Software:Gigablast

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Short description: Free and open-source web search engine
Gigablast
Gigablast screenshot.png
Home page as of January 2019
Type of site
Search engine
Available inEnglish
Founded2000; 24 years ago (2000)
DissolvedApril 2023; 15 months ago (April 2023)
HeadquartersAlbuquerque, New Mexico, United States[1]
OwnerGigablast, Inc.
Created byMatt Wells
Websitewww.gigablast.com
RegistrationOptional
Launched2002; 22 years ago (2002)[2][3]
Current statusOffline
Written inC/C++
gb
Developer(s)Matt Wells
Final release
1.20-1 (x64,[4] i386[5])
Repositoryhttps://github.com/gigablast/open-source-search-engine
Written inC/C++
Operating systemLinux
Typesearch engine
LicenseApache License 2.0
Websitewww.gigablast.com

Gigablast was an American free and open-source web search engine and directory. Founded in 2000, it was an independent engine and web crawler,[6] developed and maintained by Matt Wells, a former Infoseek employee and New Mexico Tech graduate.[7] During early April 2023, the website went offline without warning and without any official statement.

The open-source search engine source code is written in the programming languages C and C++. It was released as open-source software under the Apache License version 2, in July 2013.[8] In 2015, Gigablast claimed to have indexed over 12 billion web pages.[9]

The Gigablast engine provided search results to other companies at various times, including Ixquick,[10] Clusty,[11] Zuula, Snap,[12] Blingo, and Internet Archive.[13]

Background

Matt Wells worked for the Infoseek search engine until he left in 1999, to start working on what would become Gigablast, coding everything from scratch in C++. It was originally designed to index up to 200 billion web pages.[14] Gigablast went into beta release on July 21, 2002.[15]

Features

Gigablast supported various specialized searches and Boolean algebra operators.[16] It also supported a related-concept feature called Giga Bits[17] and a blog-search feature.[18]

A feature called Gigabits provided relevant information in addition to what the user was searching for.[19]

Gigablast also claimed to be, as of 2010, the "leading" clean energy search engine with 90 percent of its power coming from wind energy.[20]

Acquisition

In 2013, it was reported that Yippy had agreed to acquire Gigablast Inc.[21] However, later on, Gigablast author Matt Wells said that no acquisition took place and that Gigablast remained independent.[13]

Critical reception

In 2003, The New York Times columnist Lee Dembart stated that "Gigablast has its adherents", but opined that Google is "head and shoulders" above it, and adds that Google's search results are more complete.[22] In 2016, a Lifewire reviewer felt that Gigablast is easy to use and liked the Gigabits feature.[23]

See also

Note: This topic belongs to "Free and open-source software" portal

References

  1. ↑ "Gigablast Inc". https://www.yellowpages.com/albuquerque-nm/mip/gigablast-inc-4799216. 
  2. ↑ Notess, Greg R. (31 March 2008). "Review of Gigablast". http://www.searchengineshowdown.com/features/gigablast/review.html. 
  3. ↑ Chamberlain, Ellen (2000). "Bare Bones lesson 14: GIGABLAST". Bare Bones 101: A basic tutorial on searching the web. The University of South Carolina Beaufort. https://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/pages/bones/lesson14.shtml. 
  4. ↑ https://www.gigablast.com/gb_1.20-1_amd64.deb
  5. ↑ https://www.gigablast.com/gb_1.20-1_i386.deb
  6. ↑ Burge, Randy (11 June 2007). "New Mexico's soil fertile for brainchilds". Albuquerque Tribune. http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/jun/11/randy-burge-new-mexicos-soil-fertile-brainchilds/. 
  7. ↑ Wells, Matt. "Matt Wells' Career Highlights". https://www.gigablast.com/bio.html. 
  8. ↑ "Gigablast Now an Open Source Search Engine". PR Newswire. 30 July 2013. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gigablast-now-an-open-source-search-engine-217624911.html. 
  9. ↑ Wells, Matt. "FAQ". https://www.gigablast.com/admin.html#features. 
  10. ↑ "Ixquick Q&A". Ixquick. January 2009. https://www.ixquick.com/eng/press/qa.pdf. 
  11. ↑ "Do Alternative Search Engines Measure Up?". PC World. 23 October 2007. http://www.pcworld.com/article/133265/article.html. 
  12. ↑ Delaney, Kevin J. (6 October 2004). "Snap Enters Field Of Search Engines With Some Twists". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB109701712404137197. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Gigablast (1 July 2015). "Gigablast to Build the Biggest Search Engine". https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gigablast-to-build-the-biggest-search-engine-300107382.html. 
  14. ↑ "Search Engine Optimization Advice for Gigablast" (in en-US). https://metamend.com/archive/past-engines/search-engine-gigablast/. 
  15. ↑ Notess, Greg R. (21 July 2002). "New! GigaBlast in Beta". https://searchengineshowdown.com/2002/07/new_gigablast_in_beta/. 
  16. ↑ Rubenking, Janet (1 February 2003). "Search Smarter". PC Magazine. https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1162097,00.asp. 
  17. ↑ Shaw, Maura D. (2007). "Conducting Advanced Searches". Mastering Online Research: A Comprehensive Guide to Effective and Efficient Search Strategies. Writer's Digest. p. 81. ISBN 978-1582974583. https://books.google.com/books?id=Ij6PBJHVoiIC&q=gigablast&pg=PA81. [yes|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
  18. ↑ Arrington, Michael (9 July 2005). "Profile – Gigablast (Blog Search)". Tech Crunch. https://techcrunch.com/2005/07/09/profile-gigablast-blog-search/. 
  19. ↑ Radhakrishnan, Arun (28 August 2007). "GigaBlast Search Engine : Hand Built Algorithmic Search". https://www.searchenginejournal.com/gigablast-search-engine-hand-built-algorithmic-search/5558/. 
  20. ↑ Notess, Greg R. (19 May 2010). "Remember Gigablast?". https://searchengineshowdown.com/2010/05/remember_gigablast/. 
  21. ↑ Arnold, Stephen E. (19 July 2013). "Acquisition of Gigablast by Yippy Leaves Some Questions Unanswered". http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/2013/07/19/acquisition-of-gigablast-by-yippy-inc-leaves-some-questions-unanswered/. 
  22. ↑ Dembart, Lee (March 24, 2003). "Being Googled". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/24/business/worldbusiness/24iht-itend24_ed3_.html. "Google is indispensable to anyone who uses the Internet. It isn't the only search engine — Teoma has its adherents, as does Gigablast — but Google is head and shoulders above the others." 
  23. ↑ Collins, Jerri (18 October 2016). "Search the Web with Gigablast". https://www.lifewire.com/search-web-with-gigablast-3482013. 

Bibliography

External links



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