Quick Reference Is GuruNet’s Defining Moment
If you’ve been reading this column for a while, you probably know that I rarely use superlatives when discussing products and services. But a new free program and Internet service from an Israeli company has me jumping up and down.
Jerusalem-based GuruNet (https://www.gurunet.com) lets you download a 700K Windows application (sorry Mac users) that allows you to look up the meaning of any word or phrase on your screen, regardless of whether you’re working in a browser, an e-mail program, a word-processing application or just about any other software.
GuruNet requires Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT and Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or above.
In addition to the dictionary, there is a thesaurus, an encyclopedia, a database of sports biographies and other reference works.
There is nothing new about using a PC to look up words and terms. Random House, Microsoft, Grolier, Compton’s, Encyclopedia Britannica and others have long offered CD-ROM and Web-based dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases and other reference tools.
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What is unique about GuruNet is that it uses the power and vast information-retrieval resources of the Internet and the convenience of cleverly crafted PC software to provide you with potentially unlimited information from within whatever program you’re using.
Unlike Web sites, GuruNet doesn’t require you to use a browser. If you want to look up a word, you simply place the cursor near the word and hold down the Alt key while you click the left mouse button.
Within seconds, the GuruNet window pops up and, if you’re online, it takes you immediately to a definition of the word from the American Heritage Dictionary of the English language. If appropriate, it also brings up related articles from the Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia.
If the word happens to be the name of a sports figure, it brings up his or her biography from “Who’s Who of Sports Champions” or the Stats database. The American Dictionary of Computer Words provides computer terms. If you highlight the name of a public company, you’ll get a description of the company, address and phone number along with company news, stock price and stock charts. Try that with a CD-ROM reference tool.
Because this program works with any Windows applications, you don’t have to be in your browser to find information. If you’re writing a paper using Microsoft Word, for example, you can click on a word that you’ve typed to bring up information. But you can also use it from within Netscape or Internet Explorer to turn every word into a hot link.
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Of course, some words are ambiguous. If you click on Washington, the program doesn’t know if you’re talking about Washington D.C., Washington state, George Washington, George Washington Carver or San Francisco 49ers defensive end Marvin Washington.
GuruNet tries to guess what you have in mind, but if it’s wrong, you can quickly get to a menu of other uses of the word or phrase.
If it sees the word “ralph,” it will bring up its dictionary definition which, I just learned, is slang for “to vomit.” But if Nader follows Ralph, it will bring up information about the consumer advocate.
While the information provided is useful, it’s not nearly as extensive as it could be. I’d like to see a lot more breadth and depth, for example, including an extensive biographical database and more detailed encyclopedia articles.
I may get my wish. The company, according to founder and Chief Executive Robert Rosenschein, is currently negotiating with several additional content providers “including major news organizations, reference-work publishers, e-commerce vendors and companies offering multimedia content.”
Content will be added dynamically to GuruNet’s servers so there will be no need for end-users to download any additional software or data.
The product is especially appealing if you have a persistent link to the Internet via a local area network or cable or DSL modem. With that type of connection, the information is available whenever the computer is running, so looking something up is as easy as clicking the mouse.
GuruNet was funded by a consortium of well-known Net players including former Apple Computer Chief Executive John Sculley; Yossi Vardi, former chairman of the company that created ICQ; Mort Meyerson, former chief executive of EDS and Perot Systems; Bob Lessin, chairman of Wit Capital; and Garage.com, the Silicon Valley incubator headed by former Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki.
Revenues, according to Rosenschein, will come from e-commerce partners who might pay for private-label versions of the software or for customer referrals.
Rosenschein says that he is committed to providing a positive user experience and will avoid resorting to in-your-face advertising or preferential links to business partners.
Although its interface is unique, GuruNet is not the only free online reference source. There are several Web sites with free encyclopedias and dictionaries including Microsoft Encarta, Dictionary.com, Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia and dictionary and others. For a listing of references: https://www.safekids.com/encyclopedias.htm.
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Technology reports by Lawrence J. Magid can be heard at 1:48 p.m. weekdays on KNX-AM (1070). He can be reached at larry.magid@latimes.com. His Web site is at https://www.larrysworld.com. On AOL, use keyword “LarryMagid.”
