untangling_the_web

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Answers.com
I am usually skeptical about "ask a question" tools, but this one is definitely a cut
above most. The reason it is better is simple: Answers.com is the "new" interface for
GuruNet, which was subscription based and required users to download and install
its software. In fact, before the Answers.com site came online, GuruNet was already
an integral part of Amazon's A9 search service, powering A9's "Reference" results. If
you aren't familiar with GuruNet, it provides information on over 750,000 topics.
GuruNet has an extensive reference database, including dozens of encyclopedias,
glossaries, and dictionaries. GuruNet will provide reference information from
dictionaries (including definitions, pronunciation keys, and language translations),
encyclopedias, thesauruses, a geography dictionary, key American historical
documents, US Presidents, US Congress, US Supreme Court cases, conversions,
abbreviations, Bible dictionary, Old & New Testament, English idioms, wine glossary,
music glossary, planetary & astronomy glossary, Marine lingo, and many more.
Answers also draws upon Wikipedia for some of its responses, a trend I believe is
overdone.
Now users have many options for accessing the Answers.com/GuruNet resources:
1. Answers.com website, where users can enter questions or queries that will
draw from GuruNet's huge resource repository.
2. A9, which will simultaneously query Answers.com/GuruNet, Google, Amazon,
and other sources.
3. Google, which switched from Dictionary.com to Answers.com for definitions
and other reference information.
Answers.com also earns its place as the premier "answer machine" on the Internet
by adding a very handy "cite" option. At the bottom of the results page where all the
copyrights for each source are listed is a new "Cite" button.
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