Mntsnow
02-02-2004, 7:18 AM
Gary Flake, principal scientist for Yahoo!, spends his days tweaking the programming equivalent of a magnifying glass, trying to produce the perfect formula for the perfect search engine.
When someone types in "DVD," for instance, does that person want to buy a DVD player? Is he looking for a definition of the acronym? Does he want local stores or only results in German?
An Internet site that can infer exactly what the user wants -"that is the holy grail for us," Flake said.
Whichever search site reaches that holy grail first will lock up a coveted, and lucrative, position - the main "portal" to the Internet.
Read more (http://www.nypost.com/business/17024.htm)
When someone types in "DVD," for instance, does that person want to buy a DVD player? Is he looking for a definition of the acronym? Does he want local stores or only results in German?
An Internet site that can infer exactly what the user wants -"that is the holy grail for us," Flake said.
Whichever search site reaches that holy grail first will lock up a coveted, and lucrative, position - the main "portal" to the Internet.
Read more (http://www.nypost.com/business/17024.htm)