All Search

The Bottom Line: By allowing you to fly around the planet and craft your own virtual worlds, Google Earth 4 beta stands apart from other mapping tools.

Editors' Take: Though it's still a rough draft, we found the Riya beta face recognition tool to be a convenient time-saver for finding people in our digital photos.

Editors' Take: MSN's answer to Google Earth, MSN Virtual Earth, offers a few unique features but mostly falls short of its competition.

Editors' Take: Google Earth (beta) looks to be an interesting and fun mapping and research tool.

Specs: Free, Windows

The Bottom Line: MSN Search may appeal to fans of MSN's various services, but its lackluster local and multimedia searches disappoint.

The Bottom Line: While it's weak on multimedia and local searches, Ask Jeeves's powerful search history, organizational tools, and one-of-a-kind site preview make it a compelling choice for students.

The Bottom Line: A9's unique, personalized approach to search is perfect for those who need a wide range of results from their queries.

Specs: Free

The Bottom Line: This search engine warhorse offers above-average audio and video searches, but Yahoo boasts the same features--and more.