I know it is a somewhat sweeping statement, but it is my opinion that Google are one of the finest software companies out there right now. Not only is their “vanilla” search engine relied upon by web-heads worldwide, there are some very neat extras that they have released recently.

Google Suggest (Beta) uses XMLHTTPRequests to pre-empt what you are searching for.

GMail is their killer mail app.

Google Talk is their new baby – an IM system that aims, eventually, to be able to talk to most systems, unlike proprietary offerings like MSN Messenger.

Google Deskbar is a great way to be able to access the power of Google’s search engine without having to fire up a browser. In adition, you can specify your own search paths. For example, I have set it up to be able to search Technorati as well as the default search engines.

Picasa lets you organise your photo collection.

Google Maps and Google Earth are excellent mapping and satellite imagery apps. The comedy offshoot of Google Earth is Google Moon (Try zooming right in!)

I almost hate to say this, but I’m not sure I could go back to life without my Google tools and toys.