The Ringtone Phenomenon.

This article features Answers.com, an online information service created by GuruNet. Answers.com is a re-launch of a service formerly called GuruNet which has been in existence since 2000. Along with improving the service's depth of information and ease of use, GuruNet is bravely bucking the free-to-fee trend. Instead of charging fees and shrinking its userbase, it has changed Answers.com from a $30-per-year service to a free, advertising-supported service in the hope of making money through volume. According to GuruNet CEO Bob Rosenschein, Answers.com is a one-stop source of information on more than a million topics drawn from a database of 100-pIus reference sources including dictionaries, thesauri, specialized glossaries, encyclopedias, atlases, magazines, and other references. Answers.com doesn't compete with search engines such as Google or with reference sites such as Ref-Desk, both of which return links that one has to click through to get information. It is closer to an almanac site such as Infoplease or an encyclopedia site such as Britannica Online. It shines in providing with answers quickly, offering the most important information first and supporting details second. As with an encyclopedia, on shouldn't expect cutting-edge research or the kind of authority one can cite in a scholarly paper.