Today, the internet use is more than ever before. In the last decade, there has been a considerable increase in the number of internet users who belong to different age groups, genders, cultures, and interests. Consequently, they use the internet for vastly different purposes. Easy accessibility to the internet has increased a regular individual’s reliance on the internet, for all matters, large and small.
However, to optimize the web usage some sort of specialization is necessary. This may be done through the use of specialized search engines, databases or browsers. Typically most people use regular search engines and standard browsers which works well for several different types of tasks. However, to improve your searching experience and increase efficiency using these specialized search tools is crucial.
The browser market is typically dominated by Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Opera. Safari comes into the picture too when we look at Apple products. Yet, other browsers also exist in the market. They are different not only because of their names, but because they offer something more than what is offered by the traditional web browsers. Strata by Kirix, for example, turns a web table or a page full of numbers into a dynamic spreadsheet. If you work regularly with numbers this browser is definitely faster and superior to any other. Or if you are passionate about music, and would like to listen to your own collection while you surf the internet, there is no need to switch between applications anymore. Songbird allows you to do both simultaneously on a single browser. Songbird is an incredible amalgamation of Firefox and iTunes.
For research tasks, numerous specialized search options are available as well. The basic choice is between a search engine and a database. However, within them too numerous specialized options exist, depending on the field you are researching. For music enthusiasts, you have the options between MixTurtle.com and SongBoxx.com. For images, PicSearch.com can search for any photo available to the public online, and if you prefer to browse through or search a trusted database for images, vectors and videos shutterstock.com can be a good choice.
As for scholarly research, since the emphasis is more on value and authenticity, using a database is a good option. In this sense, one can make use of the specialized subject databases that are available for various disciplines. For example, for research on philosophy, medicine, sports, or economics, searching their specific databases would not only be faster, but easier as well. However, some researchers might prefer using online content over database resources. For them a specialized search engine would be the best alternative. There are search engines for disciplines like history, math, and science, although you have to be careful when using these material. In academic research since reliability of information is important, search engines like iSeek.com will come into the rescue, which display only reviewed content, thus saving you from the trouble of verifying a resource’s authenticity.
Considering the above, it is undoubtedly useful to employ these specialized tools such as specialized browsers, databases or search engines when you have the requirement to search for specific information on a subject.
Sources:
http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2010/03/100-time-saving-search-engines-for-serious-scholars/
http://www.techworld.com/networking/top-10-specialist-web-browsers-3244830/
