November 29, 2006

Meet PageBull, a new metasearch engine. Like most other metasearch engines, PageBull samples results pages from several major search engines and delivers them in one consolidated and simplified list.

PageBull actually displays results more or less as screenshots of the listed Web sites.

However, what really makes it different from other search engines is that all results are presented as graphics of the search results pages. It isn't just a question of adding simple thumbnails to regular search results since it completely eliminates text alltogether.

PageBull shows the search results in a 3 by 4, 2 by 6 or 4 by 3 image grid, depending on your Internet browser window size and depending on the exact screen resolution of your pc monitor.

If desired, you can also use a drop down menu to customize the image grid to your specific taste.

It's exciting to see the rather large amount of data that can be contained in small graphics such as this.

It may be difficult to read the text present in the images, but the main headlines immediately offers an idea of what the page is all about.

As a positive note, it should be noted that the images are generated rapidly. PageBull will also highlight the search keywords used in the screenshots.

If a person really needs to read the specific topic on a page, a small information link brings up the relevant information to the user.

There is also a "plus" (+) sign that that will generate a larger image of the relevant page.

All in all, PageBull does require a fast broadband Internet connection for maximum performance. It recommends a speed of 1 M-BPS or higher, so a cable modem would be your ideal candidate.

Also, JavaScript must be enabled in your browser. A mouse with a mousewheel and a monitor with 1280 pixels horizontal or more is also highly recommended.

Source: Pandia