Well, it has been quite a weekend for me. After recovering from a bit of a bug on Sunday, I received an unexpected email from Ask Jeeves. It seems that they are looking to change their image, perhaps to better appeal to the tech savvy market currently using other search engine options.

So what stood out the most to me specifically? I’d have to say that it was the announcement that there was going to be more use of the AJAX-based interface along with the inclusion of an encyclopedia search.

The other features offered were fine, but simply not different enough from competing search engines to warrant a highlight with the exception of their ranking system when performing a search. Being that I have not really spent that much time using the new search engine, it will be hard for me to offer a strong opinion on any perceived improvements to the there search algorithm just yet. Still, if what they are claiming with regard to improvements are true, then perhaps they are worth a second look after all. What do you think, should we give them a try? Could they perhaps, be a viable alternative to our current search engine? Let me know, I’d be interested in hearing what you think on the matter.

[tags]ask jeeves,web search alternatives,ajax-based interface,competing search engines[/tags]