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The unofficial consensus seems to be that "well DDG isn't as good as google, but it's worth it because of privacy." I've been using DDG almost exclusively for

The unofficial consensus seems to be that "well DDG isn't as good as google, but it's worth it because of privacy." I've been using DDG almost exclusively for software engineering work for roughly the last three years, and can't remember the last time I felt like resorting to "!g", because I can't remember resorting to Google ever actually solving my problem. I don't at all discount the possibility that there's some extra value I'm just able to forego without noticing, but is this really a particularly unique experience for DDG users on HN?

ldiracdelta 5y ago
I use them, because I want them to be better, but I definitely have to fail-over to google every day. I'll still use them, because someone has to compete, but they still aren't as good as google for my searches.
- utopcell 5y ago
  How will using them make them better if they don't store any of your searches/results ?
JTon 5y ago
I bang !g all the time still. Wish I didn't feel compelled to. As a point of contrast: I'm not using DDG very often for work, more so personal use.
kgermino 5y ago
> [I] can't remember the last time I felt like resorting to "!g", because I can't remember resorting to Google ever actually solving my problem. I use DDG by default and it covers most of my searches, but I do have 2 main issues. 1. Maps and business information is way better with Google. 2. I usually work with Salesforce, which uses a lot of words from the 'traditional' developer ecosystem, but is an entirely separate world. Google "knows" that the method I'm looking for is in the Apex string class, not the Java one. It's not enough to get me to switch but I find a lot of Salesforce related queries which give perfect results on Google, but overly generic ones on DDG. I suspect that's a common issue when you work in a more niche area where the personalization is more valuable.
onkoe 5y ago
I find that some things do require a !g, but it's becoming increasingly rare in my daily life. It's often, as another commenter said, when researching something that uses terms from another, more popular thing that Google really shines. That said, I still use DDG for almost everything. :)

ldiracdelta 5y ago

I use them, because I want them to be better, but I definitely have to fail-over to google every day. I'll still use them, because someone has to compete, but they still aren't as good as google for my searches.

utopcell 5y ago
How will using them make them better if they don't store any of your searches/results ?

JTon 5y ago

I bang !g all the time still. Wish I didn't feel compelled to. As a point of contrast: I'm not using DDG very often for work, more so personal use.

kgermino 5y ago

> [I] can't remember the last time I felt like resorting to "!g", because I can't remember resorting to Google ever actually solving my problem. I use DDG by default and it covers most of my searches, but I do have 2 main issues. 1. Maps and business information is way better with Google. 2. I usually work with Salesforce, which uses a lot of words from the 'traditional' developer ecosystem, but is an entirely separate world. Google "knows" that the method I'm looking for is in the Apex string class, not the Java one. It's not enough to get me to switch but I find a lot of Salesforce related queries which give perfect results on Google, but overly generic ones on DDG. I suspect that's a common issue when you work in a more niche area where the personalization is more valuable.

onkoe 5y ago

I find that some things do require a !g, but it's becoming increasingly rare in my daily life. It's often, as another commenter said, when researching something that uses terms from another, more popular thing that Google really shines. That said, I still use DDG for almost everything. :)