Latest Google-killer a dud

I don't know which is more fruitless: trying to create an iPod/iPhone "killer", or a Google "killer." Today marked the public launch of cuil.com (pronounced cool. Quick tip: if you have to tell people you're cool, you're not.) Cuil is a search engine created by former Google employees. Don't get too excited about this being the next big thing though.

Putting cuil through its paces, reveals an engine far less than ready for prime time. We tested using search terms near and dear to our heart. First, "the digital lifestyle". Our site does not appear in the first "page" of results. I use quotes on page because rather than present the results in a traditional site name/description list, cuil shows a small paragraph of info from the site. The end result being that you have to click through several pages to see as many default results as Google. This wouldn't be a problem if the top results were actually what you're looking for.

Next we tried a search for "Apple news rumors". While we love our friends at macrumors.com. I'm not sure that having 8 of the top ten results point to different subsections of one site helps anyone. Long ago, Google perfected the "more results from this site" option. Cuil should do the same. They intend to make it easier to find information, rather than websites, but in our quick tests, cuil did neither.

Don't get me wrong, there's still plenty of room for improvement in the world of search. As you know, our site thrives on Apple news and rumors, but other than this post, is rare that we actually use those words in posts. Once someone creates an algorithm that can look at a posting on a MacBook Touch, and know that's an Apple rumor, we'll be getting somewhere. Chances are, Google will figure this out long before someone else. Trying to beat them at this point is like setting out to create a "Kleenex killer." Google = search. Period.