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Beta FreeBSD Search Engine

Posted by michael on from the locate-a-booth-babe-near-you dept.

petef writes "In my spare time, I've been buildling a FreeBSD Search Engine. I am hoping it will be of use to everyone; it pulls the top 3 search results off some major search engines (FreeBSD.org, google.com/bsd, etc). I'm looking for people to give it a run and give me some feedback on it. Thanks!"

31 comments

  1. wait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    i thought BSD is dying.

    1. Re:wait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      that's why people don't pay you to think.

    2. Re:wait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      You are correct.

      The bombshell that broke the camel's back was Mike Smith's resignation.

  2. ugh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Redundant

    "Hi. I have this new software. I'd like to have people test it, but I'm too lazy to recruit people myself. Would you guys be kind enough to post a link on Slashdot? Thanks"

    1. Re:ugh by hbmartin · · Score: 0, Redundant

      Ever heard of "reaching out to the target users"? What better place thah ./BSD? Too lazy, or maybe trying to tell as many people as possible about a useful new service? Nobody's making you use it, Mr. "Anonymous Coward".

      --
      Karma: Bizzare (mostly affected by varying internal caffeine levels.)
  3. BSD is... what?! by joebp · · Score: -1, Troll
    Last 5 Searches
    dying
    dying
    dying
    bsd is dying
    dying

    Someone is expressing their opinion I see ;)

  4. Typical Search: by zulux · · Score: -1, Troll
    Search:

    The future of FreeBSD

    Results:

    Result 1


    Result 2


    Result 3

    --

    Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.

  5. No Further Details by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    I just heard the sad news on talk radio. Troubled OS FreeBSD was found dead in it's suburban office this morning. There were no further details. Truly a big loss for OS Dilletante-Dabbler Troll Hobbyists worldwide

  6. Okaaaaay by __aafkqj3628 · · Score: 4, Informative

    It looks ok for use, but I hate the color scheme there.
    Perhaps change the scheme and get some more word out there!

    1. Re:Okaaaaay by SteveTruss · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      i think it's shit.

  7. MAJOR issue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Cute, cute cute lil devil icon there. DEFINATELY keep it. But would you PLEASE put it somewhere OTHER than where it blocks the input field and the 'submit' button?

    Btw, I'm using mozilla 1.0 thanks. :)

    1. Re:MAJOR issue by petef · · Score: 2, Informative

      It was some troll playing with html in the last 5 searches, I've setup some filters so that doesn't happen anymore. :)

  8. Use get rather than post by quinto2000 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Search engine queries should be sent using GET rather than POST. This lets people bookmark the search results, which is very important.

    --
    Ceci n'est pas un post
    1. Re:Use get rather than post by petef · · Score: 3, Informative

      Thanks for the advice, I've fixed it to use GET instead.

  9. *BSD is Dying by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    It is official; Netcraft now confirms: *BSD is dying

    One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

    You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

    FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.

    Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.

    Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

    All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.

    Fact: *BSD is dying

  10. It's works good, but hats it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I have done a few searches and it does give relevant results, which I certainly like. However, it's a little on the ugly side. Try using different colours and art and I will give it my seal of approval.

    -Craig

    1. Re:It's works good, but hats it by petef · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Suggestions as to which colors would be better?

    2. Re:It's works good, but hats it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      No black.

      White background
      Some blue here and there. maybe some green.

      make it easy on the eyes.

    3. Re:It's works good, but hats it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As a web developer I would suggest going with something fairly neutral for starters. I often find a color scheme that is unique and visually appealing to me, only to get feedback from users that they dislike it for one reason or another. I am not suggesting you go with the typical blue and white, but something very lowkey would be a good start. After that, why not let the user set a theme for themselves? Build a few themes, maybe greens, blues, white, etc, and let the user pick whatever works for them. Store the value in a cookie and the user can have the BG, font, link style, etc that they prefer. If you wish to focus on search results and avoid user themes, then just go with white or light grey backgrounds for the results area and blue or green for the menu areas. Red is so hard to pull off, just avoid it.

  11. IMPORTANT NEWS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll



      • Fact:


        *BSD


        is


        dying


        WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WW

        Lameness filter encountered. Post aborted!
        Reason: Don't use so many caps. It's like YELLING.

  12. Go away. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Giving someone a blank page with the message "Go away" for using quotes is pretty stupid. Any decent search engine uses quotes to search for a phrase instead of a word. It's really unprofessional to do that, too, and if I got that from a search engine like Google or Yahoo, I for sure would just find an alternative.

    1. Re:Go away. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      This is a "me too" post, but I must agree with the AC. I do not appreciate being told to go away for using a search query method that is acceptable on every search engine I have ever used. I suppose this is part of a Reg-Ex filter you have recently put in place to curtail search string abuses, but it is really annoying and should be fixed.

      On the positive side, a boutique search engine is a great way to focus the results and elimanate many irrelevant results. I think you are on the right track, keep working on it.

    2. Re:Go away. by petef · · Score: 3, Informative

      Gotcha. Like I said, this is in beta, and this is exactly the kind of feedback I'm looking for. Way too tired yesterday and forgot " and ' are reasonable search terms... it's on my to-fix list.

    3. Re:Go away. by roly · · Score: 0

      Not fixed yet.

      --
      "With Microsoft, you get Windows. With Linux, you get the full house" - unknown
  13. What about other BSD sites? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    First of all, great work. FreeBSD (and the others) will benefit greatly from this!

    The only problem I have is that you're only searching "major FreeBSD search engines." Now, I know it's a beta, but there is quite a lot of other sites that, while not being a search engine, have contributed to the advancement of FreeBSD. Examples: Daemonnews's Search Page FreeBSDDiary, BSDToday, and of course Slashdot!. You might also think about adding newgroups, discussions, etc. Don't forget that the other BSD sites can also provide information that covers FreeBSD. Don't think they're "not worthy."

    Keep up the good work!

    1. Re:What about other BSD sites? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can't believe it, but I also forgot about bsdsearch.com. They claim to be "The World's Largest Directory and Search Engine for BSD."

      Peace!

  14. Don't listen !!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, don't listen to those (usuals ?) "I know better and what you do it worth nothing". Just go on and do your thing.

  15. Eh by Lazaru5 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Here I was hoping for a more intelligent FreeBSD.org search rather than just a result collector.

    And did you have to include Defcon1? Their articles are often outdated, inacccurate or stolen [and claimed original]. (Every offense to EFNet #FreeBSDHelp intended.)

    --

    --
    My comments and opinions completely reflect those of anyone and anything I am remotely associated with.
  16. Seems Like a Worthwhile Effort by screamingelectron · · Score: 0

    This seems like a worthwhile effort to me. Searches return valid results, allbeit I haven't tested it that extensively yet. Seems like this has some real potential... I do agree with some of the other comments about the color scheme. I myself do like darker color scheme's but... They don't seem to do that well in general. I hope this works out for you, keep at it and good things will come. Good Luck! -elmore-

  17. *BSD is dying by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    It is official; Netcraft now confirms: *BSD is dying

    One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

    You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

    FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.

    Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.

    Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

    All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are dimmer than dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.

    Fact: *BSD is dying

  18. Leave it to the pros.. by pfish · · Score: 1

    Why not just leave it to the sites that already have features like this? http://www.google.com/bsd is a great engine.