Vadlo: New Bio Search Engine
August 6, 2008
In the last year, I’ve noticed that Google is doing less PowerPoint indexing. The cause may be lousy usage so the expense of dealing with the pick up sticks file formats is not worth the computational effort. Another idea is that more people–including me–are dumping PowerPoint decks to Adobe Portable Document Format files and saving some time while reducing bloated PowerPoint files to a more manageable size. Whatever the reason, PowerPoints do contain useful information. Vadlo, a biological-oriented vertical search engine, indexes PowerPoints, training classes, references to protocols, seminars, databases, and software. Like Dieselpoint, Vadlo is a product of Chicago. I think the city is trying to change its metaphorical association from “meat packer” and “big shoulders” to search and content processing. Vadlo is owned by two biology scientists and its mission is “to locate biology research related information on the Web”. The company may get a boost because Google is not doing a particularly thorough job in this area, and as noted, the Google is doing an even poorer job of keeping up its PowerPoint indexing. Vadlo includes cartoons which are undoubtedly real side splitters for biologically-enriched wizards. You can download them here or wait until these turn up in the New Yorker Magazine.
My recollection is that vádló is a Hungarian word which can be a name or mean “accuser”. My hunch is that clever biologists have unearthed this word to find a five letter domain name. I did a bit of poking around, and I found references to this system in comments appended to Cuil.com articles, in a couple of Google Groups, and on a handful of Web logs. One post was dated 2007, so this Valdo is not really a newcomer to search like the outfit I will be visiting later this month. Check out the system. Just don’t accuse me of having lousy language translation skills. I live in rural Kentucky, shoot squirrels, and eat burgoo.
Stephen Arnold, August 6, 2008
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2 Responses to “Vadlo: New Bio Search Engine”
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They have explanation for word VADLO on the website. Clever no doubt, from search engine point of view, you will see the analogy, I am sure.
It was launched for the first time in May 2008. My friends!
Thanks.
Mr. Rice Rice Rice Rice,
The Web site might benefit from a little more detail. The cartoons were an interesting addition, but I like to know who, what, why, when, and where in Chicago the clever bi-wizards craft their carbon-based dreams.
Stephen Arnold, August 6, 2008, 3 47 pm Eastern