~ ~ I don’t know about the rest of you, but the search engine of choice of the ‘mad cabbie’ is most definitely Google.
Oh, I admit that when I first started surfing the Web back in the mid-1990’s, I toyed and played with other search engines for a while, such as Altavista and Yahoo. But really, when it comes to speed of use, user friendliness, and the accuracy and relevance of search results, the simple fact is that there isn’t another search engine that even comes close to Google. (IMHO)
I use it for all manner and sorts of purposes these days, but mostly for research when I am writing an article for a newspaper or magazine, or preparing a new opinion either here at Ciao or over at dooyoo.

~ ~ A lot of you are probably aware that Google is the main “cheatbuster” tool that many members use both here at Ciao and over at dooyoo, if they suspect that a review they have read is not the person’s own work, but ‘cut and pasted’ from another website. (plagiarised)
You simply paste in a sentence or passage from the opinion, hit the Google search button, and if the opinion IS copied from another source, then invariably Google will tell you from where in very short order. As the Category Guide in Sports over at dooyoo, (and previously at there Speaker’s Corner Category for about 8 months) this is a function that I use the Google search engine for on almost a daily basis.
Prior to downloading the new Google Toolbar this meant having another window open, and leaving Ciao or dooyoo to go and check out the suspect opinion.
Now I need only cut and paste a phrase from the opinion into the search box on the Google Toolbar that sits at the top of my computer screen, hit the Google Search button, and I instantly have a result. I then hit the “back” button on my browser, and I’m taken straight back to the opinion in question.
This is the function that I use the toolbar for the most, but it only one of the many useful functions that it gives you.
For instance, if you suspect that the opinion is copied from another member here at Ciao, (or at dooyoo) then instead of hitting the Google Search button, you can instead use the ‘Search Site’ button, and Google will then search the Ciao archives for you to see if it matches anything else posted on the site by another member.

~ ~ There are many other useful functions as well.
I post a few opinions every now and again over at Ciao in Germany, and as you know, it’s only polite to actually READ another member’s opinion before you rate it when you are using Ciao. Well, with my relatively poor grasp of German (I get some assistance in translating my own opinions) this can take some time.
Now, by using a facility on the Google Toolbar on the ‘Page Info’ button, I can instantly translate the opinion I am reading into English, read it through, and then simply hit the ‘back’ button to go back to the original page to rate or comment. Wunderbar, to coin a German phrase!

~ ~ The toolbar can even be customised to your own preferences by going to the ‘Toolbar Options’ section on the drop-down menu, and you can choose from over 30 default languages to view it in, if English isn’t your mother tongue.
There’s a help page available, which has comprehensive details and information on just about anything you might want to know about the Google Toolbar, and another link explains their ‘Privacy Policy’ to you.
By clicking on the ‘Clear search History’ button, you will instantly clear the stored memory of searches on the toolbar, and if for any reason you were to discover that you don’t like the utility (for whatever reason) then there is a one click ‘Uninstall’ facility there as well.
But I don’t think this is a function that I personally will be using in the foreseeable future, as the new Google Toolbar has now become an essential tool for me every time I log onto the Internet.