FPC Tech, I think I know, but what is are Cable - DSl - Search Engines - Please explain if a Search Engine has to have Cable or DSL in place to operate or is a Search Engine a way to get on line by itself.

GinnyB

GinnyB

A Search Engine is something you use to find information you are looking for Online. Your PC has to talk to the internet and find the Search Engine using a Dialup, DSL, Cable Modem.

So what is a Search Engine?

Lets pretend that I am a Search Engine. I have a data base in my hands, it is called a phone book. The Search Engine is my eyes. When I look for an address in the phone book i am performing a search. I usually can find it pretty quick! but not as fast as an online Search Engine. The Search Engine functions much like my eyes but at an unbelievable speed. Much quicker than I can turn the phone book pages. They are so fast that it could almost be considered instantaneous. Online Search Engines read hundreds of phone books, dictionaries, encyclopedia and publications at the speed of light. There is no delay in getting a address, word spelling, a picture, or the complete works of Shakespeare.

Lets pretend again that I am a Search Engine. You ask me where your Aunt lives. You give me her name, address and the city she lives in. I simply turn the phone book pages until I find her and I tell you where she lives.

When you are online, the thing that slows your search down is the type of connection your PC uses to contact the Search Engine.

If you sent me the request via the United States Postal Service, you could wait a while. First you write your request and put it in the mail box, and wait for the postal carrier to arrive. Then the letter goes to the Post Office. Eventually it gets to me where i open my phone book, look up her address and send you a reply letter telling you where she lives. The process could take weeks for the answer to get back to you. That is pretty slow but it still took only a few seconds to look your Aunt's address up in the phone book.

If the question is sent via Dialup Modem through your PC to an online Search Engine, it is much faster. You don't have to wait for the letter carrier and your Aunt's address arrives in a few minutes.

If you have a DSL connection to the internet, your Aunt's address arrives even little faster. You may get your answer within a minute. If your PC is connected to very high speed DSL or a Cable modem, your Aunt's address will arrive the fastest, usually in a second or two. So in this case, the Search Engine does not come into play because the search is done nearly instantaneous. It is the speed your question is sent and how fast it is returned.

So in the long run, what makes a Search Engine fast or slow is not normally the Search Engine, but rather how fast you can ask the question and how quickly you can get the answer.

FPC Tech