> "More powerful"? In one sense, yes. The Inktome engine (which is what
> Hotbot uses) is based on a loosely-coupled maspar array of commodity
> computers, and its strong suit is frequent scans of the entire Web.
> However, I continue to use both AltaVista *and* Hotbot. Each has
> strong and weak points. Hotbot can over-filter at times.
>
> I also bought AltaVista for my PC. It works adequately. I don't think
> Inktome is offered for individual sale--so in that arena, at least,
> AltaVista wins. YMMV.
Also check out http://www.dogpile.com -- it scans all major search
engines and delivers the results in an intelligent form.
>From my experience with it, I can't say that one search in is definitely
better than another.
Regards,
Erik Moeller