I have been following a routine that I like. It is putting phrases, questions, subjects into Google. I use Firefox browser and I have my computer set to default to Duckduckgo for searching. Both Microsoft and Google remind me in various ways that they prefer that I use Edge and Chrome but I don't want to and I don't. I wouldn't approve of a single store building the only entrance from the mall parking lot to their store, even if I could leave their store and go to others. The first browser I used was Netscape and I have read that Marc Andreessen was an important part of the development of software that could be used to visit "web sites" that had "web addresses." Andreessen is still part of computing and the Foxfire browser reflects the idea that the user should be assisted, not herded.
I still find Google search the most powerful and complete. I have actually never had any typical search that I followed up all the results of the search. Beyond the first page or two of search results, I don't usually have any desire to go. Everything I see says that Chrome is the most used browser. It can be surprising to search "browsers" or "search engines". Usually the result is longer than I thought it would be and includes names and possibilities I never heard of.
What I like about using Google search is the extra that the software adds. That extra includes items, ideas and sources I never thought of. Each time I enter a search word or phrase, I get results I haven't considered. Sure, a good many of them are of no interest but some of the related questions that people have asked spark my thinking in new directions. I enjoyed fooling with "Eliza", software that more or less acts like a counselor. I might enjoy the new bot that is getting lots of attention: ChatGPT. It is supposed to be very smart and capable. But I may well get to the end of my life before I feel I have exhausted the usefulness of Google Search.
