Search Bots

Bingooo: Part Search Engine, Part Browser

By Brian Proffitt

Information is still the Internet commodity that begs to be found and used as quickly and as accurately as possible.

While displaying information has always been the bailiwick of the Web browser, it has never been a tool to locate that information, instead relying on search engines to perform the task.

In another example of technology convergence, the German software firm Bingooo has merged the features of a browser and search engine into one slick component.

Bingooo, which is available in its native German and English versions, can be most closely compared to the Copernic 2001 tool, in that it uses browsers and search engines in the same manner. The comparison is actually looser than you might think, since there are several differences between the product right off the bat.

Bingooo, while it features less search agents than the free Copernic Basic version, (31 to Copernic's 80), has integrated all of its functionality into one streamlined window, so you can see the listed results and found pages all in one glance.

Bingooo's focus is more on the ease of display of information, so the search tools come up a bit short to its primary competitor. Besides having less search agents, there is no built-in functionality for launching searches on a scheduled basis. Searches can be archived for later use, however.

Bingooo's bias towards information display is seen in the included multimedia component, which allows the user to examine audio and video files right within the browser window.

There is also another component included in Bingooo that stresses the designers' desire to keep Bingooo as your primary platform: an instant messaging component that works over your LAN or (with jabber.org) across the Internet.

Bingooo's interface and architecture lends a great deal of efficiency and speed to how it finds information. Agent searches, which query multiple search engines simultaneously, are very fast. The interface is well-designed and though the stylized icons can throw you for a while, they are easier to understand than others.

The English version of this application needs a little polish, as there are still a few German terms scattered throughout the menu structure and dialog boxes, but this is not insurmountable. I also found the customizing options to be well-thought out and easy to use.

If you need a browser with an above-average search engine capacity, I recommend you give Bingooo a look.