Google gobbles kaput search robot Cuil's patents

Cuil passed away after approximately 3 1/2 years. Instead of overcoming its various 'Birthing pangs', Cuil lasted to Internet-time adulthood before permanently returning to its mothership Google from whence it sprang.

Now there are various other privacy-enhanced alternatives to Google Search, such as DuckDuckGo and the Startpage Search Engine.

Will the great Google gobble up or successfully take down any of these privacy-enhanced search engines as well ??

If these privacy-enhanced Google competitors manage to successfully stay afloat and even thrive, then does this fact really indicate that the dedication to Google's flagship product may yet take a dramatic hit ??

Seriously, I think the Google people know they have to continuously innovate in order to remain competitive.

Sadly, some of them think "change for the sake of change" is the same as "innovation". Like their refusal to keep the old style Gmail interface.

Altavista came and went. Yahoo came and went. Bing just went.

Something else will come along at some point. I doubt, like Microsoft's desktop market share, Google has anywhere to go but down.

What the MBA types need to grok is that 60% of everything is one whole hell of a lot better than 99% of nothing.

"Sadly, some of them think "change for the sake of change" is the same as "innovation". Like their refusal to keep the old style Gmail interface."

Sounds just like what's been going on in FOSS-land lately.

"Bing just went."

Huh? What are you talking about? Bing's still there. It might not be growing at a spectacular rate, but it's still going, and it'll probably stay around for a long time: MS hates to concede defeat on anything and they'll keep pouring money and resources into it until it either utterly fails (like Zune) or until it becomes a serious contender (like Xbox).

Khamul, I was making a joke.

Rats!