then discussed the importance of mentoring and sponsorships for those of us already in the tech to help sustain the current employment numbers as well as the need to early education for young girls in middle   school and high school. It was a great event to recognize the 100 top women in tech (waaahooo Betsy!) and to discuss some of the issues surrounding being a woman in the technology industry. I am looking forward to the next event already!! Kristin Meldahl – A woman in tech :)   If you are interested in the next TechFlash events: PSBJ’s Women of Influence Awards on Nov. 19, 2009; register here. TechFlash Holiday Party & Birthday Bash on Dec. 9, 2009; register here.
Bing Goes the Students at Keith Valley Middle School
Bing Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:00:00 -0000
Every now and then you see something so awesome you have to share it. The blog almost writes itself. We just have to spell check it and post it. You may remember the Bing Jingle contest.  You may even remember the winning entry and its impact on the Internet as we know it.  Okay maybe that is a bit of hyperbole but it was pretty funny.  Well it’s gone viral. Again. Our story begins in the Keith Valley Middle School in Pennsylvania.  This is a super cool school where recently three teachers -- Diane Heitzenrater, Stacy Rotchford, and Valerie Fasy -- were recognized as “Innovative Teachers of 2009” and received a trip to California to a conference where they happened to run into Jim Jin from  the Microsoft Office team.                       Jim and the teachers teamed up to integrate Microsoft tools into their lesson plans to promote technology infused learning, through projects like the Virtual Art Room, Social Studies and Ancient Egypt and even to pick the new school mascot.  All 1,200 Keith Valley Middle School students were shown how to use Office Live workspace and other Microsoft products including Bing. We know, this is a cool story about Office.  But wait, there’s more.  During the discovery and explanation of the products they were shown a clip of Jonathan Mann’s winning video from the Bing Jingle contest. Fate? Serendipity? Adam Smith’s “invisible hand?” All possible. We may never know.  But the results were nevertheless amazing. This video, well, struck a chord, with the Keith Valley students and began to spread like wildfire. Everywhere the teachers turned the kids were doing what they called the “Bing dance”. At breaks, at lunch time and even during class with impromptu “Bing dance” offs. Was this the modern day analog to the Wyld Stallyns? Were peace and tranquility on the horizon?  Probably not. But the school decided to embrace the student’s enthusiasm for this Bing jig. Stacy, the school’s cheerleading instructor spent 12 days teaching the sixth graders the “Bing dance” with the grand finale being an all-school assembly where the school’s new mascot was announced (they are now the Keith Valley Kat’s). (Please visit the site to view this media) Who knew that this Bing Jingle contest would cause such a stir in the first place? Now it’s catching the hearts and minds of sixth graders in Pennsylvania. Our hats are off to the Kat’s of Keith Valley and we would like to thank them for this amazing video. We laughed. We cried. It became a part of us. We hope you like it too. Kristin Meldahl- Bing Other posts of interest: The Bing Jingle Winner is… Check out the Binging Jingles (so far) Bing on the Jingles  
It’s a Full Moon for Bing Today
Bing Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:56:00 -0000
With New Moon coming out soon, Halloween around the corner and the release of the new Bing TV commercial it seems like everywhere you turn these days there are pale, strikingly good looking people with fangs...yes we are talking about vampires. Our Latest Bing advertisement is the first in a series of new commercials where we highlight specific ways Bing can help simplify your life and help you make decisions faster. If you haven’t caught the Bing commercials on TV you can view them on Bing’s Youtube Channel. Oh – and you may notice that the featured homepage image in the latest Bing TV spot came from Jeremy Somers the Bing photo contest winner. (Please visit the site to view this media) What do you think? Are there specific aspects of Bing you would like to see in a Bing commercial? Let us know! Kristin Meldahl – Bing Other post of interest: The Eye of the Storm – Jeremy Somers

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