That was probably me, when I stopped using Google Search some years ago. :-) Got tired of the ads, the blog spam, and AI-generated content crap floating to the top of their results page.
The https://udm14.com/ flavor of Google is quite usable, though, esp with notable operators like inurl:this-or-that. But, all in all, yeah, gimme back vanilla Google search from 2008-2010 or so. Back then it was definitely a tool (I worked in investigative journalism at the time), whereas currently "searching" stands for sitting fingers crossed and hoping for the better. But, oh well. </rant>
Kagi has been a great replacement for me. Less blogspam I've found, plus it doesn't give me AI results unless I explicitly tell it I want AI results by adding a "?" to the end of my query.
That's more what I meant. Sure, lots of people still type stuff into the URL bar that takes them to www.google.com/search. But whatever you want to call that results page now, it's no longer Google Search in anything but name.
same can be said if you compare www.google.com search from 2012 and 2022, times are changing… I am not defending google search here, I haven’t used it except by accident in long time now but to say google search is “dying” like you often hear (especially here on HN) is a serious detachment from reality
I wouldn't be surprised if they're going to kill it with their own hands by implementing some half-assed AI feature that breaks the core functionality of the product.
That was probably me, when I stopped using Google Search some years ago. :-) Got tired of the ads, the blog spam, and AI-generated content crap floating to the top of their results page.
The https://udm14.com/ flavor of Google is quite usable, though, esp with notable operators like inurl:this-or-that. But, all in all, yeah, gimme back vanilla Google search from 2008-2010 or so. Back then it was definitely a tool (I worked in investigative journalism at the time), whereas currently "searching" stands for sitting fingers crossed and hoping for the better. But, oh well. </rant>
Kagi has been a great replacement for me. Less blogspam I've found, plus it doesn't give me AI results unless I explicitly tell it I want AI results by adding a "?" to the end of my query.
That's more what I meant. Sure, lots of people still type stuff into the URL bar that takes them to www.google.com/search. But whatever you want to call that results page now, it's no longer Google Search in anything but name.
same can be said if you compare www.google.com search from 2012 and 2022, times are changing… I am not defending google search here, I haven’t used it except by accident in long time now but to say google search is “dying” like you often hear (especially here on HN) is a serious detachment from reality
I wouldn't be surprised if they're going to kill it with their own hands by implementing some half-assed AI feature that breaks the core functionality of the product.
How did you go bankrupt?
Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.
- Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises
I guess I’ve heard it all now… Google going bankrupt would not have made Top-1 Million list of likely things to read on Sunday morning…