bjoernvold.com

Google has been the dominant search engine for years. Everybody uses it, and they have been growing and growing.
Now they are loosing search shares to Yahoo.

While still dominant the trend is there and might worry Google. This is most likely because Firefox has changed the default search engine from Google to Yahoo.
Google searches have gone from 79,3 % to 75,2 % in one year.

This is not likely to change back unless Mozilla Firefox decides to switch back to Google. 12 % of the US internet users are using Firefox.
Google's violation of privacy may have played a small part since awareness in those matters is growing.

More here

Yeah and Yahoo is in bed with M$ which is worse. I bet money they gave the Mozzila Foundation a wad of cash to make it the default search engine.

Yes, I am pretty sure that cash has something to do with it...

I think people are just aware now that there are other options, and they aren't terrible. Younger people (aka my age) seem to like Bing a lot because of its homepage (pretty picture with information about something else in the world, bing rewards, etc), then there's the Yahoo reappearing in the public eye with Firefox, and finally Duckduckgo is emerging on the scene (even Apple added a bundled optional search engine with one of the IOS updates). Google isn't the above all solution for everyone anymore

Have any of you guys tried StartPage or their alternate IxQuick?
S.

I am using startpage it seems to be the one with the best results and privacy, but I was not aware of ixquick that one looks good too...
In fact I am not sure there is any difference between the two

Will give a whirl to Start Page.

viking60 wrote:I am using startpage it seems to be the one with the best results and privacy, but I was not aware of ixquick that one looks good too...
In fact I am not sure there is any difference between the two

I believe that StartPage pulls its results from Google while Ixquick pulls from multiple sources.
S.

Snorkasaurus wrote:

viking60 wrote:I am using startpage it seems to be the one with the best results and privacy, but I was not aware of ixquick that one looks good too...
In fact I am not sure there is any difference between the two

I believe that StartPage pulls its results from Google while Ixquick pulls from multiple sources.
S.

Startpage pulls from other sources I believe too. I'm not 100% on it but that's the impression I get from the faq:

Q: I am getting personalized or localized ads while I am using StartPage.com. How is this possible?
Whenever you search with StartPage, your SEARCH is not recorded, your IP ADDRESS is not recorded, your IDENTITY is not recorded, no TRACKING COOKIES are placed on your browser, and our SSL ENCRYPTION ensures that your ISP or hackers can't eavesdrop. You are never seen by any of the search engines we query, including Google, even though you receive authentic Google results through Startpage.

https://www.startpage.com/eng/protect-privacy-qa.html

My understanding is that results in StartPage are pulled from both Google and Ixquick (which is a partner/sister company with StartPage). At Ixquick they pull results from a number of different engines including Google. So the bottom line is that [as you point out] StartPage is not just Google... however, in the testing I have done (only on Google Canada) it seems as though the results are heavily Google weighted.

s.

Funny. I've been doing comparisons for the last 24 hours between Google and Startpage, and have been getting far better results on Google (google.com, U.S.).

I don't get it then.

I'm not worried with Google. I have their ad crap blocked, along with their tracking.

That is the annoying part - Google delivers fantastic results ...those crooks
But then again; Apple and MS are crooks too... without fantastic results....

PS: I have to make an exception for Apple's rectangle with rounded corner patent - that is brilliant and totally unique