|
|||
|
HOME | NEWS | FEATURES | A&E | OPINION | SPORTS | CLASSIFIEDS | WEATHER |
|||
|
Features New sites prove entertaining
By Nicole McIntire Staff writer If creating catchy names for Internet service sites was a contest, these two would certainly take the cake. The new ChaCha search engine and Hulu video site are two recently released sites that offer great services to their users. It is a fairly well-known fact to Internet users that if in the event a question goes un-answered, they can simply Google it to find out more information. As we have seen search engines try to compete with Google and Yahoo, one must ask just what it takes to give these sites a run for their money. However, ChaCha actually offers something that these other search engines do not. While one aspect of the site is the typical automated search engine, the other component consists of paid guides to search your topic for you. Here’s how the guides work: Users simply tells them for what information they are looking and the site will generate links to Web sites that it feels would be most helpful in the search. In order to be a part of this service of the site, one must register an account first. While most feel that the guided search is much more effective, they also admit that it sometimes takes an extra two or three minutes in comparison to traditional search engines. To find your preference, check out this new site for yourself the next time you find yourself bored and surfing the Web. The second emerging site is the newly developed Hulu video site which was released to the public on March 12. This site anticipated to give iTunes and YouTube competition, as they offer many of the same services. "I really enjoyed using hulu.com, and was pleasantly surprised to see such a wide variety of high quality videos," senior Kevin Szczepanski said. "But I noticed an excessive amount of advertisements shown throughout each program." The large quantity of advertisements is due to the fact that the site is run solely off of revenue from their side. Unlike iTunes and some videos on YouTube, no log-in or registration is required for this service. Hulu offers over 250 TV series shows as well as over 100 full- length films. The most popular shows viewed from this site include The Simpsons, Family Guy and Saturday Night Live. Some sporting events will also be available, such as action from the NBA, NHL and NCAA. Students are already taking a liking to the new site. "I like it because if you miss an episode of a TV show or don’t want to pay $10 to see a movie, you can just go on Hulu and watch it for free," junior Jason Weslager said. The site is said to have expanded four times the number of programs that it had originally anticipated. So next time you are looking for something to watch during down time between classes, check out ChaCha. "These sites are surely going to take off," freshman Chris Boyes said, "as long as they can gain as much hype as Google and YouTube."
|
What's inside Find the destinations Mercyhurst College Police and Safety responded to over the past week.
Check out this week's front page.
The events - in pictures - that occurred on the Mercyhurst College campus over the past week.
Blog with your favorite Merciad columnist.
The Merciad is always interested in feedback. Please submit all feedback to editormerciad.
Want to tell us what's on your mind? See news happening? Contact a reporter, columnist, or editor.
|
||
 |
|||