New kid on the block

Try out Quintura, a new search engine which I have been using intermittently for the past ten days or so and which I think, is a better alternative to Google.

I came across a Wired (or was it Slashdot? I don't remember well) article that gave an account of alternative search engines and how they may become a threat to Google. The article was of the opinion that Yahoo! is ranked better in terms of customer satisfaction and in general, merits a larger share of the marketplace than it currently has. It also remarked that in Japan, South Korea, Russia and some other countries, Google is already way behind alternative search engines which have captured a larger share of the market. It also featured Quintura as a promising search alternative that is better than Google in some respects.

Intrigued, I began using Quintura and specifically began comparing it with Google by typing in search queries that I knew should link to some sites that I had in mind (among a vast number of others). The result was unbelievable at first and given the fact that I belong to the generation that has not used any search engine other than Google, I wasn't ready for the result. I saw Google lose convincingly in the vast majority of tests I cooked up and though it means nothing in general, especially as regards to Quintura's so called superiority over Google, it does imply that one must take another look at Google's much hyped invincibility.

Some of the things that you would find wrong with Quintura include the obviously very long time it takes as compared to Google to search something. But you should also note the fact that Google has thousands of dedicated servers running 24/7 providing enormous computing power that drives the giant Google behemoth while these fledging startups have barely a thousandth of Google's resources (hell, they wouldn't be called 'start-ups' then, would they?).

Also observe the tag cloud in the left half of the search engine. You just have to point your mouse in that direction and automatically your search is appended and the new search results are displayed.

Basically if you don't want an all inclusive search and are looking for very specific search results that you already have some non-zero idea of, then it is better to use Quintura. Your search results are more streamlined and much, much more relevant. Try it out. This kid sure looks promising!