[2] State-of-the-Art Search Technology:
When we first brought our project online, our Listings of barrier-free resources were arranged alphabetically by category within each geographic area.
Available search software back in the 90's was primitive, slow, inefficient, and prohibitively expensive. So we launched our information service "manually", and waited for technology to catch up with our dreams.
Business responded well to the concept, and BFC began to grow.
We tried several "locator" services, but none of them seemed able to deliver the level of service they had promised, until we found ZipMath Software, a "serious" geo-search software development group in Cupertino CA.
With an impressive and distinguished list of clients including Cornell and several other universities, several labor unions, the U.S. Postal Service, and the Internal Revenue Service, we figured the ZipMath folks must be pretty good at what they do.
Nobody breaks promises to clients like those and stays in business for long.
ZipMath's software is amazingly searchable and incredibly fast. Even with our increasingly complex data filtration paradigm (which was first developed in our "Dining" section, and which now includes more than 50 search filters for the most requested consumer features), ZipMath crunches through more than a million records in less than 0.3 seconds to help each hungry user find precisely what they want.
Features of our new search system include:
• An easier-to-use search form that allows you to quickly tailor your search to find exactly what you need in minimal time, even for those with older computers and a dial-up connection;
• A TWO-STAGE search results interface which almost instantly displays a basic list of nearby barrier-free facilities that meet your requirements, sorted by distance from your home and paginated in groups of five to minimize scrolling and shorten download times.
• Each Listing in Stage 1 of your search includes a map link AND a link to Stage 2, which features detailed consumer information, including graphics, for those specific facilities you want to learn more about.
It's fast. It's pretty. It's informative. It's user-friendly. You'll love it.
As with any new software one uses, we expect it will be awhile before we fully comprehend and utilize all of ZipMath's capabilities.
But we'll be working on it.
