Surf Canyon
Encyclopedia
Surf Canyon is a small computer software
company founded and located in San Francisco, California
, as well as their eponymous browser extension
and web site. Both their extension and search site use implicit relevance feedback
in realtime, along with explicit opt-in long-term customization, to personalize searches, especially targeting those with specific objectives or where timeliness is a factor.
In the case of the extension, those searches can be on Google
, Yahoo!
, Bing, and Craigslist
. That application is available as a downloadable extension for Internet Explorer
, and as an add-on for Mozilla Firefox
, Google Chrome
, and Apple Safari. , Mozilla Add-ons
listed it as a "recommended" download.
According to reviews in the Japanese edition of Lifehacker and the Chinese site weborn.org, the extension also provides relevance feedback in languages other than English
, using diverse character sets. The company's blog also claims to support Russian
.
Reader's Choice Award for Best Search Engine with 48% of the vote, compared to Google's 34% second-place. The company's technology and published research have been cited several times in academic works dealing with dynamic approaches to search.
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
company founded and located in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, as well as their eponymous browser extension
Browser extension
A browser extension is a computer program that extends the functionality of a web browser in some way. Depending on the browser and the version, the term may be distinct from similar terms such as plug-in or add-on. Mozilla Firefox was designed with the idea of being a small and simple web browser,...
and web site. Both their extension and search site use implicit relevance feedback
Relevance feedback
Relevance feedback is a feature of some information retrieval systems. The idea behind relevance feedback is to take the results that are initially returned from a given query and to use information about whether or not those results are relevant to perform a new query...
in realtime, along with explicit opt-in long-term customization, to personalize searches, especially targeting those with specific objectives or where timeliness is a factor.
In the case of the extension, those searches can be on Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
, Bing, and Craigslist
Craigslist
Craigslist is a centralized network of online communities featuring free online classified advertisements, with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums....
. That application is available as a downloadable extension for Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
, and as an add-on for Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...
, Google Chrome
Google Chrome
Google Chrome is a web browser developed by Google that uses the WebKit layout engine. It was first released as a beta version for Microsoft Windows on September 2, 2008, and the public stable release was on December 11, 2008. The name is derived from the graphical user interface frame, or...
, and Apple Safari. , Mozilla Add-ons
Mozilla Add-ons
Mozilla Add-ons is the official Mozilla Foundation website to act as a repository for add-ons for Mozilla software, including Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird, SeaMonkey, and Mozilla Sunbird. These add-ons include extensions, themes, dictionaries, search bar "search engines," and plugins...
listed it as a "recommended" download.
According to reviews in the Japanese edition of Lifehacker and the Chinese site weborn.org, the extension also provides relevance feedback in languages other than English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, using diverse character sets. The company's blog also claims to support Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
.
Third-party recognition
In 2010, the Surf Canyon website won the About.comAbout.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
Reader's Choice Award for Best Search Engine with 48% of the vote, compared to Google's 34% second-place. The company's technology and published research have been cited several times in academic works dealing with dynamic approaches to search.