Week 11 The Future of Search

I like Google Labs Experimental, the Alternate views search engine because it is quite interactive with the timeline being a determinant on what your search is. I would have used this a couple of weeks ago if I had know about it because I had a research paper due a last week and I needed some facts based on the 1940’s to 1960’s and this search engine would have been perfect. The Kartoo.com search is good for people who like colors or imagery for a search. The one thing it has over the other is when the icons are highlighted by the mouse it leads to other popular root words that could narrow your search, it gives you clues to other possibly words. The Credo Reference is similar to searches I have dealt with in the past and as of late, it reminds me of the old school yahoo searched in the mid 90’s just updated to the max. I like how the search is broken down on the left hand side making it easier for me to refine it on the fly, none of the others do that. All of them have their unique uses it just depends on what you’re looking for.

To think that searching for anything has changed from a person who is a great researcher at the library…..to now, the words a person puts into a search and presto, it’s done. Maybe I am thinking I am baking a cake but the future holds many possibilities for upcoming students who want to learn new things on any topic. The article said “They're not making the pages easier to read, they're making the software agents smarter” and I think this will change kids learn permanently, because research time is cut done and so more work can be done. To some extent it takes the middle (person or work) out of the equation. In 15 years or more, If I do a search for what games Indonesian kids play at their house or outside in the park, I possibly may put on sunglasses and see exactly what they see, maybe smell the air at the same time? I could do a search and that search will make it easier for future searched for someone else searching on the same criteria and so in the future more kids will graduate early because of the added side affect this has caused on future generations. The affect of all this is that I think the basics or wanting keywords as the start of a search is and should be a mandatory concept, the article said "You get the ability to do all these very complex queries, but it takes a tremendous amount of time and metadata to make that happen." This makes me think, is it worth it?, technology maxes out at certain points, with most cars having heated seats and gps via option and cell phones doing everything but getting into your mind and speaking for you, I always thought if my psp came out as a phone it is over for everyone else. I think everyone is pulling at straws, the searches of the future are great at searching for words that deal with a certain topic, such as trying to recognize “the difference between Paris Hilton and the Hilton in Paris," but the more important next step is what big leap is there next, I want to interact like Johnny Mnemonic in the old 1995 movie where he was able to have data upload into his head and he instantly can carry information.