Open Source Search

The founder of Wikipedia wants to throw his weight behind open source search tools. "His bet: like Linux became a migraine for the monopolist of the last generation, open source search tools will keep companies like Google
honest." - Google vs Jimmy Wales & Open Source Search.

The big question in my mind is can it work. Obviously Google has a huge and wondrous infrastructure for searching. And I agree that the results in typical Google searches are watered down -- not by the ads on the side of the page but by the savvy websites and linkfarms that know how to "work the system". I find myself more and more using specialized engines for different kinds of searches. General stuff I use Google, but for more current/recent/breaking stuff I use blog searches. It will be interesting to see what develops in the searching world, since it is pretty much the cornerstone of the Internet.