Altavista disappears from the net - Heise Newsticker

It’s the end of an era: On Monday, the AltaVista search engine is shut off. For a long time it was the most popular search engine, but missed the bursting of the “Internet bubble” of the millennium connection to Google. Now Yahoo Altavista owner stomps as announced once known search engine – and a range of other products – a

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The decision also shows how much the web has changed since the start of Altavista 1995. At that time the search provider was a pioneer. While other search engines collected the existing websites in an editorially maintained catalogs and directory services, Altavista built a software. The “super-spider” of Altavista information about the pages read from the Web and covered them in an index.

The company behind Altavista, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), saw the search service as a showcase for the computing power of your own computer. Thanks to the DEC server Altavista was faster than the competition, the company said at the start. The search algorithms captured content quickly and so allowed targeted results.

But then bought the then leading PC maker Compaq in 1998 the manufacturer from Altavista to strengthen its position in the business market. For the search engine thus began a painfully long descent. Through a series of sales in 2003 ended up with Yahoo Altavista. To keep connection to Google and other vendors, the site tried to change direction: Altavista should be a portal that not only the search Shopping offers or news should have in the program. But Altavista fell further, overtaken by the services from AOL, Yahoo or Microsoft. Early 2000 indicated an analyst Altavista as a “missed opportunity”. A short time later the dotcom bubble burst, a planned IPO of Altavista was canceled.

Ironically, Google came to conquer with web search with this same strategy, had turned away from the Altavista itself. Instead of a colorful portal page full of information, Google introduced the search function to the center. Meanwhile, it dominates the market for web search, Google’s market share in Germany is more than 90 percent. Google also managed to earn money with your Internet search. With search engine advertising Google still makes most of its revenue, even if the company has now built an empire from card services, office services and the mobile operating system Android.

Google is also Yahoo boss Marissa Mayer. Since its launch a year ago, Yahoo Seek to change direction. She bought several companies to shut but other Yahoo products. In the latest round of sweeping Altavista next to 11 other services are cut.

The end of Altavista most Internet users will hardly notice. For the once successful search offer now plays no role in the market – a fate that Yahoo wants to deal itself necessarily. ( Jessica Binsch, dpa ) / (anw)