Why Ask Me, and Does 'X' Mark the Spot?', Ariadne Issue 51

My latest column has appeared in Ariadne Issue 51 and is entitled Why Ask Me, and Does 'X' Mark the Spot?'. As you can possibly guess from the title I've looked at Ask.com in some detail, comparing the UK/US and AskX versions to see what they do. Obviously you need to stop doing anything else and go and read it, but if you're a bit short on time I don't like the UK version, the US version is a bit better and AskX is far more interesting and worth spending time with.