DuckDuckGo [search engine]

DuckDuckGo is an independent search engine, mostly based on Open Source software, with a high-performance architecture.

Although paid for by advertising, its business model is to compete head on with Google & others by catering for customers concerned with privacy issues. This is quite dangerous for Google, who depend on collecting customer data as a way of targeting advertising. Google must be concerned about the ever increasing number of people aware of privacy issues and the possibility that they might be damaged by a major privacy scandal, such as an egregious leak.

DuckDuckGo isn't a couple of blokes in a shed. Although the number of direct employees is rather small, this is because they buy in infrastructure as a service, ie it's hosted in the modern way on various large commercial data centres around the world and managed by a third party.

The search engine has introduced some useful innovations like the bang feature. Say you're looking for a stepper motor. If you enter a query like !amazonuk nema, it will search Amazon only, possibly using Amazon's search engine, if it's got one. DuckDuckGo makes it very easy to try several other search engines to see what they return: try !bing nema, !yahoo nema, !ebay nema and !google nema

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 19/12/2016 14:52:17

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Oh, bother !! ... I should have read it properly before posting the link

MichaelG.

It is very interesting to note that since using Pale Moon with DDG, I'm blitzed with advertising to download Google Chrome.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

This one is fast and came back with sensible results for something I might want to buy. However without adding the city I lived in it came up with some USA suppliers at the top.

**LINK**

This reminded me of why I went of DuckDuck, It seemed to always produce lots of results from the USA and wouldn't always take notice of where I live.

There are a fair few others. List here

**LINK**

Personally I would like one that can be directed to countries more easily. I find some are both more reliable and more accurate especially in the information area. It does need a decent translation service built into the browser though. Also more area direction when buying. UK companies that use .com are a real pain in that respect as are some sites which turn out to be in the far east. Insisting on (44) in the search term might help with both of those.

I use chromium. A nvg open source one that Chrome was based on. It has it's problems but may get better when I upgrade. It does include one click google translate which is very good. Yahoo's browser add on that was in some Linux browsers was also pretty good but still lacking compared with google. It's something I use now and again. eg simple CNC controllers. That needed translation from Russian. Problem though - they are well aware that their ideas are pinched so it can prove difficult to get full information.

NVG ? Currently if I want to use youtube I fire up firefox. The version of Chromium I have doesn't buffer properly. I sometimes use that for other things too. It's set up to keep nothing at all. I could also use Konqueror. The first browser to offer tabs, long long time before any one else had them.

John

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That's disappointing ... did you localise it ?

**LINK**

https://duckduckgo.com/settings

MichaelG.

I just tried welding supplies near me - a USA company came out on the top even with the search localised. I do use search engines for buying - very heavily to try and find the best price. It curious that google came up with lots once I put the model number in quotes. Other results as well but further down the lists. In the past it's come up with nothing when I have used quotes and then searched without them as an option. Maybe that is automated now.

I can select a search engine. One of the options it offers is Yaboo UK and Ireland. My google also seems to be google uk as I was plagued with requests to switch to google.com recently. So if I open a clean tab it shows google with uk under it. That is probably been done when I installed chromium. The os lot are keen on localisation.

John

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Have you seen today's Google home page, customised for Christmas day.