They will ferret out information on a given subject, no matter where it is located on the Web. Now, new software escalates the level of automation. Call it search engines for search engines. Up until now the procedure has been to pick one of the on-line search engines, such as HotBot or AltaVista, enter some search words, wait a minute for the results, and investigate each of the links found. If enough information is not found, another search engine can be tried.
New software accepts the same search words and simultaneously queries all the major search engines.
It eliminates duplicates and prepares a permanent report of all links. These links can be browsed right away, browsed later on, or automatically downloaded for off-line browsing. A visit to a computer store will turn up several. Price does not always mean performance or ease of use. R. Guy Cowan produced art pottery from 1912 to 1917 in Lakewood, Ohio, fueling the kiln from his private natural gas well.