Here’s something you might not expect: MSN Search contains a fairly advanced
search engine—more advanced, in some ways, than Google. One of the cool
things about MSN Search is that you can use Boolean operators to fine-tune
your searches. All you have to do is insert the appropriate operators when you
enter your query in the search box and MSN Search will narrow your search
accordingly.
AND
The first Boolean operator you can use with MSN Search is the AND operator.
You use the AND operator to make sure that search results include both (or all)
the words in your query. So, for example, you wanted to search for pages about
Toyota Supras, you’d enter toyota AND supra.
Of course, you don’t actually have to use the AND operator; all MSN searches
are AND searches by default. So the AND is implied, and including it in your
query is superfluous. Sorry.
OR
More interesting is the OR operator. You use the OR operator to conduct
either/or searches. So, for example, if you wanted to search for pages about
either hurricanes or tornadoes, you’d enter hurricanes OR tornadoes. The
search results page will include hurricane pages, tornado pages, and even (but
not exclusively) pages about both hurricanes and tornadoes.
NOT
The third Boolean operator supported by MSN Search is the NOT operator. You
use the NOT operator to exclude specified words from your search results. So,
for example, if you wanted to search for all Presidents of the United States
except for Richard Nixon, you’d enter presidents NOT nixon.
MSN Search also lets you use the non-Boolean “plus” (+) and “minus” (-)
operators to include and exclude words from your search.
Stringing Together Multiple Operators
MSN Search also lets you string together multiple Boolean operators together
in a complex query. The operators work in order from left to right, just as if you
were constructing an algebraic equation.
Here are a few examples:
To search for cowboy movies that don’t star Randolph Scott, enter cow
boy AND movies NOT scott
To search for fashion models that aren’t blondes or redheads, enter
models NOT blondes OR redheads
To search for recipes using either beef or chicken, enter recipes AND
beef OR chicken
And so on.
Exact Phrase Search
There’s one more operator to mention, even if it isn’t technically a Boolean one.
That’s the “exact phrase” operator—the quotation mark. When you want to
restrict your search to an exact phrase, simply enclose the entire phrase in quo
tation marks. So if you’re searching for the play The Taming of the Shrew, enter
“the taming of the shrew”. It’s that simple.
.
When you conduct a search with MSN Search, the search results page (like the
one shown in Figure 2-5) includes four different types of results. At the very top
of the page is a listing of Popular Topics that you can use to help refine your
search. Next up is a short list of Featured Sites, followed by a longer list of Web
Directory Sites, and then the much longer list of Web Pages. The sum total of all
these results provides a “best of all worlds” search, unique among the major
search sites; you get a blend of high-quality human-edited directory listings
and high-volume automated search index listings.
So how do the four different types of search results differ? Read on to learn this
secret behind the search.
There’s actually a fifth category of results that pop up from time to time—
Sponsored Sites. These listings are paid for by advertisers and are pro
grammed to appear when certain keywords are entered into a search query.
Popular Topics :
The Popular Topics listings at the top of the search results page are searches
related to your query, ideally designed to help you narrow down your results.
Click one of these links to start a new search and display a new search results
page.
Featured Sites :
Featured Sites are sites that are manually assembled by MSN’s team of editors.
MSN’s editors monitor the most popular searches being performed with MSN
Search and hand-pick sites they believe to be most relevant to these searches.
Those sites appear in the Featured Sites section.
Note that the Featured Sites section won’t appear on all search results pages;
the more obscure your query, the less likely that MSN’s editors have researched
the topic. In addition, MSN will sometimes use this section to provide links to
articles in the Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia, related MSNBC news articles, or
related MSN content.
Web Directory Sites :
The next big section on the search results page isWeb Directory Sites. These
results come from the LookSmart directory, which (like the Yahoo! Directory) is
a hand-picked listing of the best sites on the Web. These are quality results that
are definitely worth checking out.
Microsoft has announced that it’s not renewing its deal with LookSmart,
which means that LookSmart directory results are here for the short term
only. Expect the LookSmart results to be replaced by results from Microsoft’s
soon-to-be-announced proprietary search tool.
Web Pages :
The bulk of MSN’s search results fall into the Web Pages category. These results
derive from the Inktomi search index, which lists three billion Web pages. You
can compare Inktomi results to those from Google, which uses similar software-
driven search technology.
While MSN currently uses Inktomi for its search index, that might not be a
long-term relationship. Sources say that Microsoft is developing its own pro
prietary search technology. When the time is right, expect Inktomi to be
kicked out in favor of Microsoft’s home-grown search results—especially
because Inktomi is now owned by Yahoo!, Microsoft’s chief portal rival.
one shown in Figure 2-5) includes four different types of results. At the very top
of the page is a listing of Popular Topics that you can use to help refine your
search. Next up is a short list of Featured Sites, followed by a longer list of Web
Directory Sites, and then the much longer list of Web Pages. The sum total of all
these results provides a “best of all worlds” search, unique among the major
search sites; you get a blend of high-quality human-edited directory listings
and high-volume automated search index listings.
So how do the four different types of search results differ? Read on to learn this
secret behind the search.
There’s actually a fifth category of results that pop up from time to time—
Sponsored Sites. These listings are paid for by advertisers and are pro
grammed to appear when certain keywords are entered into a search query.
Popular Topics :
The Popular Topics listings at the top of the search results page are searches
related to your query, ideally designed to help you narrow down your results.
Click one of these links to start a new search and display a new search results
page.
Featured Sites :
Featured Sites are sites that are manually assembled by MSN’s team of editors.
MSN’s editors monitor the most popular searches being performed with MSN
Search and hand-pick sites they believe to be most relevant to these searches.
Those sites appear in the Featured Sites section.
Note that the Featured Sites section won’t appear on all search results pages;
the more obscure your query, the less likely that MSN’s editors have researched
the topic. In addition, MSN will sometimes use this section to provide links to
articles in the Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia, related MSNBC news articles, or
related MSN content.
Web Directory Sites :
The next big section on the search results page isWeb Directory Sites. These
results come from the LookSmart directory, which (like the Yahoo! Directory) is
a hand-picked listing of the best sites on the Web. These are quality results that
are definitely worth checking out.
Microsoft has announced that it’s not renewing its deal with LookSmart,
which means that LookSmart directory results are here for the short term
only. Expect the LookSmart results to be replaced by results from Microsoft’s
soon-to-be-announced proprietary search tool.
Web Pages :
The bulk of MSN’s search results fall into the Web Pages category. These results
derive from the Inktomi search index, which lists three billion Web pages. You
can compare Inktomi results to those from Google, which uses similar software-
driven search technology.
While MSN currently uses Inktomi for its search index, that might not be a
long-term relationship. Sources say that Microsoft is developing its own pro
prietary search technology. When the time is right, expect Inktomi to be
kicked out in favor of Microsoft’s home-grown search results—especially
because Inktomi is now owned by Yahoo!, Microsoft’s chief portal rival.
As nice as the MSN Home page is, it’s a trifle cluttered. Fortunately, you can
fine-tune MSN’s content to create your own personal version of an MSN start
page, and use it to display both local and personalized information.
MSN’s personalized start page is called My MSN. You get to it by clicking the My
MSN link at the top of the MSN Home page, or by going directly to my.msn.com.
You can customize My MSN to display a variety of different content, as shown in
Figure 2-4. You can also customize the page colors and layout (in a three-column
design), all by clicking the appropriate links at the top of the My MSN page.
Given the wide assortment of content available, you can use My MSN to display
only those items of direct interest, such as your local news and weather.
Once you have your My MSN page set up, configure your Web browser so that
My MSN is your browser’s start page. That way you’ll go to the news and infor
mation you want whenever you launch your browser.
fine-tune MSN’s content to create your own personal version of an MSN start
page, and use it to display both local and personalized information.
MSN’s personalized start page is called My MSN. You get to it by clicking the My
MSN link at the top of the MSN Home page, or by going directly to my.msn.com.
You can customize My MSN to display a variety of different content, as shown in
Figure 2-4. You can also customize the page colors and layout (in a three-column
design), all by clicking the appropriate links at the top of the My MSN page.
Given the wide assortment of content available, you can use My MSN to display
only those items of direct interest, such as your local news and weather.
Once you have your My MSN page set up, configure your Web browser so that
My MSN is your browser’s start page. That way you’ll go to the news and infor
mation you want whenever you launch your browser.
If you do use MSN Internet access to connect to the Web, you get a nice little
bonus—the use of MSN Explorer. MSN Explorer is meant to be a frontend to the
Internet, much like that provided by America Online to its subscribers. In real
ity, however, MSN Explorer is a customized version of the Internet Explorer
Web browser—which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you know how to use IE,
you know how to use MSN Explorer.
As you can see in Figure 2-3, MSN Explorer includes a number of buttons on
top of what would normally be called the browser window. These buttons take
you directly to MSN channels and services; think of them as shortcut links.
The other function of MSN Explorer is to actually connect you to the Internet.
You use MSN Explorer to dial into the MSN service (if you’re connecting via
dial-up), or to perform log in functions if you’re connecting via broadband.
You’re provided with a sign-in screen that displays your different user names;
click a name to connect and sign in.
Of course, you don’t have to use MSN Explorer to access the MSN portal. Even
if you’re using MSN Explorer to connect to the Internet, once you get connected
you can launch Internet Explorer (or any other Web browser) and access the
MSN site from there. Other than the dedicated channel buttons, there’s nothing
special about MSN Explorer that’s necessary to use the MSN site; you can also
access it via the IE, Netscape, or Opera browsers.
bonus—the use of MSN Explorer. MSN Explorer is meant to be a frontend to the
Internet, much like that provided by America Online to its subscribers. In real
ity, however, MSN Explorer is a customized version of the Internet Explorer
Web browser—which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you know how to use IE,
you know how to use MSN Explorer.
As you can see in Figure 2-3, MSN Explorer includes a number of buttons on
top of what would normally be called the browser window. These buttons take
you directly to MSN channels and services; think of them as shortcut links.
The other function of MSN Explorer is to actually connect you to the Internet.
You use MSN Explorer to dial into the MSN service (if you’re connecting via
dial-up), or to perform log in functions if you’re connecting via broadband.
You’re provided with a sign-in screen that displays your different user names;
click a name to connect and sign in.
Of course, you don’t have to use MSN Explorer to access the MSN portal. Even
if you’re using MSN Explorer to connect to the Internet, once you get connected
you can launch Internet Explorer (or any other Web browser) and access the
MSN site from there. Other than the dedicated channel buttons, there’s nothing
special about MSN Explorer that’s necessary to use the MSN site; you can also
access it via the IE, Netscape, or Opera browsers.
As you’re well aware, not every page on the Web is suitable for underage view
ing. Fortunately, Yahoo! offers several options that help you protect your chil
dren from inappropriate content online.
Yahoo’s Mature Content Filter
The first line of defense is to filter inappropriate content from Yahoo!’s search
results. Yahoo! offers a Mature Content Filter you can apply when searching;
with this filter activated, Web pages containing sex or language or other bad
stuff are automatically deleted from all search results.
To activate Yahoo!’s Mature Content filter, click the Preferences link next to the
Search button on Yahoo!’s home page. Scroll down the Search Preferences page
to the Mature Content Filter section; you can choose from Strict (filters text and
images) or Moderate (filters images only) filtering, or turn the filter off.
Yahoo! Family Accounts
Another available option is to create a Yahoo! Family Account. This enables you
to create separate Yahoo! IDs for each of your children. You can then control
what information your children give to Yahoo!—and determine which Yahoo!
features your children can and can’t access.
The key to managing your Family Account is to create separate Yahoo! IDs for
each of your children. There are two classes of children’s IDs available with
Yahoo! Family Accounts: Under 13 and 13 to 18. Each age class has its own
unique restrictions as part of a Family Account. Under 13 IDs are prohibited
from entering any personal information online, participating in auctions or per
sonals, or accessing any adult areas. The 13 to 18 IDs are only prohibited from
participating in auctions and accessing adult areas—but they can leave per
sonal information online.
In addition, the primary ID on a Family Account (meaning you!) can log into
Yahoo! under any of the other IDs. This enables you to monitor and make
changes to your child’s account using all of Yahoo!’s various tools—such as
blocklists, buddy lists, and so on.
Creating a Family Account is similar to creating a regular Yahoo! account. The
big difference is that—to establish the age of the primary account member—
you have to enter a credit card number. (The assumption is that no one under 18
has a credit card.) Yahoo! will not make charges to your card; it only uses the
card for age ID purposes.
To create your Family Account, go to family.yahoo.com. You should see the
Welcome to Yahoo! Family Accounts page; click the Sign Me Up link and com
plete the steps as instructed. (If you already have a Yahoo! account, just enter
your Yahoo! ID and Password.)
Once you’ve created an account, you can add a new child ID for each of your
children. From the Yahoo! Family Accounts page, click the Add Child Account
button and follow the onscreen instructions.
Yahooligans!
Even better than filtering your children’s Internet usage, why not give them
their own kids-safe start page to use when they’re surfing? Yahoo! provides just
such a page—called Yahooligans!
Yahooligans! (www.yahooligans.com) is a kids-oriented directory that is part of
the Yahoo! network of sites. Each site listed in the Yahooligans! directory has
been carefully checked by an experienced educator to ensure that the site’s
content is appropriate for children aged 7 to 12.
As you can see in Figure 1-11, Yahooligans! works just like the main Yahoo! Web
directory, which means you can find sites by either browsing through categories
or directly searching. The difference is that this directory includes categories and
sites of particular interest to children and teenagers—as well as additional fea
tures and services.
In addition to all the cool kids-friendly content, Yahooligans! offers a few other
neat features to help protect your children online. For example, when you con
duct a search on Yahooligans!, it searches only the Yahooligans! directory—it
doesn’t back out to the Web for a larger (unsupervised) index search. And the
Yahooligans! directory doesn’t include sites with any content inappropriate for
younger Web surfers, so it’s completely kids-safe.
In other words, Yahooligans! is the perfect start page for your kids.
Yahooligans! is more than just a directory of family-friendly Web sites.
Yahooligans! also includes a variety of fun and informational services, from
downloadable pictures to interactive online games.
.
ing. Fortunately, Yahoo! offers several options that help you protect your chil
dren from inappropriate content online.
Yahoo’s Mature Content Filter
The first line of defense is to filter inappropriate content from Yahoo!’s search
results. Yahoo! offers a Mature Content Filter you can apply when searching;
with this filter activated, Web pages containing sex or language or other bad
stuff are automatically deleted from all search results.
To activate Yahoo!’s Mature Content filter, click the Preferences link next to the
Search button on Yahoo!’s home page. Scroll down the Search Preferences page
to the Mature Content Filter section; you can choose from Strict (filters text and
images) or Moderate (filters images only) filtering, or turn the filter off.
Yahoo! Family Accounts
Another available option is to create a Yahoo! Family Account. This enables you
to create separate Yahoo! IDs for each of your children. You can then control
what information your children give to Yahoo!—and determine which Yahoo!
features your children can and can’t access.
The key to managing your Family Account is to create separate Yahoo! IDs for
each of your children. There are two classes of children’s IDs available with
Yahoo! Family Accounts: Under 13 and 13 to 18. Each age class has its own
unique restrictions as part of a Family Account. Under 13 IDs are prohibited
from entering any personal information online, participating in auctions or per
sonals, or accessing any adult areas. The 13 to 18 IDs are only prohibited from
participating in auctions and accessing adult areas—but they can leave per
sonal information online.
In addition, the primary ID on a Family Account (meaning you!) can log into
Yahoo! under any of the other IDs. This enables you to monitor and make
changes to your child’s account using all of Yahoo!’s various tools—such as
blocklists, buddy lists, and so on.
Creating a Family Account is similar to creating a regular Yahoo! account. The
big difference is that—to establish the age of the primary account member—
you have to enter a credit card number. (The assumption is that no one under 18
has a credit card.) Yahoo! will not make charges to your card; it only uses the
card for age ID purposes.
To create your Family Account, go to family.yahoo.com. You should see the
Welcome to Yahoo! Family Accounts page; click the Sign Me Up link and com
plete the steps as instructed. (If you already have a Yahoo! account, just enter
your Yahoo! ID and Password.)
Once you’ve created an account, you can add a new child ID for each of your
children. From the Yahoo! Family Accounts page, click the Add Child Account
button and follow the onscreen instructions.
Yahooligans!
Even better than filtering your children’s Internet usage, why not give them
their own kids-safe start page to use when they’re surfing? Yahoo! provides just
such a page—called Yahooligans!
Yahooligans! (www.yahooligans.com) is a kids-oriented directory that is part of
the Yahoo! network of sites. Each site listed in the Yahooligans! directory has
been carefully checked by an experienced educator to ensure that the site’s
content is appropriate for children aged 7 to 12.
As you can see in Figure 1-11, Yahooligans! works just like the main Yahoo! Web
directory, which means you can find sites by either browsing through categories
or directly searching. The difference is that this directory includes categories and
sites of particular interest to children and teenagers—as well as additional fea
tures and services.
In addition to all the cool kids-friendly content, Yahooligans! offers a few other
neat features to help protect your children online. For example, when you con
duct a search on Yahooligans!, it searches only the Yahooligans! directory—it
doesn’t back out to the Web for a larger (unsupervised) index search. And the
Yahooligans! directory doesn’t include sites with any content inappropriate for
younger Web surfers, so it’s completely kids-safe.
In other words, Yahooligans! is the perfect start page for your kids.
Yahooligans! is more than just a directory of family-friendly Web sites.
Yahooligans! also includes a variety of fun and informational services, from
downloadable pictures to interactive online games.
.
With everything Yahoo! has to offer, it’s not surprising that many users use
Yahoo! as their start page for all their Web travels. While the normal Yahoo!
home page is an okay start page, it’s rather generic. Wouldn’t it be better to cre
ate your own personal version of Yahoo!, comprised of those services that you
use most every day?
Well, Yahoo! makes it easy to create your own personal Yahoo!. It’s called My
Yahoo!, where you can pick and choose what you see—and what you don’t
see—every time you log on.
My Yahoo! is located at my.yahoo.com. Easy to remember, eh? The first time
you visit My Yahoo!, you must register for the service and customize your page.
After that, each time you go to My Yahoo!, you’ll see your Yahoo! page exactly
as you configured it.
After you’ve signed on, you see the generic My Yahoo! page shown in Figure
1-10. This is an okay page—it gives you an idea of what you can do with My
Yahoo!—but the whole point of using My Yahoo! is to create a customized page,
which you can do quite easily.
My Yahoo! can display a variety of different types of content, each in its own
module. It’s up to you to choose which content modules you want to display. To
select which modules are displayed on your My Yahoo! page, click the Choose
Content button. When the Personalize Page Content page appears, put a check
mark next to each module you want to display and uncheck those topics you
don’t want to display.
Most modules let you customize the content that is displayed within; for example,
you can create your own list of stocks to display in the Portfolios module and
choose what types of news are displayed in the My Front Page Headlines module.
Although the specific customization is different for each module, the general
steps you take are the same. Click the Edit button on the module you want to
customize; when the next page appears, read the instructions carefully and
then make the appropriate choices. This may include selecting or deselecting
topics, choosing how many headlines are displayed, entering stock tickers for
your portfolio, and so on.
After you’ve decided on all your content, you need to arrange that content on
your page. By default, My Yahoo! uses a two-column layout, with the left col
umn narrower than the right. You can also choose a three-column layout, with a
big center column; just click the Choose Layout button to make your selection.
You can then assign different content modules to different areas of the page.
If you don’t like the default colors of the My Yahoo! page, you can choose from
a variety of other color schemes. Just click the Change Colors button, then
choose from one of the predefined color themes—or click the Customize Theme
link to choose your own colors for each page element.
Your My Yahoo! is now complete—and ready to be changed again whenever
you feel like it!
Some modules—such as the Portfolio and Headlines modules—include a
Detach button that’s not found on other modules. When you click the
Detach button, the contents of that module are displayed in a separate win
dow on your desktop. This is a great way to display constantly updated
information (such as stock prices) while freeing up your Web browser for
other surfing.
Yahoo! as their start page for all their Web travels. While the normal Yahoo!
home page is an okay start page, it’s rather generic. Wouldn’t it be better to cre
ate your own personal version of Yahoo!, comprised of those services that you
use most every day?
Well, Yahoo! makes it easy to create your own personal Yahoo!. It’s called My
Yahoo!, where you can pick and choose what you see—and what you don’t
see—every time you log on.
My Yahoo! is located at my.yahoo.com. Easy to remember, eh? The first time
you visit My Yahoo!, you must register for the service and customize your page.
After that, each time you go to My Yahoo!, you’ll see your Yahoo! page exactly
as you configured it.
After you’ve signed on, you see the generic My Yahoo! page shown in Figure
1-10. This is an okay page—it gives you an idea of what you can do with My
Yahoo!—but the whole point of using My Yahoo! is to create a customized page,
which you can do quite easily.
My Yahoo! can display a variety of different types of content, each in its own
module. It’s up to you to choose which content modules you want to display. To
select which modules are displayed on your My Yahoo! page, click the Choose
Content button. When the Personalize Page Content page appears, put a check
mark next to each module you want to display and uncheck those topics you
don’t want to display.
Most modules let you customize the content that is displayed within; for example,
you can create your own list of stocks to display in the Portfolios module and
choose what types of news are displayed in the My Front Page Headlines module.
Although the specific customization is different for each module, the general
steps you take are the same. Click the Edit button on the module you want to
customize; when the next page appears, read the instructions carefully and
then make the appropriate choices. This may include selecting or deselecting
topics, choosing how many headlines are displayed, entering stock tickers for
your portfolio, and so on.
After you’ve decided on all your content, you need to arrange that content on
your page. By default, My Yahoo! uses a two-column layout, with the left col
umn narrower than the right. You can also choose a three-column layout, with a
big center column; just click the Choose Layout button to make your selection.
You can then assign different content modules to different areas of the page.
If you don’t like the default colors of the My Yahoo! page, you can choose from
a variety of other color schemes. Just click the Change Colors button, then
choose from one of the predefined color themes—or click the Customize Theme
link to choose your own colors for each page element.
Your My Yahoo! is now complete—and ready to be changed again whenever
you feel like it!
Some modules—such as the Portfolio and Headlines modules—include a
Detach button that’s not found on other modules. When you click the
Detach button, the contents of that module are displayed in a separate win
dow on your desktop. This is a great way to display constantly updated
information (such as stock prices) while freeing up your Web browser for
other surfing.
If you’re using Internet Explorer 4.0 for Windows (or a later version), you can
add a special Yahoo! toolbar—called the Yahoo! Companion—to your Web
browser. This toolbar, shown in Figure 1-9, makes using Yahoo! easier by
adding special Yahoo!-specific buttons to your Internet Explorer browser.
Here’s some of what you’ll find on the Yahoo! Companion toolbar:
Y!—Go directly to the Yahoo! home page
Search—Initiates a Web Search (by default); pull down the Search list
to conduct directory, news, Yellow Pages, images, or maps searches
Mail—Accesses your Yahoo! Mail inbox; an alert button will also
appear when you have unread e-mail
My Yahoo!—Go directly to My Yahoo!
To download and install the Yahoo! Companion, go to the companion.yahoo.com
page and click the Get Yahoo! Companion Now button. Follow the onscreen
instructions to download the toolbar to your computer and install it into IE.
click here to download
.
add a special Yahoo! toolbar—called the Yahoo! Companion—to your Web
browser. This toolbar, shown in Figure 1-9, makes using Yahoo! easier by
adding special Yahoo!-specific buttons to your Internet Explorer browser.
Here’s some of what you’ll find on the Yahoo! Companion toolbar:
Y!—Go directly to the Yahoo! home page
Search—Initiates a Web Search (by default); pull down the Search list
to conduct directory, news, Yellow Pages, images, or maps searches
Mail—Accesses your Yahoo! Mail inbox; an alert button will also
appear when you have unread e-mail
My Yahoo!—Go directly to My Yahoo!
To download and install the Yahoo! Companion, go to the companion.yahoo.com
page and click the Get Yahoo! Companion Now button. Follow the onscreen
instructions to download the toolbar to your computer and install it into IE.
click here to download
.