I think Firefox just tries several common TLDs when it can't resolve a name, i.e., when you type "ebay", it tries "ebay.com", "ebay.org", "ebay.net", etc. No integration with Google required.
That's why "ebay" gets you to "ebay.com" and "slashdot" gets you to "slashdot.org", but "del.icio" doesn't go to "del.icio.us", and "last" doesn't go to "last.fm" even though those are the #1 Google results for "del.icio" and "last".
You're right, that didn't occur to me. I don't type "www." and I would imagine a lot of people don't. Then again, I can't say for certain people like my dad understand that you can remove it.
I think Firefox just tries several common TLDs when it can't resolve a name, i.e., when you type "ebay", it tries "ebay.com", "ebay.org", "ebay.net", etc. No integration with Google required.
That's why "ebay" gets you to "ebay.com" and "slashdot" gets you to "slashdot.org", but "del.icio" doesn't go to "del.icio.us", and "last" doesn't go to "last.fm" even though those are the #1 Google results for "del.icio" and "last".