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Simply the best at turning up the right pages. To find a phrase, put it in quotes. Your keywords will be treated as "and."

When the usual sites all seem to be saying the same thing and it's not what you want to hear, this is your best bet. It searches newsgroups where people chat about their likes, dislikes, problems and solutions.  Think of it as the advice of a million amateurs and consumers. You might find out what medications are being taken for a particular disease, whether your printer has been getting a lot of complaints, or if the "terrible twos" are really so terrible.

Yahoo is still the best directory around. Unlike search engines, directories are compiled by real people who organize searching by categories. If you were looking for mail-order seeds, for instance, a directory would be a much better choice than a search engine, because you'd get a well-organized page of seed companies, with brief descriptions of their specialties. To get the most out of a directory, use only one keyword and then click on the best category result that turns up. A fun directory for kids to browse is  Yahooligans!, while adults might like to make snap.com their second choice.

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This search engine is able to bring you more results with its large database. It  is also able to bring you fewer results, by narrowing a search. Hotbot treats all search terms as "and." You may also use a minus sign in front of a term or in front of a phrase in quotes. For instance: robin -Batman if you're not looking for the Caped Crusader. For a different database, or for a more business-oriented search, consider northernlight.com.

If keyword searches are making you tense, write out a question in plain English and askjeeves will try to answer it.  This engine also has a version for the younger set -- askjeeves for kids can be a good place to start when there's homework to be done.  Askjeeves puts a frame around pages it finds, which can be annoying if you want to save it. Simply click "Remove Frame."

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