New Switcher q: Google Toolbar

[OldCorpse]

Hi,

I'm about to order a new ibook 12" stock from amazon next monday. I bought the David Pogue book "Swithing to the Mac" and ordered The Missing Manual Tiger Edition which should arrive in about a week. But there are many questions that I have not found the answer to in the Switching book, so I'm hoping you folks can help me out here.

My first question is about the Google Toolbar. I use the Google Toolbar on my XP dell with Firefox 1.5. I really love the functionality of this toolbar. I downloaded it from Google, but I don't see anything on there about the other browsers.

1) Is this Google Toolbar available for Safari?
2) Is it available for Camino?
3) Is it available for Firefox 1.5 for the Mac?

I use the toolbar constantly, and its lack on the mac would seriously tweak me out.

Thank you in advance!

OldCorpse
quietly rotting

 

[MarksEvilTwin]

Removed

 

[StealthRider]

A Google search toolbar is built into Safari.

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/safari/

 

[OldCorpse]

A Google search toolbar is built into Safari.

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/safari/

Are you shure? The link doesn't show that... I have no doubt that there is a search window in safari with google, but a Google Toolbar is a very specific thing, with many buttons and a ton of functionality.

Looking at the google toolbar link:

System requirements:
• Windows XP/2000 SP3+, Mac OS X 10.2+, or Red Hat Linux 8.0+
• Firefox 1.0+, 1.5 (Internet Explorer version available here)

What I find confusing is: OK, so it will work on Mac OSX 10.2+, but does that only refer to Firefox, or to Safari as well?

 

[Chundles]

With regards to the functionality of the toolbar, Safari already has a built in spellcheck and autofill for forms, you can translate words using the widget on Dashboard.

Safari blocks popups automatically and very well, it also allows you to type just the name into the address bar and it will take you to the site.

I've just finished reading the features page and can't find anything that doesn't already exist within OS X or Safari.

 

[OldCorpse]

With regards to the functionality of the toolbar, Safari already has a built in spellcheck and autofill for forms, you can translate words using the widget on Dashboard.

Safari blocks popups automatically and very well, it also allows you to type just the name into the address bar and it will take you to the site.

I've just finished reading the features page and can't find anything that doesn't already exist within OS X or Safari.

Hmm. I don't have a mac yet, so bear with me. What I really like about the toolbar is the following:

when I type a search term, the google toolbar search window expands and lists in real time the search terms that OTHER people have typed in, and the number of results for that term. Example: let's say, I want to search for "macrumors" here's what happens as I type:

"m"
mapquest 4,650,000 results
msn 150,000,000 results
and bunch of other results
.
.
.
.
"ma"
mapquest 4,650,000 results
maps 97,000,000 results
and bunch of other results
.
.
.
"mac"
macys 679,000 results
macromedia 17,000,000 results
mac 114,000,000 results
mac mini 11,700,000 results
and bunch of other results
.
.
.
"macr"
macromedia 17,000,000 results
macromedia flash 6,410,000 results
macromedia flash player 5,130,000 results
and a bunch of other results
.
.
.
"macru"
macrumors 826,000 results
macrumours 1,210 results
macrumor 1,920 results
and a bunch of other results

Now this is great! It means, that if I misremembered something, as I type it, literally letter by letter in real time I get suggestions of what I may be looking for - note this is VERY different from autocompletion in an address field. This functionality is a real help in those who do a lot of searches regularly, as I do, and I can't live without it. So, are you sure that THIS very specific functionality is provided in Safari?

The other functionality I can't live without in the Google Toolbar, is the color coding of my search terms. When turned on, every word in my search string is in a different color - and any page that I find, will have all those words highligted with the appropriate color. PLUS, by clicking on any of the given search term words I am immediately taken to every instant of that word, one by one. Is that functionality provided in Safari?

Those are just a couple of examples of stuff that the Google Toolbar does that make my computing life so much more efficient.

 

[mduser63]

The stuff you mentioned in that last post is not built in to Safari. I've never used the Google Toolbar, so I just downloaded it to try it out. I had a little trouble getting it to install, but I quickly found a solution in the help pages for Google Toolbar. Anyway, it's installed now and seems to be working fine. It's not available for Safari and probably won't work in Camino either, but it works in FireFox 1.5.

As an aside, the auto translate feature seems pretty cool. I wish it would translate from other languages to English instead of just from English to other languages though.

 

[Fuchal]

Also take a look at this:


http://www.inquisitorx.com/

 

[OldCorpse]

now you're talkin'

Also take a look at this:


http://www.inquisitorx.com/

Wow! This link is great! Love it... the same functionality I discussed, only better! It's a little slow 'cause it's online, but otherwise supercool. Yes, this behavior is what I'd miss if it wasn't available for Mac OSX. Luckily, it looks like with Firefox 1.5 for mac, the Google Toolbar is available... too bad it won't work for Camino, as I understand Camino is the real Firefox for Mac.

I'm so happy I discovered this board. See, I ask a question and I learn a lot more than I bargained for... and thank you, Fuchal for this link!

The really cool thing is that this inquisitorx is also available for Safari:

http://www.inquisitorx.com/safari/

This is just so cool! Now, if only somehow the rest of Google Toolbar functionality could be kludged onto Safari, that would be beyond fantastic!

Old Corpse
quietly rotting