Wouldn’t you like to have Google at your fingertips wherever you go? Wouldn’t it be even cooler if you had a friend standing by to search Google for you, so that you don’t have to spend the time typing on the go? What if it was a complete stranger working for pennies on behalf of a very cool service named ChaCha?

Here’s what you do: Dial 1-800-2CHACHA (or 1-800-224-2242, if you prefer). A friendly automaton will prompt you to ask a question. Ask away, and then resume your daily business. In a minute or two, you’ll get an SMS message with an answer to your question. Pretty darn slick.

There are a few GotChas with ChaCha: Real humans are finding your answers, and they’re paid for their answers in dimes. (But they make it up in volume, I imagine) So don’t expect the sort of service you’d get from a skilled reference librarian with lots of answers at their disposal. Instead you’ll get a reasonably skilled Google/Wikipedia searcher who will be about as accurate as the same sources.

So it’s great for “I’m at this intersection and I want to find a gas station, where’s the closest one?” or “Who played Iron Man in the movie of the same name?” Not so good for “Where did I put my keys?”

Good stuff. I could easily become addicted to this service.

I tried 1-800-GOOG-411 for the first time today and was blown away with the results. It’s directory assistance powered by Google’s local/maps search. I got the info I wanted faster and easier than I would from T-Mobile, and the cost was nearly infinitely lower.

In this world of ubiquitous search, I’m amazed that T-Mobile, Qwest and their ilk can still get away with charging more than a quarter for this service, let alone $1.50. Way to go, Google!

One problem with using a web based snippet keeper like Stikkit is that it isn’t on your Mac. The New Stikkit Package alleviates some of that difficulty, but you still can’t quickly retrieve a “stikkit” without loading the web site.

Or can you?

Stikkit’s search functionality is pretty straightforward, and you can just send a search string straight TO stikkit. By leveraging the ability to add new search engines or shortcuts to certain browsers, LaunchBar and Quicksilver, you make it even more seamless.

I just put together a custom AppleScript search engine, using Google's new Co-Op vertical search. Searches my favorite sites and the AppleScript documentation to dig up the answers you might need.

Enjoy!

<!-- Google CSE Search Box Begins -->

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Inquisitor X is a nifty little web app which provides nearly instant searches of major search engines while you type.

Think of it as Spotlight but for the web. No, better yet, don’t, because Spotlight is fairly annoying…

Anyhow, it’s a nifty bit of code. I just wish that clicked links opened in the main window as in a normal search engine rather than in a frame. As it is, if you type or delete a single character in the search field, you lose whatever page you were looking at! Oops!

Maybe I’d be