Addoursearch.com | Featured Sites

Saturday Search Roundup - 8/24/2008 - 8/30/2008

Every Week we recap the sites and browser plugins we’ve reviewed throughout the week… just in case you missed one. If you would like to follow along and get updated when we add a new review and plugin, Subscribe to our RSS Feed.

Tools, Tools, Tools… this week was all about tools.
2 I’d like to highlight are CrunchBase and QuarkBase (close to the same name, but no business relationship).  CrunchBase is a user contributed Tech Company and Startup Directory from the TechCrunch network of sites.  QuarkBase is on the other end of the spectrum and uses an automated approach to it’s site.  Essentially it’s a mashup of various API’s, including one from Crunchbase. More »

QuarkBase : Everything about a Website

URL:
http://www.quarkbase.com

Info:
Alexa | Whois

Submitted by:
AOS

QuarkBase is a one stop shop to find out all sorts of information about a web site.  It’s really a useful little site that allows you to find contact info, page views, social bookmark links… really anything you would like about a web site.

I can’t tell you how useful a find like this is - especially for a blog writer like me - to find all the pertinent information about a site in one location.  So, if you’re a web worker - or just the curious type - this is a good one to have in your search bar toolbox. More »

Google Tools: Gmail Search - Search Your Inbox From Your Browser.

URL:
http://www.gmail.com

Info:
Alexa | Whois

Submitted by:
AOS

Gmail is one of the most popular email applications on the planet.  It’s storage, flexibility, and cost (or lack-there-of) make it a very attractive option in a very crowded field.

This search plugin is a little different than others we’ve reviewed and made available at The List.  For starters, you need a Google or Gmail account to use it.  Second, you need to be logged in to the system to actually see the results.  But, if you’re like me, you check that little “Remember me on this computer.” box and stay logged in.  So, if you’re a heavy gmail user, this shouldn’t be an issue. More »

Whoishostingthis.com - Find Out Where They Host

URL:
http://www.whoishostingthis.com

Info:
Alexa | Whois

Submitted by:
AOS

Whoishostingthis.com is an extremely simple site that serves one purpose, and one purpose only… to tell you who is hosting a web site.   By typing in a web url or web site into the search field, you’re returned with the hosting company of that web site.  That’s it. So, you may be asking yourself; Why would this be useful?  Well, it probably isn’t that useful, but it is a fun little toy to play around with.

Besides the hosting search, there are a few other links that do provide some interesting information.  In particular, the new RockStart Bloggers hosting page that tells you the hosting providers of the top 100 blogs. (according to technorati) More »

ICONlook.com - Simple and Fast Icon Search.

URL:
http://www.iconlook.com

Info:
Alexa | Whois

Submitted by:
AOS

IconLook.com is a very simple and fast icon search engine that allows you to search by keyword and size.  Simply type in the keyword or tag that you’re looking for, and IconLook will return all available icons in sizes ranging from 12×12 to 128×128 pixels in size.

Every web, application, and software developer should have a good icon search engine at their fingertips.  Some place you can turn to when you’ve searched through Google images, Flickr, and the web… but come back with nothing.  Instead of searching high and low for the right icon, install Iconlook.com into your browser and find what you’re looking for the first time. More »

Similicio.us - Crowdsourcing Similar Sites

URL:
http://www.similicio.us

Info:
Alexa | Whois

Submitted by:
AOS

Similicio.us is a very simple search engine, dedicated to a single task… Find similar sites. Basically, you provide similicio.us with a domain name, and it will return other sites similar in function or content. Now, at first glance this service is nothing new.  After all, Google has been including their “similar pages” link in their search results for years.  But - after I had a chance to use similicio.us - I found it returns some promising results…. sometimes unexpected, but promising none-the-less.

Before I talk about the functionality of the similicio.us, it’s important to mechanics behind the site.  Similicio.us - as the name cleverly implies - uses Yahoo!’s del.icio.us social bookmarking service as it’s primary datasource. The site queries del.icio.us with the URL you’re looking for and returns entries with the same tags.  This is a rather creative way to use crowdsourcing as a basis for a search engine.  After all, this is what the concept of “tagging” was originally designed for. More »

Abbreviations.com - Find Abbr. @ Abbreviations.com

URL:
http://www.abbreviations.com

Info:
Alexa | Whois

Submitted by:
AOS

 
Abbreviations.com or Abbr.com is a site that helps you find abbreviations for some of the more popular words in the English language. So, if you’re looking for what the abbreviation for “Attention” would be, you’ll be able to find that it’s “ATTN”.  Simply type in the word you’re looking for and it will return the abbreviation or any combination thereof.

More »

Flickr.com - Search Plugin for the Popular Photo Site

URL:
http://www.flickr.com

Info:
Alexa | Whois

Submitted by:
AOS

Flickr.com is by far one of the most popular and widely used photo sharing sites on the web today.  The site allows users to store, edit, share, print, and even market your photos online.  With well over 2 billion photos online, your photo search is bound to turn up something good.

Originally launched in February 2004 and later acquired by Yahoo! in March of 2005, Flickr is known as one of the first “Web 2.0″ applications.  The site is a pioneer in the field of user contributed content and community that is now a standard with most web applications. More »

QueryCAT.com - Search Through 5 Million FAQ’s in One Place.

URL:
http://www.querycat.com

Info:
Alexa | Whois

Submitted by:
AOS

QueryCAT.com is web’s largest database of online FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) amassed into one searchable location. Essentially, QueryCAT scours the web looking for pages and links that contain FAQ’s of all shapes and sizes.  It then takes those pages, determines which elements are the questions and which elements are the answers, then stores them in a database that you can search.

QueryCAT is one of those hidden gems on the web. It’s immensely useful… but not many people have heard about it.  With over 5 million questions and answers in it’s index, you’re bound to find what you’re looking for. More »

Instructables.com - Geeky DIY Mecca

URL:
http://www.instructables.com

Info:
Alexa | Whois

Submitted by:
AOS

Instructables.com provides user contributed instructions for making gadgets and gizmos out of almost anything you can find around the house or at the local RadioShack.  The site has a extensive collection of projects ranging from food recipes to high tech tools and gadgets.

One of the definite advantages of the site is the step-by-step instructions available to visitors.  Most projects will typically include a list of materials needed along with construction photos that walk you through the process.  Now I say “most” because after all, it is a user contributed site, so some projects have better instructions than others. The site does have a good rating system, so you can typically weed out the good from the bad.

More »