Cuil

So a triumvirate of ex-Googlers unleashed Cuil (pronounced “cool”; it’s Gaelic for knowledge) three days ago.  It’s a new search engine that claims to do a better job with content and relevance, and also claims the largest index out there.

Had a problem with Google searches lately?  Yeah, me either.  But Google is a scary-ass company.  Did you know they store and analyze your search results?  Found your house on Google Street View yet?   Did you know they want to do that for the entire world?  Did you know they want to index the entire world, period?  Is your PC microphone and/or camera on?  Are you sure?

You can review Google’s privacy policy here, which says, essentially, yeah, we collect a lot of stuff from you, and we won’t do anything creepy with it, but, uh, if we ever want to, we’ll be sure to ask you first.  You can review Cuil’s here, which is much friendlier.

I’m going to use Cuil exclusively for a while and see how it goes.  They don’t store anything personally identifiable.  They had some growing pains the first day, but they seem to be resolved.  Google does a great job with search, but they’ve reached a size and influence level that should generate some rebellion just on principle.  (And it’s not like you can go to Yahoo!; they’ll be Microsoft just any time now.)

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Possibly related posts (automatically generated):

1. Resist Google now Last week my buddy Paul wrote an entertaining deconstruction of Google’s communication in the wake of a recent Google Apps outage.  There’s a subtle dismissive...
2. Tyranny in the cloud I wrote about cloud computing and reliability concerns recently. Yesterday I read of a frightening situation that really hadn’t occurred to me in this much...
3. Strange happenings at my childhood home on Google Street View As creepy as Google Street View is, it’s a blast to play with.  I was surprised to discover that a Google car had visited my...
4. Social media overload? So I understand Google+ is live to everyone today.  Also, lots of people are incensed that Facebook has changed itself around again. You know, one...
5. Jumping Frenchmen of Maine Did you know there’s a disease called Jumping Frenchmen of Maine?  Swear.  Click the link. I saw a car today that had a ribbon magnet...