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Amazon's A9: How Well Is the Hype Justified?

An anonymous reader submits "Amazon have put up a new version of their A9 search engine. The "Beta" label was dropped, the color scheme changed, and new search types were added: Images (provided by Google), Movies (provided by IMDB), and Reference (provided by GuruNet). Several sources are already reporting this." Theopd writes with a more critical view of the hype surrounding A9's launch (note the link to battellemedia); read on below.

theodp writes "As Amazon's search service A9.com officially goes live today after being in beta for months, it's receiving rave reviews. A Business 2.0 story penned by John Battelle says A9 has raised the bar for innovation in search. Paying heed to John Battelle's statement that Google and everyone else involved in search are going to be watching A9, BusinessWeek asks: Can Amazon Go Beyond Google? And the NY Times reports that A9 is insanely powerful (story linked above), relying on a quote from - you guessed it - John Battelle. The NYT notes that Battelle is the organizer of the upcoming Web 2.0 conference, but doesn't mention that his conference's keynoters include A9 CEO Udi Manber, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Amazon Board Member John Doerr, Amazon's Wall Street Cheerleader Mary Meeker, and Amazon subsidiary Alexa's Brewster Kahle."

217 comments

  1. It's very slick. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    I like it. I did a quick search for "Red Mage", found the forums I was looking for, and got some cool pictures to go along with it on the sidebars. Plus the advertisements are not intrusive at all!

    1. Re:It's very slick. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah very slick, this is what I see!

      eb
      <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML 2.0//EN">
      <html><head>
      <title>302 Moved Temporarily</title>
      </head><body>
      <h1>Moved Temporarily</h1>
      <p>The document has moved <a href="http://a9.amazon.com?src=a9">here</a>.</p&gt ;
      </body></html>

      1c8
      HTTP/1.1 302 Moved Temporarily
      Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:53:30 GMT
      Location: http://a9.com/-/search/home.jsp?nocookie=1
      Conten t-Type: text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1
      Content-Length: 0
      Vary: User-Agent

      <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML 2.0//EN">
      <html><head>
      <title>302 Moved Temporarily</title>
      </head><body>
      <h1>Moved Temporarily</h1>
      <p>The document has moved <a href="http://a9.com/-/search/home.jsp?nocookie=1"> here</a>.</p>
      </body></html>

      0

    2. Re:It's very slick. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I searched for online auctions and ebay came up first.

      I searched for online bookstore and Barnes & Nobel came up first.

      Anonymous Coward farts in moderators general direction.

    3. Re:It's very slick. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Slashdot
      slashdot.org/article.pl?09/06/2159210

      About this site:

      Traffic Rank: 1,564
      Sites that Link here: 33,994
      Speed: Slow (2.4 seconds)
      Online Since: 01-Feb-2000

      People who visit this page also visit:
      Home Of The Webalizer
      Search & Reference - Infospace
      Netcraft Web Server Survey

    4. Re:It's very slick. by ptr2004 · · Score: 1

      No thanks I will just stick to their alpha version http://a8.com/

  2. I suppose it's not too bad... by }InFuZeD{ · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm still the first hit result for my name, so it's cool by me ;)

    1. Re:I suppose it's not too bad... by stevey · · Score: 1

      Me too, but now I see that I'm in the top ten for image searchs on my name too - which is a little bit creepy!

    2. Re:I suppose it's not too bad... by empaler · · Score: 1

      Well, with a name like '} InFuZeD {', I doubt I'll be seeing many name twins...

    3. Re:I suppose it's not too bad... by strictfoo · · Score: 5, Funny

      search for "Books" returns: Barnes and Noble!

      --
      I've just signed legislation that'll outlaw Russia forever. We'll begin bombing in five minutes.
    4. Re:I suppose it's not too bad... by dasmegabyte · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hey, me too. Plus it offered a deal on my upcoming autobiography (Das Megabyte: Anatomy of a Troll) if I bought it with Bill Gate's The Road Ahead.

      --
      Hey freaks: now you're ju
    5. Re:I suppose it's not too bad... by Orgazmus · · Score: 1

      My slasdhot profile is actually listed when searching for my nick.
      But the other results are just confusing ;)

      --
      The system had the verbosity of HTML combined with all the readability of compiled assembly viewed as bitmap images
    6. Re:I suppose it's not too bad... by The+Other+White+Boy · · Score: 1

      hey now THAT is pretty neat, i must say.

      i actually hadnt heard of A9 till this story and i must say i like it a lot.

    7. Re:I suppose it's not too bad... by pod · · Score: 1
      Of course it is, A9 uses Google to do its searches. Says so right on their page.

      http://a9.com/-/company/whatsCool.jsp

      --
      "Hot lesbian witches! It's fucking genius!"
  3. The search results by Jugalator · · Score: 5, Informative
    I see the article missed a bit

    Images (provided by Google), Movies (provided by IMDB), and Reference (provided by GuruNet).

    ... and web search results (provided by Google, with Amazon products added among them where an algorithm find them to fit).

    Google also gets 50% of the revenue A9 makes from its text ads.

    --
    Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
    1. Re:The search results by daiakuma · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So, its little more than an interface to Google. That's okay, I guess. It's quite a neat interface in its way, with the buttons for different categories of search.

      --

      ~~~ Centigrade 233 ~~~ yaku, yaku, yaku!

    2. Re:The search results by LetterJ · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Definitely powered on several levels by Google. I was surprised (probably shouldn't have been) to see several of *my* Google ads running as ads on A9.

    3. Re:The search results by lc_overlord · · Score: 1

      Yea, just search for this "phi|\|d /\/\3 50/\/\3 l33t 5|-|it", the first thing that pops up is pretty cool, it's allso on google.

      --
      - "There is nothing quite like an ineffective solution to an nonexistant problem"
    4. Re:The search results by lc_overlord · · Score: 1

      http://www.google.com/intl/xx-hacker/faq.html for you guys that does not know the meaning of cut and paste.

      --
      - "There is nothing quite like an ineffective solution to an nonexistant problem"
  4. Subject by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    What? Where's the "Google Killer" headline? I thought that's what every tech news sotry was about these days, "killing" something else.

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

      Would be pretty stupid of them to kill Google, since Google is providing the backend for web and images :p

    2. Re:Subject by sketerpot · · Score: 1

      It's hard to kill a component of yourself. A9 uses Google inside, with some other stuff added on.

  5. Not hit hard... yet..... by Puls4r · · Score: 3, Interesting

    A9 has a lot yet to prove. It isn't "wide spread" so the optimizers haven't pounded it yet and figured out how to slew the results. It's not being widely used, so we can't particularly tell how the load balancing is set up, or how "quick" the searches will be. Finally, while most search engines started out anti-advertising, it only took a while for them to develop a following and then implement advertising to improve their profit outlook.

    We'll see.

    1. Re:Not hit hard... yet..... by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think if the results are provided by 3rd parties (such as google), they already have the skewing well under way.

      --

      "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
    2. Re:Not hit hard... yet..... by Saeed+al-Sahaf · · Score: 1
      9 has a lot yet to prove. It isn't "wide spread" so the optimizers haven't pounded it yet and figured out how to slew the results.


      Yes, well, since it's REALLY NOT a new search engine...


      Images (provided by Google), Movies (provided by IMDB), and Reference (provided by GuruNet)

      We actually do know how to optimise for it.


      Meta-search engines have been around awhile.

      --
      "Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
    3. Re:Not hit hard... yet..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Had problems bring up links. Of the 5 I tried (tablet pc best) only 3 worked and 2 pointed to dead space. Google (about the same results) returned valid links to all 5...

  6. Radical Leap? by webword · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The main issue with A9.com is that it is not a radical leap forward. It will certainly enjoy the halo of recent media exposure, and it will always enjoy traffic as a result of being affiliated with Amazon.

    However.

    It is NOT something that is going to drive people to switch. It is some sort of confused search portal. It is another swipe at Yahoo, Excite or altavista. It is another way to search.

    The results, and the display of the results, do not offer anything truly innovative. That is, innovative enough for people to say "wow!" and switch.

    Thought experiment: Are you going to personally recommend A9 to people you know? I know that I told people about Google years ago. "It's better" is what I said. But it wasn't just better, it was radically better to the point where I would convince people to use it and switch.

    A9.com fails the radical leap test. In the dog-eat-dog world of search engines, "better" doesn't cut it. It needs to be radically better...

    1. Re:Radical Leap? by aminorex · · Score: 4, Interesting

      You're absolutely right about A9. What is much
      better than Google, however, is Vivisimo. The
      search results are topically organized via
      clustering, making them easier to navigate by
      orders of magnitude.

      --
      -I like my women like I like my tea: green-
    2. Re:Radical Leap? by aminorex · · Score: 2, Informative

      Hey space ghost, you forgot to include a big, honking, link to Vivisimo! Do you think anyone could *spell* "Vivisimo" in this hemisphere? Sheesh!

      --
      -I like my women like I like my tea: green-
    3. Re:Radical Leap? by justkarl · · Score: 1

      The results, and the display of the results, do not offer anything truly innovative. That is, innovative enough for people to say "wow!" and switch.

      Let's be fair. Not always does a product have to be innovative to be successful. Most of the time, it just takes a flock of sheep and an agressive marketing plan.

    4. Re:Radical Leap? by dasmegabyte · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I dunno. I think the interface is clean, and I like that the graphics are down the side. Most of the time when I search google, I wind up switching to images.google to see what's up as well. Sometimes I hit up froogle to check prices on things I'm looking for.

      Combining three searches in one easy-to-view interface is the same sort of revolution Google made over AltaVista.

      --
      Hey freaks: now you're ju
    5. Re:Radical Leap? by smallguy78 · · Score: 1

      The dragging the links into the search textbox is a nice way re-search,it has some nice gui features, the bookmarks for one

      --
      Nothing costs nothing
    6. Re:Radical Leap? by DrEldarion · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Vivisimo fails the laziness test - ease of typing.

      Go ahead and try it:

      google.com
      yahoo.com
      a9.com
      vivisimo.com

    7. Re:Radical Leap? by The+Cornishman · · Score: 1

      I'm behind a corporate proxy at the moment, which blocks a Vivisimo search. Is there active content involved, or what? Any insights welcome, please.

    8. Re:Radical Leap? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The clustering is interesting and I think it could be useful, but the actual search is awful. I tried a few search terms and I just didn't get the results I would expect coming out of different engines (google, yahoo). Hell, typing in the name of my blog didn't even turn up in search, even though it comes up as one of the first couple of hits on other engines. The presentation doesn't do any good if it's being fed garbage in the first place.

    9. Re:Radical Leap? by aduthie · · Score: 1

      v, i, v, down arrow, enter. Of course you have to have visited it once for this to work...

    10. Re:Radical Leap? by saddino · · Score: 1

      If you've got a Mac, try running theConcept -- it does clustering via keyword extraction and does auto-citations via search engine data mining on the client side (as opposed to a web-based solution like Vivisimo).

      Disclaimer: Yes, I'm the developer.

    11. Re:Radical Leap? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      vivendi universal has a new search engine? That most certainly is radical.

    12. Re:Radical Leap? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does anybody actually type out things like that anymore? I heard about Vivisimo a while ago and made a quick search entry for it. Granted, that's rather too "sophisticated" for your average users, but don't most users understand what to do when your browser is completing a URL for them? Meh. Anyway, maybe you were just sort of joking.

  7. More info here.... by Chuck+Bucket · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What is Amazon trying to achieve with A9.com? The thing I don't like is that all companies are trying to be all things. Apple is a software/hardware/online music store company, HP sells iPods, MS (and everyone else) is hocking an online music store while the orginal ideals are lost.

    Can't someone just get good at something and then improve on that? Look at what happened to Google.

    CB#

    1. Re:More info here.... by SvendTofte · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Yeah look. They're a great company, with one assert, search. It's obviously clear how they're scrambling to counter the threat from Microsoft, or lest they be snubbed out.

      They're expanding out to community building. This is clear from the unified login you can share between Google groups, and Gmail. Aren't they also doing some friendster like thing? Orkut? They've reached into the OS, via the toolbar, but if it stops there, you can rest assured, Google will be no more in ten years.

      The keyword ... is synergy and convergence ...!

    2. Re:More info here.... by generic-man · · Score: 2, Insightful

      With Google Groups 2, Gmail, and Orkut, Google has proven that they have three distinguishing characteristics in any new marketplace.

      1. People who know JavaScript well.
      2. Server errors.
      3. A legion of fans who brush away the server errors by saying "It's BETA! What do you expect?!"

      A year from now, when My Google and Google Messenger launch, Google will be nothing other than a less graphical, more geeky version of Yahoo!. The Slashdot crowd will tire of the new sell-out "evil" Google and move on to another search engine. I suggest Teoma. It's unpopular, so it must be good.

      --
      For more information, click here.
    3. Re:More info here.... by pointyhairedmba · · Score: 1

      Apple doesn't sell SW/HW/Online music. They sell a lifestyle. Their entire brand is built around it. You're not buying an iPod, iBook, etc from Apple, you're buying an image. MS tries to leverage parts of its solutions into other aread. Think of it like bowling pins. MS "falls" into other pins that leverage what they already have as opposed to Apple's strategy.

  8. Um... scary? by theluckyleper · · Score: 2, Interesting

    A9.com personalizes your search experience by remembering your searches

    Could it possibly do this with cookies? What if you search a lot?

    --
    Visit the Game Programming Wiki!
    1. Re:Um... scary? by Nurgled · · Score: 1

      More likely it tags you with a unique ID and then maps that unique ID on to your searches on the server. I imagine after a while they start dropping entries out of the logs and killing entries for people they've not seen for a while to avoid storing redundant data for people who switched web browsers, got a new PC or whatever.

    2. Re:Um... scary? by tr33limbz · · Score: 1

      they seem to be pushing the download of their search bar. services like notes on your searches (the "diary" function IIRC) are not usable unless you install their searchbar-browser-thingy.

      --
      -end of post.
  9. But A9 doesn't have such a nice ring to it... by Lank · · Score: 5, Interesting

    When I hunt for something on the web, I usually refer to the search as Googling - I almost always use Google to find whatever information I'm looking for. A9 doesn't really work as well. For example:
    Before
    Other student: Hey, cool page - where'd you find it?
    Me: I Googled for it.
    After
    Other student: Hey, cool page - where'd you find it?
    Me: I A9'd for it.

    Yeah, definitely feels wrong...

    --
    Gotta get me one of these!
    1. Re:But A9 doesn't have such a nice ring to it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Maybe A9 should have gone into making steak sauce, instead.

    2. Re:But A9 doesn't have such a nice ring to it... by mirko · · Score: 1

      That's what I am still using Altavista :
      -nice page...
      -I AV'ed it a long time ago :)

      --
      Trolling using another account since 2005.
    3. Re:But A9 doesn't have such a nice ring to it... by savagedome · · Score: 4, Funny

      Me: I A9'd for it.

      I think you meant, "I Googled it on A9"

    4. Re:But A9 doesn't have such a nice ring to it... by Chess_the_cat · · Score: 1

      Which is exactly why Google fought to keep itself out of the dictionary. Once googling becomes a generic term that means "to perform a web search" your friend will not have to say that he A9d for it. He'll say that he googled for it despite the fact that he used a different engine. I'd say we're almost at that point now.

      --
      Support the First Amendment. Read at -1
    5. Re:But A9 doesn't have such a nice ring to it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Is A9'ing the Hex version of 69'ing?

      It converts to one-69 in decimal.

      I know you get ate and ate and ate and ate and ate and ate and ate and ate more. (0xA9 minus 0x69 = eight eights).

      ok it's a geek attempt at sex/hexual humor.

    6. Re:But A9 doesn't have such a nice ring to it... by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

      I know it's OT, but this bugs me every time is see it:

      Support the First Amendment: Read at -1.

      If I'm not the government, this doesn't make any sense.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
    7. Re:But A9 doesn't have such a nice ring to it... by SeanAhern · · Score: 1

      Turn off sigs. /. becomes a lot less annoying that way, at least in my experience.

    8. Re:But A9 doesn't have such a nice ring to it... by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I should, but it's also a much easier way to identify posters.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
    9. Re:But A9 doesn't have such a nice ring to it... by SeanAhern · · Score: 1

      That's true. Though lately I've noticed that I don't care so much about who in particular is saying what. Dunno if that's a good thing, just something I've noticed.

  10. Uphill battle by keiferb · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's going to be tough for anyone to take away Google's share of the search engine market. With all of the neat little side-projects they have going, their fans tend to be quite rabid when it comes to their search engine preference.

    Is Google vs. A9 the next vi vs. emacs?

    1. Re:Uphill battle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's going to be tough for anyone to take away Google's share of the search engine market. With all of the neat little side-projects they have going, their fans tend to be quite rabid when it comes to their search engine preference.

      Most people will switch from google if they find something better. Fanboi'z don't matter.

    2. Re:Uphill battle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Is Google vs. A9 the next vi vs. emacs?

      I would never kill a man for using A9.

    3. Re:Uphill battle by Chess_the_cat · · Score: 2, Interesting
      It's going to be tough for anyone to take away Google's share of the search engine market.

      Tough but not impossible. Remember when you thought the same about Altavista? Yahoo!? Hotbot? Webcrawler? etc. etc. Do you seriously think that Google is the last word in search engines? I'm not saying that A9 is The One but I've been on the web long enough to know that Google will be replaced one day. As it stands now, it'll most likely be Microsoft's offering.

      --
      Support the First Amendment. Read at -1
    4. Re:Uphill battle by SurryMt · · Score: 1

      Is Google vs. A9 the next vi vs. emacs? Don't you mean "emacs vs. vi"?

    5. Re:Uphill battle by bheerssen · · Score: 1


      Hmmm... maybe, but A9 has not yet been shown to actually blow goats.

      --
      (Score: -1, Stupid)
    6. Re:Uphill battle by MyHair · · Score: 1

      It's going to be tough for anyone to take away Google's share of the search engine market.

      Yeah, especially when they use Google for the backend and give part of the ad money to Google (according to summary and other posts; I didn't RTFA).

    7. Re:Uphill battle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, because there are subtle difference between google and a9, whereas emacs pwnz j00, vi!!!111!!!one!1

    8. Re:Uphill battle by burns210 · · Score: 1

      No, because Google, like Vi, is clearly superior. :)

  11. Here's My First A9 Search... by Chaotic+Evil+Cleric · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I just hopped over and searched for Resident Evil 2, and lo and behold, I got anime porn pictures down the right side!

    Yes, Google has just been erased from my memorybanks thanks to this killer feature.

    1. Re:Here's My First A9 Search... by chendo · · Score: 5, Funny

      Damn straight, this IS a killer feature!

      No need to add in the extra "hentai" keyword in the query... A9 automatically adds it in for you!

      I'm soooooooooooooooo ditching google now!

      --
      Founder of Mirror Moon - Tsukihime Game Trans
    2. Re:Here's My First A9 Search... by vadim_t · · Score: 1

      Well, to be fair, Google returns exactly the same pictures if you google for images. It's nothing that can be fixed with an option to hide the images, anyway.

      Now, it may not be groundbreaking, or it may not be better than Google, but the images thing doesn't look like a very big problem to me

    3. Re:Here's My First A9 Search... by jrod2027 · · Score: 2, Funny

      In other words, A9 is NSFW? Nice feature.

    4. Re:Here's My First A9 Search... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Strange, I did a search for Anime Porn and got Resident Evil pictures down the right side.

    5. Re:Here's My First A9 Search... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't see why, since google gives you the exact same images. Not surprising really, since A9 is using google for image searches.

    6. Re:Here's My First A9 Search... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just wait 'till you search on "Veronica Zemanova."

  12. I say we dust off and /. the site from orbit. by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 0


    It's the only way to be sure.

    --
    No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  13. "the color scheme changed" by tod_miller · · Score: 5, Informative

    *shudders*

    I hope someone got shot for that first colour scheme. It was like someone had opened up the back of my monitor and vomitted profusely into the electrode guns, and then unrinated on my retina.

    quite beautiful, and grabs amazon stuff as well as google but:

    it is more useful as a replacement for amazon search than google search

    I would use this instead of amazon search, I can find the amazon product, and cross compare with third party sources.

    I wonder if froogle results will come up for book searches :-) :-)

    search test

    I like thier url format, a search for orwell gives a url http://a9.com/orwell, and the results are nice, with web and images turn on by default.

    Actually this feature alone makes it nice, web results and image results side by side...

    Turning on more of the features makes it busy, and the history feature for your searches is a quirky idea.

    For amazon searches 9/10 (because you are not in amazon)

    For google + images 10/10 because it adds to the experience.

    So I say it is useful.

    --
    #hostfile 0.0.0.0 primidi.com 0.0.0.0 www.primidi.com 0.0.0.0 radio.weblogs.com
    1. Re:"the color scheme changed" by Yer+Mom · · Score: 1
      I hope someone got shot for that first colour scheme. It was like someone had opened up the back of my monitor and vomitted profusely into the electrode guns, and then unrinated on my retina.

      So, just like Slashdot's IT section, then.

      --
      Never mind Spamassassin. When's Spammerassassin coming out?
  14. Amazon Go Beyond Google? by efextra · · Score: 1
    The current list of searches (and their sources) includes:
    The web (Google)
    ...
    Images (Google)

    BusinessWeek asks: Can Amazon Go Beyond Google?

    Not piggybacking on Google!
  15. Privacy policy by theluckyleper · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Hm... the privacy policy says they won't share user data with 3rd parties, but they do store it, and will share it with subsidiaries like Amazon.com.

    On generic.A9.com, we will not recognize your Amazon.com cookie

    So, on regular A9.com they will recognize your Amazon.com cookie? Nice! So now they can link your purchase history and your search history.

    Hm, I don't really know why this is bothering me so much. It's early, and my tinfoil hat kept poking me in the head as I slept last night, I think.

    --
    Visit the Game Programming Wiki!
    1. Re:Privacy policy by lukewarmfusion · · Score: 2, Funny

      "It's early, and my tinfoil hat kept poking me in the head as I slept last night, I think."

      You sleep wearing your tinfoil hat? I find that a tinfoil nightcap works well. I also use a tinfoil blanket on my bed, so when it gets cold I can just pull that up over my head and sleep well knowing that I'll be warm and my thoughts protected.

    2. Re:Privacy policy by Mr+Guy · · Score: 5, Funny
      I don't really know why this is bothering me so much

      I'll tell you exactly why. Let me paint a picture for you. Your significant other comes into the room behind you and says, theluckyleper, it's my mother's birthday next week. Let's order her something from Amazon.com. So you pull up the page, and based on your search history, it says:

      Welcome theluckyleper, (If you aren't theluckyleper, click here)

      Theluckyleper, based on your searches and purchasing history, we recommend the following for you:
    3. Re:Privacy policy by slashrogue · · Score: 1

      It definitely does. I clicked over to A9 from the link and it said "Hello [my name]. Click here if this is not you." When I've never been to the site before, but I do have an Amazon cookie sitting around.

    4. Re:Privacy policy by davidsyes · · Score: 1

      Whew, I thought is was:

      "Inside the Testicle" and
      "DVD: The Uranus Projection"

      WHEW!

      --
      Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
    5. Re:Privacy policy by CmdrTHAC0 · · Score: 1
      So, on regular A9.com they will recognize your Amazon.com cookie? ... Hm, I don't really know why this is bothering me so much.

      Maybe because a9.com theoretically shouldn't be able to read amazon.com cookies?

      I don't know the exact mechanism behind a9, but with my fascist cookie policies, I have noticed that disabling third party cookies does nothing against third party cookies from iframes or JavaScript. They could be using some variant on that.

      --
      __CmdrTHAC0__
      In Soviet Russia, Spanish Inquisition doesn't expect YOU!!
    6. Re:Privacy policy by maggotbrain_777 · · Score: 1
      Well, if you perform a search on the term "Internet Security" in A9, the first image to be returned is that of someone placing a condom onto the RJ-45 jack of an Ethernet cable:

      Illustrated Guide to Safe Browsing

      So, it seems that Amazon would really hope that your experiences on the Internet are safe ones.

    7. Re:Privacy policy by FurryFeet · · Score: 1

      ...and my thoughts protected.

      You know, I wouldn't worry too much. Really.

    8. Re:Privacy policy by smc13 · · Score: 1

      I guess the reason I am not scared is that I don't search for things that I would be embarressed if others knew what I searched for. If someone looks over my shoulder at my amazon page they will see I am a pretty boring person without any debbie does transvestite comming out dan fetishes.

    9. Re:Privacy policy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This scares you for the same reasons Google should scare you.

      Consider: Google drops a long-term search cookie on your machine. You have your gmail account. You have your Orkut friends network. Google can data-mine to find out who you e-mail and if keywords from those e-mails (based on aggregate ad placement) correlate at all to what you search on. In the longer term, if your e-mails defy ad tie-in, they could conceivably drop ads based on search history.

    10. Re:Privacy policy by webvictim · · Score: 1

      Permission to be a pedant? It's actually an RJ11 jack, and it's a modem cable.

      Geeks 1, Noobs 0 :)

      --
      When did I realise I was God? Well, I was praying and I suddenly realised I was talking to myself.
    11. Re:Privacy policy by maggotbrain_777 · · Score: 1

      And I can't believe it took almost seven hours for one of you pedants to raise your head our of your hidey-hole to take the bait....I guess one need to be patient while hunting you critters.

  16. Results open in new windows - yuck! by Random+BedHead+Ed · · Score: 3, Informative

    Looks like Amazon stuck a tarket="blank" attribute in each of their search result links to conveniently open up new a window when you click on a result. This will be great for idiots who would otherwise be confused by the extremely complicated "click-on-a-link-and-go-elsewhere" concept.

    For people who have used the this new-fangled World Wide Web device before this morning, it is a pain in the butt.

    As a control freak my personal take is this: Abandon Search Engine. I'll stick with Google until Amazon realizes that if I want a new window I'll open it from a context menu myself (better yet, I'll open a new tab). I like to control my browser window, thank you very much.

    1. Re:Results open in new windows - yuck! by pcardno · · Score: 1

      Or you could just use Firefox and right click on the result and select "Open in new Tab", which negates the "target='_blank'" attribute...

      That's what I always do, anyway!

      --
      --- Band: Joey Ultra
    2. Re:Results open in new windows - yuck! by MikeDX · · Score: 2, Informative

      Or you could just use firefox and press the middle button (or depress the mousewheel in) and it will open in a new tab.

    3. Re:Results open in new windows - yuck! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      Or you could edit your preferences.

      It claims that "open in same window" is the default setting. So, did you configure it to open in new windows and you just forgot?

    4. Re:Results open in new windows - yuck! by blindcoder · · Score: 2, Informative

      or you could just use mozilla, go to about:config and set
      browser.block.target_new_window
      to true to suppress any target= parameter
      or you can set
      browser.tabs.opentabfor.windowopen
      to true to always open new targets in new tabs.

      have fun

      --
      See my blog for my free opinions.
    5. Re:Results open in new windows - yuck! by Random+BedHead+Ed · · Score: 1

      No, it did it that way by default. Odd. Nice to see that they have preferences.

    6. Re:Results open in new windows - yuck! by 241comp · · Score: 2, Informative

      Or you could simply click on Prefs and ensure that the following radio box is checked:

      Open results in:
      Same window (default)

    7. Re:Results open in new windows - yuck! by cpghost · · Score: 1

      Or you could install the "Single Window" extension of Firefox.

      --
      cpghost at Cordula's Web.
    8. Re:Results open in new windows - yuck! by Frizzle+Fry · · Score: 1

      Is there a setting to make Firefox automatically open any link with target=_blank (or that otherwise would open in a new window) in a new tab? I know I could middle click, but that isn't helpful when I didn't know the link was going to open a new window (and left-clicked expecting to just navigate the current tab).

      --
      I'd rather be lucky than good.
    9. Re:Results open in new windows - yuck! by Frizzle+Fry · · Score: 1

      Ignore parent, I see that someone below said that it's browser.tabs.opentabfor.windowopen. But I tried that and it didn't work. I'll go reply to the post suggesting this, so ignore this. Sorry.

      --
      I'd rather be lucky than good.
    10. Re:Results open in new windows - yuck! by Frizzle+Fry · · Score: 1

      I tried setting browser.tabs.opentabfor.windowopen to true, and links are still opening in a new window. For example, the links on fark to the individual new stories (which use target=_blank) are still opening new windows rather than new tabs. Any idea why? I'm running Firefox 0.9.3. Does this setting work in Firefox as well as Mozilla?

      --
      I'd rather be lucky than good.
  17. nice and clean by PerlDudeXL · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I never heard about a9.com before I found the /. story. I tried it and it has a clean interface
    and the results are displayed in a non-bloated
    layout. Its good that someone tries to integrate
    Google and other Search engines into a single
    interface. It has been tried before, but this looks
    different. I think I'll continue to use it.

  18. Mozilla Firefox plug in for A9.com by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
  19. GAHHH by theridersofrohan · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Search for "hello" in the a9.com engine (click here if you are lazy) and check out one particular picture in the first column on the right of the page.


    Note it's definitely NOT safe for work. Gahhhhh

    1. Re:GAHHH by nkh · · Score: 1

      How dare you say Edika is not safe for work? You definitely should read all his comics (if it's been translated...)

    2. Re:GAHHH by theridersofrohan · · Score: 1
      It's not the comics i'm complaining about! I'm getting the goatse.cx guy! 1st column, 4th row!


      I guess that's one way to say hello

    3. Re:GAHHH by MikeDX · · Score: 2, Funny

      There must be a preference setting somewhere that says "show me the porn and sick stuff" because so far the two links (resident evil and hello) havent showed me either anime porn or our great goat leader....

    4. Re:GAHHH by moonbender · · Score: 1

      I'm not getting that. I'm afrait it must be you. ;)

      --
      Switch back to Slashdot's D1 system.
    5. Re:GAHHH by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ROFL! Yes, this is definitely tarnish Amazon's image. I think most common computer using people who use Google don't use the image search feature a whole lot, and therefore never know that this stuff turns up in the results if you have your image preferences to remove adult content turned off. Looks like Amazon forgot to turn that off by default, and I foresee many angry parents in the future. LOL!

      P.S. I didn't get the goatse guy, but I did get some cartoon of this chick with a dick. *THAT* was just as disturbing!

    6. Re:GAHHH by grouse · · Score: 1

      There's definitely no SFW filter--try searching for goatse.

    7. Re:GAHHH by a_ghostwheel · · Score: 1

      It's just that A9 attunes itself to the user preferences based on previous searches and extensive data collected on the user by Amazon and associates - you get what you wish :)

    8. Re:GAHHH by theridersofrohan · · Score: 1
      There must be a preference setting somewhere that says "show me the porn and sick stuff" because so far the two links (resident evil and hello) havent showed me either anime porn or our great goat leader....


      As the images are provided by images.google.com, it could be that I've turned off the "adult" filter on images.google.com (which I have) and you haven't ;-)

    9. Re:GAHHH by Prince+Vegeta+SSJ4 · · Score: 1
      (click here if you are lazy)

      you haven't been here before have you?

      :)

    10. Re:GAHHH by MyHair · · Score: 1

      Wow, it's been a while since somebody got mod'ed +5 for a goatse link. Congrats.

      (Didn't click on it, but I know the goatse guy's picture was hello.jpg.)

    11. Re:GAHHH by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do a Google image search for 'asdf'...

      NSFW

    12. Re:GAHHH by Theaetetus · · Score: 1

      How about "string"? Programming strings, yarn, etc.? Nope, g-strings and thongs. It's funny that the text links on the left have nothing to do with the photos on the right.

    13. Re:GAHHH by MyHair · · Score: 1

      I'm at work, so I won't try it, but Google does have an option somewhere to block objectionable content. I once posted a Google search for tubgirl as a joke because all I saw were family baby pictures of kids in tubs, but I got modded into oblivion; I didn't understand why until I stumbled across the objectionable content setting some time later. Oops.

      Ah, found the setting again on Google's preferences page. (Seems to have a language specified in my link...the preferences link is just to the right of the search text input on Google.)

      Totaly off topic: Just went from Firefox 0.8 to Firefox 0.9.3 (via uninstall / install) on a 266MHz Win2k laptop, and typing text in this box is v-e-r-y s-l-o-w and pegs the CPU usage. What gives? Did a Google search yesterday and didn't find similar issues.

    14. Re:GAHHH by chickygrrl · · Score: 1

      I can't verify it from here at work, but that could be my fault.

      Back in '01, when I was fired from a very large bank due to some of my website's content, upper management was fond of frequently hitting my homepage's archives to make sure that I was behaving myself and that I wasn't posting any sort of confidential bank crap. After about a week of them doing this 50-100 times a day, I changed the page to simply say something like "Don't you suits have something better to do than surf for porn?" right under the goatse.cx guy (which I'd named "hello.jpg"). The hits stopped that day :)

    15. Re:GAHHH by Gopal.V · · Score: 1

      You mean this > ?. (Definitely not safe for work, especially if you work in a Windows shop).

  20. Well, they don't need to by empaler · · Score: 1

    It's using Google for web searches, so the sharks don't need to worry about a new engine...

    As for the advertising, try searching for a book title or your favourite movie...

  21. Do not turn off safe search! may contain goatse.cx by vip223 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Just tried it out and, not liking to be limited by someone elses ideas of what constitues a "safe" result, I turned off Safe Search. Of course, in regular google, this would not pose a problem... you simply don't click on the links you don't believe are particularly savoury.

    However, in a9, by default it shows images related to the search. I searched for the term hello. What do you thing I saw? A nice (gaping) thumbnail of goatse.cx.

    Everytime I see that pit of despair, I swear that is the last fucking time i'll ever have to see that image, It still manages to pop up.

  22. Doesn't look right for "new technology" by CypherXero · · Score: 0

    "Search results enhanced by Google." Yeah, their new technology is to feed off of everyone eles hard work.

  23. Amazon's site search by malarkey · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I would prefer Amazon to work on the search of their own site before moving to the web. If you could filter results like ebay does, things would be so much easier to find.

    Also, the search in amazon.com doesn't bring up most likely results. If I search for the name of a song, I get all cd's with songs with those words in it alphabetically. Searching under "song title" for unforgettable gets me 662 results, starting with "The Unforgettable Year 1919', Op. 89: The Assault On Beautiful Gorky"

    1. Re:Amazon's site search by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I get all cd's with songs with those words in it alphabetically. Searching under "song title" for unforgettable gets me 662 results, starting with "The Unforgettable Year 1919', Op. 89: The Assault On Beautiful Gorky"

      Uhh... if they're sorted alphabetically, how can that possibly be the first result for such a popular word?

  24. Perhaps I'm stupid but... by Kokuyo · · Score: 1

    I still don't see what exactely is so new and great about this thing. Did I miss something or is it still just another search engine? What does it do that others don't? Well, except combining results of other engines, as far as I understood it. Is that such a great thing?

  25. BAD by ronnieroller · · Score: 1, Redundant

    I did a search and had porn pics display on the right side of the page :-/ and i am at work! Thats not good at all!

    1. Re:BAD by afd8856 · · Score: 1

      Reading slashdot at work? Not good at all...

      --
      I'll do the stupid thing first and then you shy people follow...
    2. Re:BAD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Blame google :)

  26. Udi Manber link by kbahey · · Score: 1

    The page linked to from Web 2.0 does not say that he works for Amazon.

    Here is a page by him that says so.

  27. Slashdotted? by MattW · · Score: 1

    A9 is slow. If your search engine can be slashdotted, it isn't ready for prime time. Better put the beta label back on.

  28. Bah! Why bother? by mankey+wanker · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Nothing I can't get via Google or Dogpile or any number of other search engines. Google is still champ for the clean interface with simple tabbed options.

    And I really hate the Amazon tie-in with the cookie tracking my name, search history and etc. That's too creepy for ordinary searching. The last thing I need to know at a later time is some of the weird meaningless shit I sometimes look up on the web. If I need to know where I've been I have my own browser history I can look back through.

    1. Re:Bah! Why bother? by cpghost · · Score: 1

      And I really hate the Amazon tie-in with the cookie tracking my name, search history and etc.

      Google is also tracking users with a cookie. They just don't tie that cookie to a real id.

      --
      cpghost at Cordula's Web.
  29. MOD PARENT FUNNY by theluckyleper · · Score: 3, Funny

    OMG, I took my tinfoil hat off for one second, and you managed to read my mind?

    Time to invest in that tinfoil skull plating...

    --
    Visit the Game Programming Wiki!
    1. Re:MOD PARENT FUNNY by Theaetetus · · Score: 1
      Heh... And here, I thought we were supposed to consider it "informative"... you sicko, you.

  30. images by smallguy78 · · Score: 1

    I was just about to launch a large rant about the images being an msn-like ripoff of google, until I read:

    Images (provided by Google)

    --
    Nothing costs nothing
  31. Same as google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I tried typing the keywords for my site and the search results are EXACTLY the same as google.

    This just seems to be grabbing the image and paid for adverts from google and putting them all together (along with a healthy dose of spying)

  32. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  33. Geared to IE by mdeb · · Score: 1

    Tried to create a bookmark with Opera as the browser. It wouldn't let me click and drag the bookmark to the folder I'd created. Worked ok in IE, though.

    1. Re:Geared to IE by boysimple · · Score: 1

      It worked for me in Safari if I dragged the link to the 'Bookmarks' button all the way on the right. So there's some non IE functionality.

      --
      My life is dedicated hosting
  34. ahem google competitor? by linuxislandsucks · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Come on folks read the freakign fine print..

    Google is an investor in a9..

    and even google results are supplied to a9 by license with google..

    boy did Business week goof up huh?

    --
    Don't Tread on OpenSource
  35. Some bugs ;] by gt25500 · · Score: 1

    "Hello . Click here if this is not you"

    if (loggedIn) {
    ....
    }
    .
    .
    .

    --
    _________ Help me get a PSP!
  36. Thank God we finally got a link to Google! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've been looking and looking...

  37. GuruNet?!? Why not Wikipedia? by jbwiv · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I've searched through the *for profit* GuruNet service, and I'm not really that impressed. As a long time user of Wikipedia, I have all the information there at my finger tips. Try a few searches on GuruNet and then do an equivalent on Wikipedia...I have yet to find a topic where Wikipedia doesn't blow GuruNet's information out of the water.

    It's a shame companies like Amazon don't embrace open, community supported services like Wikipedia for tools like A9. I would be much more likely to use A9 if they did...as it stands, it's just added, wasted effort.

  38. well by sosuke · · Score: 0

    after trying it out for a while i am just not able to justify a change, a9 goes for to much convergence, and its not a search engine, its an interface for multiple search engines and should be treated like that google is the king long live the king

  39. Uh, I'm at work... by zev1983 · · Score: 1

    ...and am I the only one that clicked on the search for 'hello' and got pictures of naked women and a man bent over gaping his asshole at the camera in the pictures column?

    1. Re:Uh, I'm at work... by The+Cornishman · · Score: 1

      You're new here, then? Try googling for 'goatse troll' for an explanation of this curious slashdot social phenomenon. Do it carefully.

  40. What hype? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just wondering...

  41. vivisimo -- not convinced by mattdm · · Score: 4, Informative

    What is much
    better than Google, however, is Vivisimo. The
    search results are topically organized via
    clustering, making them easier to navigate by
    orders of magnitude.


    I'm not convinced -- it doesn't seem to work well with anything I search for. It simply produces a list of vaguely relevant and vaguely irrelevant groups on the side. The only time I can see this being useful is when you search for words which are actually homonyms (or homographs, at least) -- but that's not actually incredibly common, and can be resolved easily by adding a second term to clarify.

    1. Re:vivisimo -- not convinced by An+Onerous+Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I kind of liked it. I did a search on myself, and it created several groups, one of which was all about me, and one of which was about my evil, hockey-playing Google-nemesis.

      I've been plotting and scheming for years about how to take back the crown from that bastard.

      --

      You want the truthiness? You can't handle the truthiness!

    2. Re:vivisimo -- not convinced by Bob+Uhl · · Score: 1

      You too? My hockey-related Google-hate is that my last name is the same as a hockey league's initials. Grrr...

    3. Re:vivisimo -- not convinced by gordo3000 · · Score: 1

      I have to agree with this, I just tried what I thought would be the easiest thing to search and come up with my response at number one, Hello World. If you don't know the project, it comes up number 1 on a google search but for some reason vivismo sees fit to hit me with adds for different websites before getting to the actual web page. Yes I find it a big deal to add 4 or 5 links to the top of a search only for advertising. I like to find my website in the first few options that pop up, at least the first page. If a large part of the first page is dedicated to that kind of stuff, then it makes my searches take longer. It just isn't as efficient, and frankly, I don't use search engines for anything but searching out a single thing. Though the topics have a niceness to them. I think google was designed with a dial up connection in mind and still is that(extremely low badwidth needs). The topics would probably allow me to parse searches faster for linux questions, but even that isn't guaranteed as I usually have my question answered in the first page of links on google. And as I said before, I see no reason to switch if it just takes more clicks to get where I want to go.

  42. Search for ipv6 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you search for "ipv6" you'll end up getting a picture of some old guy wanking himself!

  43. Re:Not hit hard... yet.....Well, I could'a... by davidsyes · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    'Had a V8'...

    --
    Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
  44. Not really search...technically marketed wrong by myrashka · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Clearly, a9.com isn't a new search engine - there's absolutely no improvement to the actual search algorithm - or so it seems (especially since it leeches off the search results of other engines). Perhaps the search of a new source of data (your history of searches) is novel - but even then, probably only marginally.

    Where I do see the possible value in the site is the "new features" (and I'll use the term "new" very loosely) for managing information - the information in this case being search results/bookmarks - and recording/managing trains of thought. Sorta like a lab book for a research scientist, here's a tool that allows you to perform the searches you search every day through say Google, but also record the sites you've visted during your searches, perhaps write a small entry about why you visited there and the relative value to the item you were searching for, and then to retrieve those thoughts later when you perform a related search (and perhaps find you had a related search you had forgotten about).

    As many have pointed out, this concept isn't necessarily new and I'm not sure that A9's method is the right approach (too early to really tell...). Examples of more likely competitors would be: Onfolio (albeit, not directly in search - but similar enough in terms of "managing internet research"); Endeca - they call their concept "guided search" - part of which is the ability to search in the context of past searches; or even iKeepBookmarks.com (never used it, just googled for something similar;) which allows you to manage your bookmarks centrally online. Amazon's "unique" approach here is to do the management with search results, but all the same, it's just an info management tool.

    So, given that Amazon has one of the largest databases of consumer information (both individual and aggregate trends, habits, etc) and they've never really ruled out being a company who will use that info to their advantage, I'm a bit concerned about A9's storage of my trains of thought and searches...and since they plainly say in their privacy agreement that "customer information will of course be one of the transferred assets" in the unlikley (their words) event that they sell the company. Ok, so Amazon sells the company to a marketing company who then uses the info to innudate you with advertisements in multiple forms (there doesn't seem to be anything limiting them from sending you email or contacting you via other means if you provide them with the info).

    Taking away any problems with a big company warehousing your data (and personal trains of thought), the idea is intriguing - but I don't need yet another tool for managing my information in a narrow niche way (I already have too many of those). If it integrated with a tool I already use for managing info I gather (say, like my private database of links - or my file system even) - then it might be cool. Otherwise, I save my links (and my lab books) pretty effectively already - and without the targeted advertising.

    My 2 cents.

    1. Re:Not really search...technically marketed wrong by myrashka · · Score: 1


      Here's another possible competitor - logo is very google looking too (picked it up in another article here on slashdot): Simpy.
      I'm sure there are plenty of other useful similar tools, but thought I'd just keep adding to the case.

  45. INFORMATION COLLECTED AND STORED by helraiz · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here's a part of the agreement for the toolbar and it is possible that information is collected even if you are not using it. Me being an amazon.com customer, I see my full name printed at the rcorner when I went to A9.com for the first time. People blasted DoubleClick once for profiling people's online habbits and merging it with personal identifiable information. This is what Amazon is doing right now. Personally I don't care if they use this information to target "relevant" ads, but there's always a chance of it being missused.

    INFORMATION COLLECTED AND STORED BY A9.COM'S TOOLBAR SERVICE

    A9.COM'S TOOLBAR SERVICE COLLECTS AND STORES FULL UNIFORM RESOURCE LOCATORS ("URLS") FOR EVERY WEB PAGE THAT YOU VIEW WHILE USING THE A9.COM TOOLBAR SERVICE. THESE URLS SOMETIMES INCLUDE PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION. URLS FROM SECURE (HTTPS) WEB PAGES ARE NOT COLLECTED. BY COLLECTING URLS, A9.COM TRACKS AND COLLECTS A RECORD OF USERS' WEB BROWSING ACTIVITY WITHIN AND ACROSS WEBSITES. A9.COM ALSO COLLECTS AND STORES OTHER USER INFORMATION YOU GIVE A9.COM WHEN YOU DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL THE SOFTWARE AND INFORMATION YOU ENTER INTO THE TOOLBAR SERVICE. BECAUSE A9.COM IS A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF AMAZON.COM, INC., A9.COM IS ABLE TO CORRELATE INFORMATION IT COLLECTS WITH PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION THAT AMAZON.COM HAS, AND AMAZON.COM HAS ACCESS TO INFORMATION COLLECTED BY A9.COM. AMONG OTHER THINGS, A9.COM AND AMAZON.COM USE THIS INFORMATION TO CUSTOMIZE, PERSONALIZE, AND OTHERWISE IMPROVE THE SERVICES THEY PROVIDE TO YOU.

    1. Re:INFORMATION COLLECTED AND STORED by wiggling · · Score: 1
      Block the cookies and use the remove redirects bookmarklet from Jesse's Bookmarklet Site. There are some really great tools there -- my toolbar is full of them.

      Option just not to use A9, though I've still to see if there's anything really innovative there. The "remove redirects" bookmarklet, BTW, can be used on Google's images search results so that you just go straight to the page and not to Google's framing of it.

    2. Re:INFORMATION COLLECTED AND STORED by Karma+Star · · Score: 1
      --
      Me email iz skyewalkerluke at microsoft's free email service.
    3. Re:INFORMATION COLLECTED AND STORED by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      If only EULA lawyers would learn the tolower() function...

    4. Re:INFORMATION COLLECTED AND STORED by Jonny+Ringo · · Score: 0

      Can't you just log out and browse??

  46. Alexa search results = Niiice! by JAgostoni · · Score: 5, Funny

    So I decided to search for "Alexa" since the web search results were "enhanced" by Google and Alexa. Along side the search results were the image results. A naked "Alexa" appears as the first results.

    This is a damn good search engine for that reason only (ha). Good thing I was at work, though...

  47. Re:Is this even legal? by edbarrett · · Score: 1
    Anyone else think A9 is just diverting requests to Google and reformatting the results?

    Only those of us who read the article. Or any of the links in the article.

    Who posted this informative?

  48. Re:Is this even legal? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A9 is licensing their search facilities from Google. This is well known; in fact, it's been reported in just about every news article on A9, including those linked in this story.

    In other words, RTFA.

  49. Search innovations good by brunes69 · · Score: 1

    I always like to see new innovations in the search market.

    A new beta engine funded by Mark Cuban called IceRocket is extremely promising to me. They have some neat ideas, like showing an image preview of the search reuslt, and the ability to load the first X bytes of the page in an IFRAME to see if it is really what you want before you havigate away.

    They also have a cool "people-search" feature that searches all the hot-Or-Not type sites.

    It is also extremely fast - though that is likely because no one uses it yet. Check it out - http://www.icerocket.com

  50. Mod -1, misinformed by brunes69 · · Score: 0, Redundant
    A9 is powered by Google for it's web search, IMDB for it's movie search, etc etc. The only search they are actually running themselves is their "In The book" search, and I don't see how any spammer could affect that search.

  51. Re:Is this even legal? by Tazzy531 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Is it legal? Yes it is considering Amazon is paying licensing fees to Google
    Anyone else think A9 is just diverting requests to Google and reformatting the results? Yes, that's EXACTLY what it does
    This isn't A9 vs Google, this is Google vs Google+AmazonAds. Wonder who's gonna win ... Those are Google AdClicks. So Google makes money from you viewing those ads on Amazon. In addition, Google is a major investor in A9. So basically Amazon is doing all the grunt work and Google is raking in the financial benefits.
    I would say, RTA(rticle)!

    --


    _______________________________
    "I'm not Conceited...I'm just a realist..."
  52. Minor UI gripe by .com+b4+.storm · · Score: 4, Interesting

    A9 hijacks the functionality of clicking and dragging a link - it does this in such a way that the link can't be dragged out of the window. So, I can't drag links from the search results and drop them into a specific bookmarks folder, or someplace on my desktop, or onto the tab bar of a browsing window.

    --
    "Wow, you're like some kind of superhero able to ward off happiness and success at every turn."
    -- Ryan Stiles
  53. ACK by boschmorden · · Score: 1

    just tried to access this with firefox and it spit out raw html with javascript to me, blah.

  54. What fun, but by s-meister · · Score: 3, Interesting
    When I try to use the A9 engine I get warned by some "Finjan Vital Security" software I never knew we had at work, that the site is blocked.

    Access to http://a9.com/test was blocked.

    Forbidden virus (Trojan horse) 'JS/Exploit-DDay' was detected.

    Amusing this, because the info I finally found about this DDay is that it only affects IE, and I was using Firebird...I would upgrade to Firefox but every time I've tried to do so it fails to authenticate through our firewall so I stick to what works.

  55. Better than Google but needs work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's built on top of other search engines and works as good as the underlaying technology does. As some other poster pointed out, no big improvement on the UI side may have people look at this puppy as another Yahoo wannabe. I think building new concepts on existing technologies like google can work pretty well. I use groxis (www.groxis.com) and I encourage other people to check it out too.

  56. for those who can't find the first 10 digit prime by robdeadtech · · Score: 1

    found in consecutive digits of e.com...

    A9 is hiring.

    check the jobs page if you're looking for employment.

    They're looking for
    * Software Development Engineers
    * Client Software Engineers
    * Operational Excellence Engineers
    * Systems Engineers
    * Quality Assurance Engineers
    * Help Desk Support Engineer

    You can apply here

    see you in the interviews,

    --
    Heil Sig! -Rob
  57. holy crap by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

    So I decided to search for "Alexa" since the web search results were "enhanced" by Google and Alexa. Along side the search results were the image results. A naked "Alexa" appears as the first results.

    Of course, I tried this, um for research purposes only.

    This is the freakin' default! Aggh! (I was at work too ...).

  58. Nothing to see by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

    Move along, nothing to see here.... Except those umm, pictures, ummm on the right side. Oops.

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  59. Re:for those who can't find the first 10 digit pri by borgheron · · Score: 1

    I don't work for companies that file for stupid patents such as one-click.

    GJC

    --
    Gregory Casamento
    ## Chief Maintainer for GNUstep
  60. It finds my page! by themoodykid · · Score: 1

    Google just started to find my page properly yesterday and today A9.com found it right away. Not bad as far as I'm concerned with this non-scientific, totally-biased test.

    1. Re:It finds my page! by One+Childish+N00b · · Score: 1

      Well if you'd have tried A9 before yesterday, it wouldn't have found it either, then. A9 just parses Google's results and splashes Amazon ads everywhere.

      To Amazon: I'll stick to the real deal, thanks. Get your own damn search engine.

      --
      Dealing with lawyers would be a lot less tedious if they all looked like Casey Novak.
  61. Re:GuruNet?!? Why not Wikipedia? by afd8856 · · Score: 1

    I wouldn't want wikipedia to be so "out in the open". Think about all the effort it would require to correct the damages done by the crowds of vandals that normal web trafic generates.

    --
    I'll do the stupid thing first and then you shy people follow...
  62. Two Character Domain Name by donnyspi · · Score: 1

    How'd they get a 2 char domain name? They must have registered A9.com years ago.

    1. Re:Two Character Domain Name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Domain Name: A9.COM
      Registrar: ENOM, INC.
      Whois Server: whois.enom.com
      Referral URL: http://www.enom.com
      Name Server: NS-1.AMAZON.COM
      Name Server: NS-2.AMAZON.COM
      Name Server: NS-3.AMAZON.COM
      Status: REGISTRAR-LOCK
      Updated Date: 31-mar-2004
      Creation Date: 07-sep-1999
      Expiration Date: 07-sep-2008

  63. Any why not ebay? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It would be cool to integrate an ebay search in there as well. I guess Amazon might not like people running off and buying stuff from ebay instead of them, but it would be cool from a user's perspective.

  64. By God, It Works! by Mixel · · Score: 3, Funny

    Check out the first image result for Microsoft! Seriously though, I am pleasantly surprised at how good the search engine is performing.

    1. Re:By God, It Works! by Mixel · · Score: 1

      Even if it just duplicates the Google results :/

    2. Re:By God, It Works! by ChuckSchwab · · Score: 0

      I don't follow, what's funny about that?

    3. Re:By God, It Works! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some foreign legal-looking document? I don't get it, what's so funny about that?

  65. Usefull but Ugly by logicnazi · · Score: 1

    First of all I note that most of the people posting here don't seem to have bothered to read the description on A9. This isn't a competitor to google, they are liscensing the google search for the web. It is just a front end slapped on top of google.

    On the other hand the book search is incredibly convienient. Especially when looking for serious references (math or philosophy) the book search being right there on a tab is pretty nifty.

    However, the interface is just plain ugly. Faded blue?? Maybe I can change this in the settings, I will go see.

    --

    If you liked this thought maybe you would find my blog nice too:

  66. well, Dowser does that.... by aristus · · Score: 1

    (disclaimer: I help develop this program) Dowser Web Search. It runs on your local machine and keeps a record of searches, pages clicked, the contents of the page, grouping, page history, etc. It also auto-summarizes. We're going to release a Beta in a few days.

    --
    Sometimes seventeen/Syllables aren't enough to/Express a complete
  67. Movies provided by IMDB = Amazon by Spuffin · · Score: 1

    Movies (provided by IMDB)

    Actually IMDB is an Amazon.com company, so in a sense they are providing themselves with movies.
    History of IMDB.

  68. UI great for people searches by superflippy · · Score: 1

    What impresses me about A9 is the interface design that puts the image search in the right sidebar next to the regular search. It helps narrow searches quickly, especially if you're searching for a person. When I type in my maiden name, I get a picture of myself in the sidebar. Anyone looking for me under that name would be able to find me immediately and cut through all the clutter of the genealogy sites.

    --
    Your fantasies contain the seeds of important concepts.
  69. A plugin seems like overkill for this... by Hortensia+Patel · · Score: 1

    Why not just set it up as a Quick Search bookmark? Map it to keyword "a" or something, then just type "a mysearchterm" in the URL bar. YMMV, but I love this UI and find it far more usable than the "official" search UI, which is ludicrously small, clunky if you want to change engine and doesn't get the focus when you open a new tab.

  70. fellatio by t_parker16 · · Score: 1

    interesting. so if i search fellatio on a9.com i get a sponsored link (ebay) that i don't get from google. does this mean that a9 has its own set of sponsors?

  71. Re:Is this even legal? by merdaccia · · Score: 1

    I can't believe I missed that, I think I read the wrong article! :) Sorry, wish I could mod myself redundant now. And yes, whoever modded me insightful must have been reading the wrong one too :) Apologies.

    --

    *blinking cursor*

  72. Missing the point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Seems like a lot of posters are missing the point of A9. It IS Google isn't it? Just with a different UI.

    In my opinion, it is a pretty good aggregation of several different proven (popular, powerful, etc.) search tools. Don't really see what's wrong with that at all.

  73. Re:Is this even legal? by burns210 · · Score: 1

    A9 uses Google for Web and Image searches... It does add some Amazon links in the web results, but not always.

  74. Not Up To Snuff by J2000_ca · · Score: 1

    Doesn't turn up as many hits for my site as google and is much uglier. I would say it still needs a lot of work.

  75. Really FUCKING slick by danila · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yeah, it sure is slick, at 92 kilobytes... In comparision, Google main page is only 9 kilobytes, of which 8 kilobytes is the logo. Result pages are upwards from 100 kilobytes. This includes bloated table-based design, some ugly javascript hacks of undeterminable usefulness, sign in for a search engine instead of anonymous cookies and a fucking diary!

    While A9 may not win any bloat contests among search engines, calling it "slick" is a bit of a misnomer.

    When I am in the mood for some indie searching, I'd rather use Vivisimo, Teoma or All the Web.

    P.S. A9 may be great and all, but at 100KB per page I am not using it.

    --
    Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.
    1. Re:Really FUCKING slick by irc.goatse.cx+troll · · Score: 1

      $time wget http://a9.com/?nocookie=2
      edited for lameness
      real 0.263 user 0.006 sys 0.008 pcpu 5.32

      $time wget http://google.com/
      edited for more lameness
      real 0.290 user 0.008 sys 0.004 pcpu 4.14

      Whats your point? Can you not wait the 0.03 seconds?

      Lameness filter encountered. Post aborted!
      Reason: Please use fewer 'junk' characters.
      random gnaa chat to avoid filter still.. wow thats sensitive.
      rolloffle. ctrl-w pwns me again
      Jesusbird. Oh shit, nearly sundown
      Jesusbird. So Jews, what are your New Year's Resolutions?
      lpinesawl. sup wink
      Jesusbird. If you plan on going to a synagogue this evening then you should probably be aware that most of them will be bombed by GNAA members.
      lpinesawl. lol

      --
      Pain lasts, kid. Its how you know you're alive. Sometimes I think this growing up thing is just pain management-TheMaxx
    2. Re:Really FUCKING slick by Roark+Meets+Dent · · Score: 1

      Not to mention they keep an online record of everything you ever search for. No fucking thanks, and no I won't sign up for your implantable microchip pilot project either, Amazon.

  76. Real future of search by danila · · Score: 1

    Google Browser allows you to see at a glance clusters of sites that are "related" according to Google. If someone can make a similar display for search queries, not sites, using the same Google API, that would be a killer app. The best thing is that it could be naturally extended using a number of independent plugins.

    --
    Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.
  77. This will destroy an semblance of IP rights by ChuckSchwab · · Score: 0

    Now that this system is out, anyone can put together the text of an entire book just by searching for quotations. (From any point an the book, find the surrounding text by re-searching for the text at the end of the excerpt.) And once that happens it will be legally possible to pirate a book, at least if you have a team working on it. Then the team could just flood the p2p networks with their legally-gotten gains and then there'd be no point for anyone to buy the book!

    Then we're back to square one, with zero intellectual property rights. Why should anyone produce any great literature if others are just going to be able to get it for free? What's the incentive?

    This is a full-frontal assault on IP rights, and on culture for that matter.

  78. I don't know... by Gordonjcp · · Score: 1

    What puts me off it is that it's named after the most dangerous road in the UK...

  79. I love A9 so much by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I love a9 so much that i would actually pay for it if it wasnt free. The fact that it is free and now significantly better in ways I was desiring makes me just grin from ear to ear. I wish they would let me use a9 instead of google in my Safari search window.

    jchryss

  80. Ask yourself about the hype by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is a major geek news source and there hasn't been another story about this boring information about A9.

  81. A9:your worst privacy nightmare waiting to happen by pcause · · Score: 1

    I went to the A9 site and was shocked to see that it had my name. Obviously they have access to the Amazon cookie and are using the data. This means that they may not only be remembering your web searches for *your* convenience, but for Amazon's commercial uses. And what might they be??? Once Amazon has this data who else can get it? Can the government get it? Without my permission? You bet!

    I don't want anyone watching over my shoulder when I browse the net. I certainly don't want Amazon doing it, becuase their use of my informaiton in A9 was not authorized by me. I read the privacy policy again, and it is not clear that this use is authorized, but then again, the privacy policy is *so* vague, it is hard to tell what use is prohibited.

    Don't use A9 unless you want everal site on the Internet that has a relation with Amazon to know everything you are doing on the Web.

  82. It's just a meta search tool by monkeyfarm · · Score: 1

    I don't see how someone could say that this is going to give Google any competition.

    The heart of it IS Google.

    It's just a meta-search tool that expands on things like alltheweb, dogpile, etc.

    It is not a revolutionary "anything".

    I'm still waiting for Google to provide a means to do a search, then "mark" results as "good" or "bad" and have Google refine the results based on that info.

    Seems simple enough...

    --
    What I don't know I just fake...
  83. Unnerving by nursedave · · Score: 1
    I opened up A9 and immediately saw in the upper right corner, "Hello, David ... (if this is not you, click here)" and decided not to use it.

    I mean, lets say I like it and start using it a lot. It won't be long before it asks me, "David? Who's your favorite Little Rascal? Is it Alfalfa?"

    "...or Spanky?"

    --

    The Democratic Party: We've been pussies since 1968!

    1. Re:Unnerving by base3 · · Score: 1

      Or "I see you like gladiator movies, Dave." Of course, if you really like the search engine, run another installation of a browser only for searching that refuses cookies. (I think that's a good idea, anyway, although a determined profiler will use your IP address.)

      --
      One CPU cycle wasted on digital restrictions management is ONE TOO MANY.
    2. Re:Unnerving by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > I mean, lets say I like it and start using it a lot.

      I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.

    3. Re:Unnerving by nursedave · · Score: 1

      But I've never seen a grown man naked, so, we're good there.

      --

      The Democratic Party: We've been pussies since 1968!

  84. I like it... Really by gone.fishing · · Score: 1

    I've tried it just a few times and already see that it may become my new Google. For me, the history of searches is a good addition. I'm keeping an open mind because it is new and it is good but perhaps not quite great yet. Remember when Google was new? It wasn't quite as good as it is today. I fully expect that A9's developers are hard at work doing things to make it better, just like Google's developers did.

    One thing that may keep Google ahead is its sterility. You really feel like Google keeps itself quite neuteral. I don't expect that I will ever feel that way about A9. So when you are looking for "just the facts", A9 may be second choice.

    Still, there are lots of times when I am looking for something that is more commercial. Like when I am looking for some sort of product. Something tells me that Amazon may actually be better in those instances.

    Maybe it is best to look at Google as a marketplace while A9 is more like a mall. When you want to go to the big stores, go to A9, when you are looking for the very small niche, google it.

    I really think there is ample room for both. And, I'll probably use both!

  85. repackaging google by zxflash · · Score: 1

    a nice clean site but most people who are currenltly using google will unlikely be compelled to "switch" (would you really be switching?) same results with some extra bells and whistles...

    --

    All the torrents you could want.
  86. best feature is.... by Feezlebub · · Score: 1

    My favorite feature: Searches for: asshole, moron, idiot, asswipe, and many more return pictures of George W. Bush I love www.a9.com Feez

  87. Another great feature: Amazon.com discount by 19usc2462bH · · Score: 1
    When I go to amazon.com, there's an image at the top I havn't seen before, when I click it, I'm told that

    since you've been using A9.com recently, virtually everything at Amazon.com is automatically an additional n/2% (1.57%) off for you. (...)
    We don't advertise this additional discount that we give in exchange for using A9.com, so if you want your friends to know about it, please tell them. It is probably the only way they'll find out. All they have to do is use A9.com as their regular search engine.