Cuil

(3 out of 5)

Although it was created by a former Google engineer, this search engine’s results are skimpy and could be easier to navigate.

What happens when the woman behind Google’s powerful indexing system leaves the company and co-founds her own search engine? Perhaps not everything you’d expect. Cuil (pronounced “cool”), a search engine named for the Gaelic word for knowledge, has lots of unique tools designed to help people refine their searches, but the results themselves could be easier to page through, and they’re not as relevant as Google’s. However, Cuil has improved since its launch and the service has potential. Interface Cuil’s main search page is striking: a simple search bar atop a black background. In contrast to the austere main page, the search results page has a more open, none-too-serious look: a white background with search results appearing as blurbs across three columns (you can click a link in the bottom right corner to make it show two columns instead). The font on the page is rounded and stocky. Overall, Cuil seems well-suited to the Wikipedia generation that’s used to curiously meandering through links. But for people who need answers in a hurry, the interface isn’t ideal. However, we like how there are no ads on the search results page (even Google has a few—albeit, unintrusive ones). On the right-hand side, you’ll see a pane called “Explore by Category,” replete with even more specific topics (in this case, “Macintosh Laptops,” “Toshiba Laptops,” and “Intel,” among others). When you roll over a category with your mouse, it will automatically expand, revealing subtopics (“Macintosh Laptops,” for example, includes links for the MacBook, MacBook Pro, iBook, and iBook G4). Moreover, when you roll over these links, you’ll see a definition.

Read Full Review @ LaptopMag.com by Dana Wollman