Are Alexa and A9 Dying?

Just seen tehe following:

Search Briefs: So Long to A9's Block Level Imagery, Yellow Pages, Toolbar and
Amazon.com Discount; Yahoo to Open Yahoo Mail API

http://www.resourceshelf.com/2006/10...ahoo-mail-api/

Their toolbar is probably b0rked (I have noticed oddities for a few
weeks/months), registration/signin has been dodgy for a while, thumbnails
are no longer delivered (not even as a service to, e.g. BetterSearch in
Firefox), and Alexa rank pages are gone, only to be replaced by some
adverts. I don't know about the Amazon/Alexa toolbars, but they could be
headed down the same path. I am only speculating this.

FWIW, A9 dropped Google as its search engine and probably accepted $ome deal
for Microsoft to use Live/MSN instead. That was only a few months ago. This
was probably the end of it serving as a neat search engine with simultaneous
image, Web, and video search. It certainty lost its quality results and
uniqueness.

I wonder if others have noticed something similar. I have disabled my
toolbars for the time being as it looks grimmer than suggested. Well,
there's always Netcraft.

__/ [ Roy Schestowitz ] on Monday 02 October 2006 21:23 \__

Just seen tehe following:

Search Briefs: So Long to A9's Block Level Imagery, Yellow Pages, Toolbar
and Amazon.com Discount; Yahoo to Open Yahoo Mail API


http://www.resourceshelf.com/2006/10...ahoo-mail-api/

Their toolbar is probably b0rked (I have noticed oddities for a few
weeks/months), registration/signin has been dodgy for a while, thumbnails
are no longer delivered (not even as a service to, e.g. BetterSearch in
Firefox), and Alexa rank pages are gone, only to be replaced by some
adverts. I don't know about the Amazon/Alexa toolbars, but they could be
headed down the same path. I am only speculating this.

FWIW, A9 dropped Google as its search engine and probably accepted $ome
deal for Microsoft to use Live/MSN instead. That was only a few months ago.
This was probably the end of it serving as a neat search engine with
simultaneous image, Web, and video search. It certainty lost its quality
results and uniqueness.

I wonder if others have noticed something similar. I have disabled my
toolbars for the time being as it looks grimmer than suggested. Well,
there's always Netcraft.

Oh, more details now emerge.

http://www.webpronews.com/insiderrep...eFeatures.html

A9 Search Embraces Live Features

Nails on the coffin....

Roy Schestowitz wrote:

Oh, more details now emerge.

http://www.webpronews.com/insiderrep...eFeatures.html

A9 Search Embraces Live Features

Nails on the coffin....

Watch out Roy, you risk being labelled as some frothing at the mouth
anti-Microsoft zealot.... oh you already have been :-).

I suppose this will boost Live's % in the SE just a little, and when you
are scrabbling around in single figures every bit helps. I think
Christopher Sherman of SearchEngineWatch has it right when he said that
we're past the days of radical innovation where somebody is really going
to blow past a competitor.

I have to agree with you about Live. Initially it didn't seem too bad
but the more I look at it the more I realise that there is an impedance
mismatch between search terms and search results.

__/ [ davidof ] on Tuesday 03 October 2006 10:22 \__

Roy Schestowitz wrote:
Oh, more details now emerge.


http://www.webpronews.com/insiderrep...eFeatures.html

A9 Search Embraces Live Features

Nails on the coffin....

Watch out Roy, you risk being labelled as some frothing at the mouth
anti-Microsoft zealot.... oh you already have been :-).

Well, this time I take it personally because I no longer have access to
BetterSearch thumbnails, the A9 toolbar needs to be reinstalled, and so
forth.

And mind the following:

,----[ Quote ]

Considering the expense Amazon likely incurred in collecting BlockView
photos, Microsoft must be paying handsomely for Amazon to shut this
down.
`----

I suppose this will boost Live's % in the SE just a little, and when you
are scrabbling around in single figures every bit helps. I think
Christopher Sherman of SearchEngineWatch has it right when he said that
we're past the days of radical innovation where somebody is really going
to blow past a competitor.

I have to agree with you about Live. Initially it didn't seem too bad
but the more I look at it the more I realise that there is an impedance
mismatch between search terms and search results.

The search results are abysmal.

search.microsoft.com: http://tinyurl.com/kzsgb

That's just one example among many.

[looks behind to see if John Bokma is watching... /]

On Tue, 03 Oct 2006 11:27:21 +0200, Roy Schestowitz
<newsgroups (AT) schestowitz (DOT) com> wrote:

The search results are abysmal.

search.microsoft.com: http://tinyurl.com/kzsgb

That's just one example among many.

Good one

Is it equivalent of "miserable failure" (c) by Microsoft? Never seen
anybody stating MSN can be tricked this way.

Borek
--
http://www.chembuddy.com
http://www.ph-meter.info
http://www.terapia-kregoslupa.waw.pl

On Tue, 03 Oct 2006 12:27:54 +0200, Borek
<m.borkowski (AT) delete (DOT) chembuddy.these.com.parts> wrote:

On Tue, 03 Oct 2006 11:27:21 +0200, Roy Schestowitz
newsgroups (AT) schestowitz (DOT) com> wrote:

The search results are abysmal.

search.microsoft.com: http://tinyurl.com/kzsgb

That's just one example among many.

Good one

Is it equivalent of "miserable failure" (c) by Microsoft? Never seen
anybody stating MSN can be tricked this way.

Borek

You have to bear in mind, though, that no-one would want to bother,
which speaks volumes. No point beating out the also-rans. They're
beaten out already.

BB
--

http://www.kruse.co.uk/seo-sitemap.htm
http://www.here-be-posters.co.uk/art-prints-sitemap.htm
http://www.here-be-posters.co.uk/lithographs.htm

Roy Schestowitz wrote:

The search results are abysmal.

search.microsoft.com: http://tinyurl.com/kzsgb

That is great...

Roy Schestowitz wrote:

A9 Search Embraces Live Features

Nails on the coffin....

I would be glad to see Amazon.com disappear. It's a company that has never
shown a profit, yet leaves behind a trail of destruction of local
businesses. Even back in the 90s I remember one great local bookstore in
the town I lived at the time -- Amazon.com was the last straw and the
bookstore closed.

A few months ago, when the local music store (CDs) went out of business
after 30 years, I went into the store and asked them what the reasons were.
They said the Internet (e.g., Amazon.com) and recent box-store invasion
(e.g., Walmart) was killing them. Very sad.

MSN Live (Dead?) Search is crap so maybe this new partnership will benefit
society in the long run.

__/ [ z ] on Tuesday 03 October 2006 19:53 \__

Roy Schestowitz wrote:

A9 Search Embraces Live Features

Nails on the coffin....

I would be glad to see Amazon.com disappear. It's a company that has never
shown a profit, yet leaves behind a trail of destruction of local
businesses. Even back in the 90s I remember one great local bookstore in
the town I lived at the time -- Amazon.com was the last straw and the
bookstore closed.

A few months ago, when the local music store (CDs) went out of business
after 30 years, I went into the store and asked them what the reasons were.
They said the Internet (e.g., Amazon.com) and recent box-store invasion
(e.g., Walmart) was killing them. Very sad.

MSN Live (Dead?) Search is crap so maybe this new partnership will benefit
society in the long run.

I hope you are right. I am sick and tired of these patents that Bezos uses to
protect his 'baby' (e.g. make a purchase with a single click). And don't
worry about profits. *smile* While Amazon might be struggling, Bezos (Bozo?)
hits the top lists in Fortune and Forbes.

Roy Schestowitz wrote:

__/ [ z ] on Tuesday 03 October 2006 19:53 \__

MSN Live (Dead?) Search is crap so maybe this new partnership will
benefit society in the long run.



I hope you are right. I am sick and tired of these patents that Bezos uses
to protect his 'baby' (e.g. make a purchase with a single click). And
don't worry about profits. *smile* While Amazon might be struggling, Bezos
(Bozo?) hits the top lists in Fortune and Forbes.

That is the sick part. There are too many greedy people sucking the life
and imagination out of society and relaxing on their yachts while their
companies crash and burn.