[anamax]

Successful search engines are innundated with questions about what its users care about.

> Seems to me that this technology should have been released for some other scientific usage first

Why?

Technologists need to get over the idea that technology is for science/technology.

> I would also argue that one of Google's advantages is that it enables discovery of new information instead of just giving you the one page you for which you are looking.

Huh? If there isn't a page that states which city is the fourth largest in eastern Montana, how will Google help you answer that question? (No fair going to the "populations of cities in eastern montana" page.)

Google doesn't (yet) do join queries.