Obviously, we all use Google. A lot. Something like 75% of all searches are done from that ubiquitous, misspelled homage to really big numbers. But there are a bunch of specialized search engines out there that can come in handy from time to time. Dumb Little Man has a roundup of 10 search engines that ferret out unique searches. Here are my favorites:
Docjax is a document search engine which helps you to find files in formats like DOC, PDF, XLS, and PPT. You can preview the document before downloading.
Kosmix is a “guide” that searches sites like Wikipedia, Google Image Search, Flickr, Youtube, CNN, and more. It displays its results in an attractive, configurable, magazine-style layout.
Download Any Stuff zeros in on free stuff. It helps you find music, ebooks, software, torrents, games, and other free content via Google.
VideoSurf pulls content from popular video sharing sites like Youtube and Metacafe. It’s a powerful way to perform people searches, and there’s face detection built in to find video clips that emphasize the person you’re looking for.
Pipl is where to turn for people searches. You can search by name, e-mail, usernames, phone number, and city. From there, Pipl returns results from a broad array of sources, including phone books, social networking sites, blogs, and personal Web sites.
Check out Dumb Little Man for all the results, and don’t forget about some of the other search engines we’ve covered here recently, like Melzoo and Cooliris. Photo by Bramus
