A friend of mine mentioned how a lot of her older colleagues refuse to use Google in order troubleshoot computer problems and other issues. I quipped how maybe it's the fact they're more used its predecessor, Yahoo. That got my retro head hoppin, and I just had to take a trip down search-engine-memory-lane. I checked out some of the popular sites we used in the early to late nineties. I was soon reminded of how common the dog motif is and how they've become synonymous the online method of tracking, digging, searching, retrieval, and fetching information. Dogs are quite self sufficient, and this theme echos in the use of answering our own questions with the click of a mouse, "go find" "go fetch" is even speak for the clicking action of bringing you the results.
Breeds that would make awesome search engines:
Pointers - The name pointer comes from the dog's instinct to point, by stopping and aiming its muzzle towards game. This demonstrates to the hunter the location of his or her quarry and allows them to move into gun range.
Setters - silently searches for game by scent; hunting is done systematically and methodically. When prey is encountered the dog freezes rather than chasing after the game. Setters get their name from their distinctive stance; a sort of crouch or "set" upon finding their quarry
Retrievers - Retrievers were bred primarily to retrieve birds or other prey and return them to the hunter without damage. Although spaniels and some pointing breeds routinely retrieve game, and many retrievers are skilled in finding game, retrievers are distinguished in that non-slip retrieval is their primary function.
Vizlas - natural hunter endowed with an excellent nose and an outstanding trainability
Greyhounds/Lurchers/Sighthounds - their ability to course hares and other small animals using long sight, chase precision, and at top speeds is enough to make any search engine envious
Search Engine Logos:
Breeds that would make awesome search engines:
Pointers - The name pointer comes from the dog's instinct to point, by stopping and aiming its muzzle towards game. This demonstrates to the hunter the location of his or her quarry and allows them to move into gun range.
Setters - silently searches for game by scent; hunting is done systematically and methodically. When prey is encountered the dog freezes rather than chasing after the game. Setters get their name from their distinctive stance; a sort of crouch or "set" upon finding their quarry
Retrievers - Retrievers were bred primarily to retrieve birds or other prey and return them to the hunter without damage. Although spaniels and some pointing breeds routinely retrieve game, and many retrievers are skilled in finding game, retrievers are distinguished in that non-slip retrieval is their primary function.
Vizlas - natural hunter endowed with an excellent nose and an outstanding trainability
Greyhounds/Lurchers/Sighthounds - their ability to course hares and other small animals using long sight, chase precision, and at top speeds is enough to make any search engine envious
Search Engine Logos:
Dogpile fetches your search items by meta searching other engines such LookSmart, MIVA, About, Ask, Bing, Yahoo and Google. They claim to have the ability to search a far greater portion of the internet as opposed to a traditional search engine. Dogpile eliminates the need to search multiple engines by neatly providing all of the results in one place Their logo is black and white pointy eared mutt named Arfie who has his own string of adventures. You can even write to him if you're so inclined.
"Who doesn't love a friendly dog, right? Arfie seems to be everyone's favorite pooch. We think it's because he's so darned fast and right each time, but everyone has their reasons. Arfie's main goal is to please. Because of that, he's super-computer-like in his ability to bring back the best search results in the fastest timeframe possible. Now, if only we could teach him to vacuum and do our taxes." -Dogpile
"Who doesn't love a friendly dog, right? Arfie seems to be everyone's favorite pooch. We think it's because he's so darned fast and right each time, but everyone has their reasons. Arfie's main goal is to please. Because of that, he's super-computer-like in his ability to bring back the best search results in the fastest timeframe possible. Now, if only we could teach him to vacuum and do our taxes." -Dogpile
This is Arfie and these are all his themed adventures, much like when Google changes up their theme depending on the holiday, check him out
Looks like Lycos is still around! Like a faithful retriever, but In their words, "Lycos is a survivor. Established in 1995, we were originally a search engine — before most people even knew what a "search engine" was. Times change, and Lycos has changed with them, evolving from a single search engine into a focused network of community and social sites that include Gamesville.com, Tripod.com, Angelfire.com, and of course, Lycos.com." Now Check out this "vintage" Lycos television commercial that illustrates exactly why dogs rule the search engine world, you might even remember it!
"Lycos: The Fastest Web Retriever in Cyberspace" - 1999 slogan
And last, but certainly not least, along the same line of being helpful wherein fetching a Computer User's information, allow me to re-introduce you to this little Retriever from Microsoft Assistant 1997-2003. He likely annoyed you, but he meant well (unlike that menacing paperclip "Clippy" don't look him straight in the eye........)