DuckDuckGo is a pretty well done site. I don't know if DDG is doing anything revolutionary with their software stack, but the stack is working well enough that

DuckDuckGo is a pretty well done site. I don't know if DDG is doing anything revolutionary with their software stack, but the stack is working well enough that one guy is essentially providing a useful alternative to Google. Consider the amount of brilliant engineers working on Google search, and you have to be a touch impressed. Of course, this extremely light weight development means he can have enough success to live on without worrying about monetizing as effectively as Google. Since he doesn't track searches as much as Google and thus cannot provide advertisers the same amount of targeting, this is important. I look forward to tracking the site's evolution!