What Is A Search Engine?
Basically, a search engine is a piece of software that resides on a server (a large computer) that is permanantly connected to the Internet. It is designed to search through millions of websites and Usenet articles, for you, in a matter of seconds. All you need to do is to tap in a few keywords, or a phrase, relating to the information that you want, and the search engine will return with a list of websites, or articles, which match your criteria. The real trick to using a search engine is knowing what you want to look for in the first place. The more precise you can be with the keywords you enter, the more accurate will be the list of sites etc that the search engine returns.
Where So I Find A Search Engine?
There are a large number of search engines available that are accessible via your web browser.
I've listed a few of them in the Resources Section.
What Is A Web Directory?
Web directories, like Yahoo!, operate a little differently than true search engines.
You can still enter keywords in the same way as above but you can also click on any of the
underlined Category links shown on the main page. Clicking on, for example, Computers will take
you to the Computers category. From there you can click on Internet or Software - refining your
search and moving deeper into the sub-categories. It's a matter of personal preference as to which
method you use - entering keyword or browsing through categories. You may find yourself using one
method at one time and another subsequently according to your needs.