« Return to: Search Engine Shoot-Out
| Search-Engine Shoot-Out: Our Test Queries and Target Responses | ||
|---|---|---|
| We asked ten queries in each of six categories: text information, video, images, local information, news, and blogs. Within each category we sought both an easy and a difficult target in five different topics or subjects. In some instances our target was a specific Web page; but unless noted below, any site that provided the target response was considered to have given a correct answer. For topical searches we changed the queries in each of the three rounds of testing. | ||
| Text-information search | Query | Target response |
| Technical (easy) | WiMax speed and range | 40 mbps per channel in a typical cell radius of 3km to 10km, as stated on the WiMax Forum |
| Technical (difficult) | Linksys WPA2 | Yes, the Linksys WRT54G wireless router does support WPA2 |
| Pop culture (easy) | First round: 2007 Academy Award nominees Second round: 2007 Academy Award winners Third round: 2007 NCAA basketball tournament teams |
First round: The award nominees in each category Second round: The award winners in each category Third round: The NCAA basketball tournament field of 64 teams |
| Pop culture (difficult) | Tigers may 1 | The Detroit Tigers play the Baltimore Orioles at Comerica Park on May 1, 2007 |
| Research/academic (easy) | Capital of Moldova | Chisinau (Kishinev) |
| Research/academic (difficult) | weight gnu yak | Male yaks weigh 1100 to 2645 pounds (500 to 1200 kilograms), and females weigh 660 to 770 pounds (300 to 350 kilograms); a gnu (a blue one) weighs 500 to 600 pounds (235 to 275 kilograms) |
| Book excerpt (easy) | excerpt Doctorow The March | An excerpt from the E.L. Doctorow book |
| Book excerpt (difficult) | No Exit | An excerpt from the Jean-Paul Sartre play |
| Travel (easy) | 2007 All Star Game | San Francisco's AT&T Park on July 7, 2007 |
| Travel (difficult) | Sanibel Beach | The location of Bowman (or Bowman's) Beach on Sanibel Island in Florida |
| Video search | Query | Target response |
| Internet video (easy) | Colbert speech 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner | The full 24-minute, 10-second video of Stephen Colbert's roast of the president |
| Internet video (difficult) | Food for Thought DeLuca | Food for Thought; short |
| Television clip (easy) | Samurai Delicatessen | Saturday Night Live skit starring John Belushi and Buck Henry |
| Television clip (difficult) | Gilda Radner | Saturday Night Live skit starring Gilda Radner and Steve Martin dancing |
| How-to video (easy) | how to carve a turkey | Several potential correct answers, one of which is Martha Stewart's instructions |
| How-to video (difficult) | upgrade notebook drive | Any video showing step-by-step instructions for installing a new hard drive in a notebook PC |
| News (easy) | First round: tornado in Enterprise, Alabama Second round: Australian cyclone Third round: Valerie Plame congressional hearing |
First round: Tornado in Enterprise, Alabama Second round: Australian cyclone Third round: Valerie Plame at congressional hearing |
| News (difficult) | First round: Dodgers home opener Second round: Chatsworth Third round: big rig 101 |
First round: "LA Dodgers Sell Out Home-Opener Tickets" Second round: "HazMat Team Called to Chatsworth" Third round: "Big Rig Crashes Through Center Divider on 101" |
| Animation (easy) | Gopher Broke | Nominee for 2005 Academy Award for animated short subject |
| Animation (difficult) | Maestro | Hungarian artist Geza M. Toth's Academy Award-nominated short |
| Image search | Query | Target response |
| Portrait (easy) | Rutherford B. Hayes | The nineteenth president of the United States |
| Portrait (difficult) | Vico | Italian poet-philosopher Giambattista Vico, 1668-1744 |
| Building (easy) | Pantheon | The Pantheon in Rome |
| Building (difficult) | Lincoln Hall Kentucky | Lincoln Hall, Berea College, Kentucky |
| Thing (easy) | platypus | The marsupial |
| Thing (difficult) | windform | A 20-foot horn |
| Place (easy) | Times Square | The New York City landmark |
| Place (difficult) | Asilomar | Asilomar State Beach, Pacific Grove, California |
| Event (easy) | Mardi Gras | The New Orleans Mardi Gras celebration, 2007 |
| Event (difficult) | Keeneland | Keeneland Racetrack (the building, not the horses or the track itself) |
| Local search | Query | Target response |
| Restaurant (easy) | Spago | The address and telephone number of the popular restaurant in Beverly Hills, California |
| Restaurant (difficult) | Chili My Soul | Information for the obscure restaurant in Encino, California |
| Gas station (easy) | gas station 91301 | The nearest station to the test location of Agoura Hills, California |
| Gas station (difficult) | cheap gas 91301 | The lowest-priced gas near the test location of Agoura Hills, California |
| Person's telephone number (easy) | [Author's own number] | The author's telephone number |
| Person's telephone number (difficult) | telephone Bill Smith Thousand Oaks | The telephone number of Bill Smith of Thousand Oaks, California |
| Driving directions (easy) | Agoura Hills to Spago in Beverly Hills | Directions for a short trip using mostly freeways from Agoura Hills to Spago in Beverly Hills |
| Driving directions (difficult) | Agoura Hills to Zuma Beach in Malibu | Directions for a longer trip using mostly surface streets and/or exurban roads from Agoura Hills to Zuma Beach in Malibu |
| Event/show/news (easy) | L.A. Lakers tickets | Any reputable ticket vendor |
| Event/show/news (difficult) | Calabasas election | March city election results for Calabasas, California |
| News search | Query | Target response |
| Technical (easy) | First round: RINBOT Second round: EU iTunes Third round: Microsoft antivirus |
First round: RINBOT virus outbreak Second round: European Union asks Apple to change iTunes copy protection Third round: Microsoft reports that its OneCare antivirus software needs work |
| Technical (difficult) | First round: 8800 Second round: Woosh Third round: March Vista update |
First round: nVidia driver update for Vista Second round: Woosh Wireless Broadband now compatible with Vista Third round: March 2007 Windows Vista Application Compatibility Update |
| International (easy) | First round: Airbus strike Second round: Morocco Third round: Russian crash |
First round: Workers strike over Airbus cuts Second round: Morocco cafe bombing on March 11, 2007 Third round: Plane crash in Samara, Russia |
| International (difficult) | First round: Zimbabwe Second round: Nigeria Third round: Ugandan troops |
First round: Australia cricket team defeats Zimbabwe in World Cup warm-up match Second round: Presidential candidate Umaru Yar'Adua returns to Lagos Third round: Ugandan ex-troops win $2 billion payout |
| Business (easy) | First round: Volt Second round: gas prices Third round: China interest rates |
First round: GM announces 2010 launch date for its Volt electric car Second round: Average gas prices rise 20 cents per gallon Third round: China central bank announces on March 17, 2007 (the day of testing) that it is raising interest rates to curb investment |
| Business (difficult) | First round: 7921G Second round: Alfa Third round: patriot blend troops |
First round: Cisco introduces the Unified Wireless IP Phone 7921G Second round: Russia's Alfa Group conglomerate raises its voting stake in Pelcom Third round: Newhall Coffee Roasting donates 12,000 pounds of its Patriot Blend to troops in Iraq and Afganistan |
| Popular/breaking (easy) | First round: Libby Second round: California fires Third round: war protest |
First round: Scooter Libby found guilty in CIA leak case Second round: Brushfires in Southern California Third round: Antiwar march in Washington, D.C. on March 17, 2007 (the day of testing) |
| Popular/breaking (difficult) | First round: Agoura water polo Second round: Oaks Christian Third round: Los Altos closure |
First round: Agoura High School's girls water polo team beats Laguna Beach in CIP Division II championship Second round: The Westlake Village, California, Oaks Christian High School's girls soccer team wins CIF title Third round: School board in Camarillo, California, votes to close Los Altos Middle School |
| Weather (easy) | LA weather | Weather forecast for Los Angeles |
| Weather (difficult) | Leadville weather | Weather forecast for Leadville, Colorado |
| Blog search | Query | Target response |
| Technical information (easy) | First round: RINBOT Second round: EU iTunes Third round: Microsoft antivirus |
First round: Blog discussing the RINBOT virus Second round: Blog discussing the European Union's beef with iTunes Third round: Blog discussing Microsoft's comment that its OneCare antivirus software needs work |
| Technical information (difficult) | First round: 8800 Second round: Woosh Third round: March Vista update |
First round: Blog discussing the nVidia driver upgrade for Vista (see news for details) Second round: Blog discussing Woosh's new Vista compatibility Third round: Blog discussing March 2007 Windows Vista Application Compatibility Update |
| Breaking news (easy) | First round: Libby Second round: Fred Thompson Third round: war protest |
First round: Blog discussing the Scooter Libby verdict Second round: Blog discussing Fred Thompson's possible 2008 presidential run Third round: Blog discussing the antiwar march in Washington, D.C., on March 17, 2007 (the day of testing) |
| Breaking news (difficult) | First round: Ballymena Second round: Nigeria Third round: Derbyshire cricket |
First round: Blog discussing the Irish Cup match between Linfield and Ballymena United Second round: Blog discussing the breaking news story, "Nigeria's Yar'Adua Blames Opposition for Death Rumour" Third round: BBC's Derbyshire Cricket Blog |
| Popular commentary (easy) | First round: Huffington Libby Second round: Huffington Hagel Third round: Malkin protest |
First round: Arianna Huffington opining on the Scooter Libby verdict Second round: Blog on Senator Chuck Hagel's presidential bid Third round: Michelle Malkin's blog of March 17, 2007, on that day's Washington D.C. antiwar protest and counterdemonstrators |
| Popular commentary (difficult) | Santa Paula | City of Santa Paula, California, blog written by its city manager |
| Product review (easy) | First and second rounds: iTunes Third round: Google Talk gadget |
First and second rounds: The iPod Blog Third round: Preview of Web-based module for Google Talk users |
| Product review (difficult) | First and second rounds: D40x Third round: EaglePicher |
First and second round: Preview of Nikon D40x digital camera (or similar) Third round: Preview of supersmall battery |
| Company profile (easy) | First and second rounds: Google Third round: Vonage and Covad |
First and second round: Inside Google Third round: Profile contrasting two popular VoIP providers |
| Company profile (difficult) | First and second rounds: Wetpaint Third round: Tello |
First and second round: Post on the wiki service Third round: Post on the demise of the pioneer VoIP service |