Databases die and are reincarnated as a part of other databases...

To my surprise databases such as Excite are no longer alive but may still function as products taken over by Yahoo and Ask.com.  As I searched through Excite I noticed that at the top on the page, right next to the search button, there is a label that reads "Results from: Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Ask."  This is because the original site does not exist and therefore uses the indexes of other search engines.  The reincarnation process just goes on and on. For example, Excite started off as a very popular database which was eventually bought out by Ask Jeeves who later partnered with Teoma and ended up alone redirecting to Ask.com.  It almost sounds like a love triangle. Similar stories revolve around other databases such as AlltheWeb, Alta Vista, and Ask Jeeves. 

If some of these databases were the best of its kind at a particular time, it makes me wonder if current popular databases such as Google and Yahoo will ever be replaced by newer models.  I can not imagine that happening!  I think that if such databases continue to grow in strength by keeping up with their resources, speed, and features, then they should be irreplaceable.

Bare Bones offers additional tutorials.  Most of the ones I browsed such as those directed to Search Engine Watch seemed overwhelming and complicated.  I think that the tutorial provided by The University of South California was simple and beneficial.  The chart found under recommended search engines were very interesting and useful in further analyzing various search engines.