A few ex-Google employees launched a new search engine a few weeks ago, and its nothing like what’s out there now.

Cuil (the Gaelic word for both knowledge and hazel) does not collect any data from searches. There are no cookies stored, no search queries logged, and no private data collected. None. They do not analyze search queries in an attempt to have more popular results appear first, and instead rely on the actual information on web pages to provide relevant results. Because they don’t rely on popularity, they index many more pages. Cuil, having launched only 18 days ago, has approximately 3 times as many pages indexed as Google or Yahoo.

The revolutionary way results are displayed is one of the main selling points for me. Results are all displayed “above the fold”, in a 2 or 3 column format that makes it easy to see your first, most relevant set of results. When applicible, a thumbnail image of what you’re searching for unobtrusively appears next to resulting pages. If relevant, a list of categories to search will appear to help you find what you’re looking for.

Give it a shot, it’s well worth it.

Tags: google, search, Technology