World Wide Web Searching

There are a number of Web Sites that provide powerful searching facilities for the Internet. The following categories are provided for your assistance but note that many in fact overlap in their structure and operation.

[Directories] [Keyword Search Engines]
[Email Addresses] [Software]

Directories:

Directories or subject listings are the easiest way to find information. They work by providing you with a structured hierachy of subject terms which you can browse through. Major subject guides to the World Wide Web are:

International directories:
Yahoo
WWW Virtual Library
The Argus Clearinghouse

NEW Search Engines giving breath and depth:
Apart from Google.com http://www.google.comwhich leads the field
Wise Nut
Search Engine Resources
Search Engine Guide
Search Engine Watch
Teoma
AlltheWeb
KartOO
Vivisimo.com

Keyword Search Engines:

Many services index the actual content of Web Pages, allowing you to enter the terms you want to search for. These services may also retrieve vast amounts of irrelevant information. Be sure to read their instructions to help you refine searches if you find too much information.

Major Search Engines:
AltaVista, (search tips)
Google
Hotbot
Infoseek
Lycos
Excite
Webcrawler
Looksmart

Combined Search Engine:
SavvySearch

Australian Search Engines:
Webwombat
Beyond the black stump
Anzwers
E Topic

It is currently difficult to find the email address for someone on the Internet. We have listed a number of tools that may be useful, but there are no comprehensive searching tools or directories for email addresses at the moment:

Australian:
Australian email directory
Yahoo Phone Numbers and Addresses
Australian directories [mainly University email based]
Search Guide.Org
Search Guide.Com

Software Collections:

There are many sites that provide access to useful software and programs. Australian locations generally provide faster downloading. The following is a list of some useful sites.

Australian:
TUCOWS
Deakin University IS
FTP Mirror Index
ZD Net Downloads
Get Right - Home
Adobe
Open Source
Macromedia
List of Software Web Pages
Where to Find Computer Companies
CNET Shareware.com

Alta Vista Tips

Simple Search in ALTAVISTA

Use "quotes" to link words into a phrase

One of eight different fields can be specified when searching:
title, URL, links, host, anchor, applet, image, text,
To do this enter field followed by a colon and the search term. for example:

title: "The Wall Street Journal"
Matches pages with the phrase The Wall Street Journal

host:digital.com
Matches pages with the phrase digital.com in the host name of the Web server

host:au
Searches Australian sites only

Capitalization
When you enter a word in a query it is recommended, to type it all in lower-case, because lower-case letters indicate a case-insensitive match. If you type any capital letters, you force an exact match on the entire word.

Advanced Search in ALTAVISTA

In addition to the above, advanced searching allows use of the BOOLEAN search operators of AND, OR AND NOT and NEAR. (NEAR specifies adjacency of ten words or less between the two search terms).
Date ranges can also be specified by advanced searches.

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