Like a lot of others I've "switched" from using Google to using Duck Duck Go as my default search engine. I just want to mention what I think about it.
First off, I have to say that Duck Duck Go is slower than Google. Most of us "power users" can probably have something googled in a second or two at most after it pops into our heads. That's why the fraction of a second it takes for Duck Duck Go to return a search is noticeable. Let's be honest, Duck Duck Go is never going to be able to match Google for speed. But in the long run, that half a second is only a minor annoyance.
Duck Duck Go is constantly surprising me with it's common sense usefulness (try "what is my ip"). But the major reason I use Duck Duck Go is the bang syntax. I find it so useful and it really does speed me up.
Searching Wikipedia is as simple as
!w beyonce 4
Rotten Tomatoes is
!rt Drive
and so on. I'm always discovering new ones that are handy.
But the one I use 90% of the time, and the reason I haven't really switched to Duck Duck Go is !g to google something. Just as fast as a normal Google search.
However I highly recommend switching your browser's default search engine to Duck Duck Go just to try it, and dive into the bang syntax.