Bing Bar gives you faster access to Microsoft's Bing search tools from inside your web browser.
Bing Bar, which is compatible with both Firefox and Internet Explorer, puts the Bing search bar in prime position within your browser. This allows you to search the web for anything from any page you are visiting.
Bing Bar auto-suggests search terms as you type then loads the results page in your browser. The search bar can even be set to show answers within the pop-up window, rather than having to go to the results page. This is useful for things like stock prices and mathematical calculations.
Cool tools
There's much more to Bing Bar than just this search short-cut. The toolbar can also be used to check the latest news, get weather forecasts, and watch the latest hot videos from the web. Bing Bar also integrates nicely with Microsoft's Live services, giving you notifications of latest Hotmail emails, and allowing you to access Windows Live features such as photos, calendar, groups, etc.
Bing Bar is highly customizable. As well as changing the look of the toolbar, you can choose which tools you'd like to appear in it. Handy ones to try out include Autofill, which allows you to complete web forms with a single click; E-mail page, which lets you quickly share links using Hotmail; and Private, which allows you to surf the web without leaving traces.
Stay safe
The Safety Center in Bing Bar gives you peace of mind when browsing, checking that your browser security settings aren't compromising your privacy or leaving vulnerable to attacks.
On the negative side, Bing Bar is very United States-centric. If you live outside of the US then you may not be interested in a lot of the content in the News and Sports tools. We also got a bit annoyed that search terms disappear from Bing Bar when you open a new tab in the browser.
All in all, Bing Bar is a nice looking, practical browser enhancement that can help you find things online much quicker.
