Gigablast
 | |
 Home page as of January 2019 | |
Type of site | Web search engine |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Headquarters | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States[1] |
| Owner | Gigablast, Inc. |
| Created by | Matt Wells |
| URL | www |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | 2002[2][3] |
| Current status | Online |
| Written in | C/C++ |
| Developer(s) | Matt Wells |
|---|---|
| Stable release | |
| Repository | https://github.com/gigablast/open-source-search-engine |
| Written in | C/C++ |
| Operating system | Linux |
| Type | Web search engine |
| License | Apache License 2.0 |
| Website | www |
Gigablast is a free and open-source web search engine and directory. Founded in 2000, it is an independent engine and web crawler based in New Mexico,[7] developed and maintained by Matt Wells, a former Infoseek employee and New Mexico Tech graduate.[8]
The search engine source code is written in the programming languages C and C++. It was released as open-source software under the Apache License version 2, in July 2013.[9] In 2015, Gigablast claimed to have indexed over 12 billion web pages, and received billions of queries per month.[10]
Gigablast has provided, and provides, search results to other companies, such as Ixquick,[11] Clusty,[12] Zuula, Snap,[13] Blingo, and Internet Archive.[14]
Background
Matt Wells worked for the Infoseek search engine until he left in 1999, to start working on what would become Gigablast, coding everything from scratch in C++. It was originally designed to index up to 200 billion web pages.[15] Gigablast went into beta form on July 21, 2002.[16]
Features
Gigablast supports various specialized searches and Boolean algebra operators.[17] It also supports a related-concepts feature called Giga Bits[18] and a blog-search feature.[19]
A feature called Gigabits provides relevant information in addition to what the user is searching for.[20]
Gigablast also claims to be, as of 2010, the "leading" clean energy search engine with 90 percent of its power coming from wind energy.[21]
Acquisition
In 2013, it was reported that Yippy had agreed to acquire Gigablast Inc.[22] However, later on, Gigablast author Matt Wells said that no acquisition took place and that Gigablast remains independent.[14]
Critical reception
In 2003, The New York Times columnist Lee Dembart stated that "Gigablast has its adherents", but opined that Google is "head and shoulders" above it, and adds that Google's search results are more complete.[23] In 2016, a Lifewire reviewer felt that Gigablast is easy to use and liked the Gigabits feature.[24]
See also
References
- ^ "Gigablast Inc". Yellowpages.
- ^ Notess, Greg R. (31 March 2008). "Review of Gigablast". Search Engine Showdown.
- ^ Chamberlain, Ellen (2000). "Bare Bones lesson 14: GIGABLAST". Bare Bones 101: A basic tutorial on searching the web. The University of South Carolina Beaufort.
- ^ "Gigablast.com Site Info". Alexa. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- ^ https://www.gigablast.com/gb_1.20-1_amd64.deb
- ^ https://www.gigablast.com/gb_1.20-1_i386.deb
- ^ Burge, Randy (11 June 2007). "New Mexico's soil fertile for brainchilds". Albuquerque Tribune. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
- ^ Wells, Matt. "Matt Wells' Career Highlights". Gigablast. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Gigablast Now an Open Source Search Engine". PR Newswire. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
- ^ Wells, Matt. "FAQ". Gigablast. Archived from the original on 20 February 2016.
- ^ "Ixquick Q&A" (PDF). Ixquick. January 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
- ^ "Do Alternative Search Engines Measure Up?". PC World. 23 October 2007. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
- ^ Delaney, Kevin J. (6 October 2004). "Snap Enters Field Of Search Engines With Some Twists". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Gigablast (1 July 2015). "Gigablast to Build the Biggest Search Engine". PR Newswire.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Search Engine Optimization Advice for Gigablast". Metamend. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
- ^ Notess, Greg R. (21 July 2002). "New! GigaBlast in Beta". Search Engine Showdown. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Rubenking, Janet (1 February 2003). "Search Smarter". PC Magazine. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
- ^ Shaw, Maura D. (2007). "Conducting Advanced Searches". Mastering Online Research: A Comprehensive Guide to Effective and Efficient Search Strategies. Writer's Digest. p. 81. ISBN 978-1582974583.
- ^ Arrington, Michael (9 July 2005). "Profile – Gigablast (Blog Search)". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
- ^ Radhakrishnan, Arun (28 August 2007). "GigaBlast Search Engine : Hand Built Algorithmic Search". Search Engine Journal.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Notess, Greg R. (19 May 2010). "Remember Gigablast?". Search Engine Showdown. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Arnold, Stephen E. (19 July 2013). "Acquisition of Gigablast by Yippy Leaves Some Questions Unanswered". ArnoldIT.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Dembart, Lee (March 24, 2003). "Being Googled". The New York Times.
Google is indispensable to anyone who uses the Internet. It isn't the only search engine — Teoma has its adherents, as does Gigablast — but Google is head and shoulders above the others.
- ^ Collins, Jerri (18 October 2016). "Search the Web with Gigablast". Archived from the original on 15 January 2019.
Bibliography
- Kirsch, Steve (5 May 2004). "A Conversation with Matt Wells". ACM Queue. Vol. 2, no. 2. ISSN 1542-7730.
- Notess, Greg R. (31 March 2008). "Review of Gigablast". Search Engine Showdown.
- Mary Ellen Bates, "Gigablast Blasts Off Again", Online, May/Jun 2008 abstract
- Scan of Business 2.0 coverage of Matt Wells and Gigablast
