Hello Mike.

Internet search, and, in fact, all computerized search relies on an index of words and expressions. Some, like Google, are more understanding than others, but, as a general rule, search engines give you results that have all the words in your search query.

For example, if you search Mozilla Firefox, the search engine will present to you all pages that include those two words. But if you search I want Mozilla Firefox, the search engine will present to you only the pages that include those four words, and pages that do not contain the words I and want will not be presented, even if they have Mozilla and/or Firefox in them. So internet search should always be done with this in mind, and you should keep your queries as comprehensible and short as possible, to provide the best possible results. If you search for how do i remove the ask tool bar?, the search engine will only provide pages that have ALL those words in them.

I hope you understand, now, how this works.

Of course, and again, some engines (like Google) are more comprehensive, and if you type, for example, how much is a feet, it will actually reply AND present relevant search results. But this behavior is restricted to questions that were specifically programmed into the search engine. Unfortunately, computers aren't able to understand human language nearly as well as humans. Yet...

I will also remind you that including quotes in a search query, for example "search this", will present results that have that particular expression, and not just those two words somewhere in the page. There's also the minus (-) sign that you can attach to a word (or expression, using quotes) to exclude all results that contain that word (or expression) from the results page. An example would be i want these words -"i don't want this expression".

I hope this clarifies a few things.

As for your question, you can disable any extension (the ask toolbar is an extension, I believe) by going into Tools > Add-ons > Extensions. If it is a plugin you want to disable, go into Tools > Add-ons > Plugins. In any case, the add-ons manager is accessible through Tools > Add-ons.

And yes, Mike, the internet is a new thing, it's barely 20 years old, and many people are using a 10 years old browser (Internet Explorer 6). Computer development doesn't come out of thin air :)

I found that the choice of search engines is HUGE! I hate to say it but a certain nameless search engine that rhymes with noodle has become little more than a commercialized spam action imo.

I have found that when I want information Answers.com rocks. I have done the same search using many different engines and it is shocking just how different the results come out. Some gave far far more relevant results than others!

Also, within the add-ons they have a number of them that help give more relevant results. Some of them that I have found to work are: Stumble Upon and Search Canyon.