The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group 501 Web Site Secrets - for the bookshelf Major Keary |
A handy resource for Web users, 501 Web Site Secrets explains how to optimise use of Internet portals, search engines, online news and information services, and online shopping sites. The distinction between a portal and search engine is explained: a portal is "a site that not only guides you to content across the Internet, but also contains its own proprietary content and services - everything from stock quotes to online auctions to interactive chat to free e-mail", and a search engine is "all about searching - no e-mail, no personalised start page, no streaming audio or video".
Yahoo, MSN, AOL, Excite and Lycos are listed as portals; Google, AllTheWeb, Ask Jeeves, Alta Vista, and HotBot are the listed search engines. The included online news and information sites are CNN.com, ESPN.com, CBS MarketWatch, and Microsoft.com; the included online shopping and services sites are eBay, Amazon, Napster 2.0, Expedia, and MapQuest.
Each of the sites mentioned has its own chapter containing itemised "secrets", mostly presented as a concise single paragraph, but sometimes containing more detail. For example, under Yahoo the reader finds that "when you search Yahoo, you're searching Google", and the Yahoo directory "has higher quality results than Yahoo Web search - but fewer of them". A listing of the Yahoo site directory, with URLs, is included to enable direct access to sites and services.
The book reveals some odd, and interesting relationships between Web portal and search providers. Yahoo uses the Google search engine; Excite doesn't use a single search engine, but offers results from eleven different providers; Lycos is owned by Terra Lycos, which also has in its stable eighteen sites including HotBot, Webmonkey, and Gamesville; Lycos uses AllTheWeb's search engine; AllTheWeb and Alta Vista are presently owned by Yahoo, but Alta Vista results are not used on Yahoo's site; Alta Vista offers more powerful search tools than Google; HotBot (owned by Terra Lycos) uses Inktomi (owned by Yahoo) as its search provider; and AOL is a private portal for AOL subscribers, but many of its services are freely accessible through Netscape (which is owned by AOL).
In spite of the tangle of relationships between providers, each has its own peculiarities, strengths, and offerings. The book is a guide to taking advantage of the sites listed, and which one to choose for particular purposes. Some sites, for whatever reason, seem to hide pages or make it less than easy to find particular resources. For example, without the book's directory listing for Yahoo some search results are not as complete as results obtained by going to a specific Yahoo site or service. Another instance is MapQuest (owned by AOL), which has a 'secret' world atlas that cannot be reached from the home page; to find it, a browser has to be pointed at http://www.mapquest.com/atlas/.
Of course, 501 Secrets is America-oriented and local users may, so to speak, need to adjust their sets when using or searching for local content. Nevertheless, this is a very useful guide, especially for those who make heavy use of the Web. A great resource for students.
It contains a lot of interesting and useful information, such as making Google safer for children, using Napster 2.0, listening to music, and even connecting to CNN news from a mobile phone.
|
Michael Miller: 501 Web Site Secrets ISBN 0-7645-5901-X Published by Wiley, 410 pp., RRP $41.95 incl. GST |
 |
Reprinted from the June 2004 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
 |