Easy Search with Google Toolbar
I’ve used a lot of applications on my computer, from different web browsers to music programs to games and applets. Other than my web browser and my operating system, one of the applications I use the most is the Google Toolbar. I know, this sounds like a bit of a plug, and I suppose it is, but the Google Toolbar is still one of the most useful programs on my machine.
I remember when I first started using the internet, and search engines were very hit-and-miss. Nobody could really agree on which search engine was the best; some searched more total pages while others returned more relevant search results. You could often try the same keywords on three different search engines and get three different sets of results. Then Google came along. Within a few years Google became the most-used and most-trusted search engine on the web. It manages to come back with a host of relevant results on just about any search. Google capitalized on their success and branched out. Now you can use Google to search full-text books, images, video files, songs, and scholarly articles, even your own desktop and hard drive.
The Google Toolbar allows you to search the world wide web through Google without navigating to Google’s home page every time you want to find something. A quick download installs Google Toolbar on your computer and integrates it into your internet browser, appearing just below your address bar. All you have to do is type in your search terms into the box provided and hit Enter; you’ll immediately go to the results for your search. Using the menu, you can use the same procedure to search Google Images, Google Groups, Google News, Froogle (Google’s shopping search engine), or the site you’re currently viewing. The toolbar also comes with a built-in popup blocker which eliminates popups faster and more efficiently than most expensive popup blockers and doesn’t bombard you with ads like some free blockers. Another handy feature is the Highlight option, which highlights your search terms on the page you’re viewing. This feature is especially nice if the site you’re viewing contains a lot of text and you’re only interested in a specific part of it.
Google Toolbar can also spell check any text you enter through your browser or link you to Google Maps site showing you any addresses mentioned on the page you’re viewing. An Auto Fill option will even pre-fill online forms with your information. All of these features come without any strings attached; the toolbar won’t display any ads, and it’s 100% free.
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