I hope that you enjoyed Saturday’s Mac Riddles, episode 316. Here are my solutions to them.
1: From PageRank and 10^100 to a set of letters.
Click for a solution
From PageRank (Google Search was founded on the patented PageRank algorithm for ranking search results) and 10^100 (its name is derived from the very large number googol, 10 to the power of 100) to a set of letters (in 2015 it restructured under the ownership of Alphabet Inc.).
2: A hooligan went from directory to search then declined into finance and news.
Click for a solution
Yahoo!
A hooligan (a yahoo) went from directory (it started as a curated web directory) to search (followed by a search engine) then declined into finance and news (what now remains).
3: After changing name three times, this directory has gone wavy.
Click for a solution
DMOZ
After changing name three times (originally GnuHoo, it then became NewHoo, almost ZURL, next Open Directory Project, before becoming DMOZ), this directory (it was a human-curated web directory) has gone wavy (DMOZ was superseded by Curlie in 2018).
The common factor
Click for a solution
They have been web directories or search engines.
I look forward to your putting alternative cases.
The Eclectic Light Company 