bernis - 9:04 pm on Feb 17, 2005 (gmt 0)

yes, google toolbar is a spyware in some way, it sends personal information to google. but i still use it and like it. the point is that we allow google to watch our browsing behavior and get back in return better search engine results i believe. google can use toolbar data to measure sites popularity (the way Alexa does) and to get other data that are not obtainable through watching user behavior solely from user's path at google.com. I think all google users (even those that don't use toolbar) benefit from data collected via toolbars.

it's still up to you what privacy invasion are you willing to take ... you can still decide not to install google toolbar or even don't use google services at all. it's up to you. i won't install some bonzi-buddy-punch-the-monkey spyware but i'm willing to install google toolbar as it provides services i find useful

and as to modifying site content ... i as a webmaster may not like that google inserts link to my competitors into my content (mentioned ISBN linking) ... but i as a user appreciate it ... and as there is more users than webmasters this approach if going to prevail sooner or later with google or without it ... it's just an alternative to modifying sites' content via *removing* part of it via various popup and ad blockers that noone complains about