The Accoona search engine is trying to take on major search engines like Yahoo and Google by using artificial intelligence techniques to deliver more relevant search results. The Accoona search algorithms search web pages and news stories for key words and phrases based on word use and context in an attempt to return highly relevant results for the user.

Accoona also has a business search function that allows users to cross-reference search terms on Dun & Bradstreet’s database with Accoona’s own business search database to retrieve relevant business search results.

You can use the Accoona search engine @ Accoona Search Engine.

Zillow has launched the beta version of their real estate valuation search for real estate buyers, sellers and owners. The Zillow real estate search allows users to freely search for the valuation of over 60 million homes in the United States.

You can access the Zillow real estate valuation search @ Zillow Real Estate Search.

Clever job hunters are turning to corporate and employee blogs to get the inside scoop on job openings that aren’t well known outside the company, according to a recent article on chron.com

From the article –

YOU check the want ads. You network. But are you blogging?

Job seekers in the know are reading employee blogs to find out about openings that aren’t generally well-known.

In between comments on their aging dogs or the sleeping habits of their newborns, bloggers do a lot of chitchatting about work-related issues that can be a gold mine of information for job hunters.

It is an interesting article that could give you the inside edge and some excellent tips for your next job search. You can read the entire article @ Blogs emerge as resource in job hunts.

ZDNet is reporting on a Wharton Technology Conference in Philadelphia, where Google, Yahoo and MSN Search representatives voiced disagreement on the future of web search and search engines. For MSN Search the future focus is on the user interface and search form itself; for Google the focus is on the underlying technology and for Yahoo the focus appears to be on social search networks, Web 2.0 and keyword tagging by web users.

From the article –

The major search companies have expressed varying ideas on how Web searching will evolve over the next few years, with MSN claiming that there will be significant changes in the user interface of search engines and Google contending that changes in the underlying technology will be more important.

Representatives from Google, Yahoo and MSN Search came together at the Wharton Technology Conference in Philadelphia on Friday to discuss the future of search technologies.

You can read the entire article @ Google and MSN disagree on future of search.

FindLaw.com is the web’s best free legal search engine for both the general public and legal professionals. FindLaw.com is a 2005 Webby Awards winner and is listed as one of Time Magazine’s top 50 web sites for 2005.

FindLaw.com is divided into 2 main sections: 1. “For the Public” and 2. “For Legal Professionals”. This allows convenient use of FindLaw.com by both amateur and professional legal eagles alike. The FindLaw.com site has information on virtually every legal topic you can think of and is easy to search by keywords or browse by categories.

You can access FindLaw.com @ FindLaw.com Site.

For skip tracers, private investigators and other web search professionals who want to get more out of the major search engines like Yahoo! and Google , CNet.com has published a three-part article on Yahoo! search tips.

The article starts with the basic building blocks of creating good search engine queries and then moves on to more advanced search engine topics like: search engine shortcuts; automating and personalizing your web search results and comparing Yahoo! and Google search engine results.

You can read the Yahoo! search engine tips article @ DIY: Yahoo Hacks.

Dawn Chmielewski at Knight-Ridder Newspapers is reporting on an interesting new development in web search called “Watson”.

Watson is a contextual web search software program that delivers relevant web search results automatically to users based on the context of whatever they are currently working on.

Say, for instance, you are working on a Word document, PowerPoint presentation or other electronic document or program; Watson will search the web while you work for relevant results based on the subject and context of whatever you are currently working on.

It’s like having your own personal online research assistant. Elementary, my dear Watson. Elementary!

Unfortunately, there is no mention of a web site for the Watson web search program or an estimated date for the release of Watson.

You can read the entire article on the Watson web search program at Watson Advances Internet Search

For those of you who are interested in what the top search terms were for 2005, the search engine Lycos has published their top 100 searches for the year.

Not surprisingly, most of the top 100 search terms were for celebrities and rock bands, with Paris Hilton coming in at #1.

You can view the Lycos Top 100 for 2005 at Lycos - Web’s Most Wanted of 2005.

A9 Maps is an amazing street-mapping site that allows you to search maps in over 20 major U.S. cities and view street-level pictures of the addresses. A9 is owned by the popular online retailer Amazon.

An interesting article in Business 2.0 by Eric Schonfeld discusses the way that A9 goes about creating these maps as well as their plans to do this for the entire U.S.

From the article -

A9 also powers its own stand-alone search engine (www.a9.com), where Dorfman and his colleagues are trying out all sorts of ideas for improving search. One of these ideas — the one that has us prowling Manhattan, block by block — is to drive around the country and take a street-level picture of every building, geo-code each picture by latitude and longitude, and marry the images with an address database to create the ultimate local search engine.

You can read the entire article by Eric Schonfeld on Business 2.0 @ Where the Web Meets the World.

Is there something that you are looking for online, but just can’t find? Is there a fact or figure you need help locating? Yahoo Answers is a site that uses the power of collective intelligence and knowledge to help you find what you are looking for.

The beta version of Yahoo Answers is online and ready for you to post questions or use your knowledge to answer the posted questions of others. You can also learn lots of new things by browsing the questions and answers on Yahoo Answers.

You can access this new resource online at Yahoo Answers