Alexa Integrates Encyclopaedia Britannica to Turn Desktop into Virtual Reference Library; Free Web Navigation Service Empowers Users with Instant Access to Authoritative Information with Suite of Trusted Reference Services.SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 22, 1997--Alexa Internet and Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. announced today the integration of a suite of online reference services that enables Alexa users to instantly retrieve reference information without leaving the Web page they are currently viewing. Alexa, the leading free Web navigation service, virtually integrates an encyclopedia, dictionary and thesaurus into the user's Web browser The program that serves as your front end to the Web on the Internet. In order to view a site, you type its address (URL) into the browser's Location field; for example, www.computerlanguage.com, and the home page of that site is downloaded to you. -- a unique combination of services previously unavailable to Web users. The integration of Encyclopaedia Britannica's reference materials coincides with the launch of Alexa 1.0, the company's first release of the service since Alexa launched their beta program in July. Alexa, which is displayed as a toolbar A row or column of on-screen buttons used to activate functions in the application. Many toolbars are customizable, letting you add and delete buttons as required. Toolbars may be fixed in position or may float, which means they can be dragged to a more convenient location in the on the user's desktop, is available for users of Windows 95 and NT, can be downloaded from http://www.alexa.com . "It's remarkably useful to have an online encyclopedia, dictionary and thesaurus at your fingertips "Fingertips" is a 1963 number-one hit single recorded live by "Little" Stevie Wonder for Motown's Tamla label. Wonder's first hit single, "Fingertips" was the first live, non-studio recording to reach number-one on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the United States. while doing everything from casual browsing to intense research," said Dorian Patchin, product manager for Alexa Internet Alexa Internet, Inc. is a California-based subsidiary company of Amazon.com that is best known for operating a website that provides information on the web traffic to other websites. . "The real power of having these sources integrated into the toolbar is that users can refer to these references while they keep other programs open, such as email, Word or any other Windows95 application." "Understanding the need for better Web navigation and retrieval processes, Alexa takes the bulk and randomness out of the search engine 'slush pile' and offers a contextualized service that learns from the experiences of other users," said Chris Shipley, editor and publisher of industry publication DEMOLetter. "Coupling this technology with the vast information relevant to encyclopedic en·cy·clo·pe·dic adj. 1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of an encyclopedia. 2. Embracing many subjects; comprehensive: "an ignorance almost as encyclopedic as his erudition" research in an ideal use of the Alexa product." Wherever they are on the Web, users can enter a word or query, and instantly find more information about a word, name or topic. As an initial step with the integrated reference services, Alexa users can retrieve selected information from the following Services of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.: 1) Britannica Online, which contains information from the famous 32-volume set plus 5,000 new articles and other features; 2) Merriam-Webster Online's WWWebster Dictionary (the online version of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition); 3) Merriam-Webster Thesaurus. Don Yannias Don Yannias (born 1958) was appointed to be the Chief Executive Officer of Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. on 4 March 1997, after having become a director in January 1996. He was instrumental in developing the digital (CD/DVD-ROM) and online versions of the Encyclopædia Britannica. , chief executive officer of Encyclopaedia Britannica, said, "We share Alexa's goal of helping Internet users Internet user n → internauta m/f Internet user Internet n → internaute m/f find quality information. This affiliation will broaden awareness of how useful a Web-based encyclopedia can be. We think users will be pleased with their ability to find authoritative answers fast, and surprised at how enjoyable it is to browse our database of knowledge." Alexa: Know Where You Are and Where To Go Next The free Alexa service is a toolbar that gives users information about where they are on the Web and where to go next. The client works with Web browsers The following is a list of web browsers. Historical Historically important browsers In order of release:
In addition to the integration of the suite of desktop reference services, Alexa users have easy access to four features contained in the Alexa toolbar The Alexa Toolbar, an application produced by Alexa Internet, is a Browser Helper Object for Internet Explorer on Microsoft Windows that is used by Alexa to measure website statistics. It includes a popup blocker, a search engine entry box, a link to Amazon. : Where Am I? Alexa provides users with live information on every site you visit, such as: -- Who the site is registered to; -- How many pages are on the site; -- How many other sites point to this site; -- How frequently the site is updated; -- The site's popularity. Where Should I Go Next? Alexa uses the content of the Web and the insights of its users to help decide where to go next. By analyzing patterns within the Web and anonymous usage paths, Alexa provides users with a continuous source of relevant sites that search engines would not suggest. What Happened To My Page? Alexa is the only service that provides users with quick, automatic access to an archive of the entire public content of the Web. Now, instead of the browser displaying a "404-Not found" message, Alexa will retrieve a copy of the page from its archive. Who Else Is Online? Alexa lets users know which friends and colleagues are online, enabling instant communications between users. "Information is an abundant commodity on the Web. But as the Web is doubling in size every six months, getting the right information has become increasingly difficult," said Brewster Kahle Brewster Kahle (pronounced 'kale', (IPA: /keɪl/) (b. 1960)[1] is a U.S. internet entrepreneur, activist and digital librarian. Kahle graduated from MIT in 1982 with an SB degree in Computer Science & Engineering where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity. , president and co- founder of Alexa Internet. "We've used feedback from the 25,000 downloads we've received since we announced the beta version A pre-shipping release of hardware or software that has gone through alpha test. A beta version of software is supposed to be very close to the final product, but, in practice, it is more a way of getting users to test the software in the first place under real conditions. of our service in July to help our users understand where the real 'gems' of the Web are." Alexa users can exercise their editorial voice by voting on sites or by making suggestions to other sites that are relevant to the page they are viewing. By harnessing the collective intelligence of the entire Internet community, Alexa puts the power of Web back into the hands of the people who are using it today. About Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., publishes the most authoritative and comprehensive encyclopedia products in the English language English language, member of the West Germanic group of the Germanic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Germanic languages). Spoken by about 470 million people throughout the world, English is the official language of about 45 nations. . They include Britannica CD(r), on CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc. CD-ROM in full compact disc read-only memory Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser). ; Britannica Online(r), on the Internet; and the famous 32-volume Encyclopaedia Britannica(r). The company, headquartered in Chicago, can be located on the World Wide Web at http://www.eb.com . About Alexa Internet Alexa Internet analyzes multi-terabyte collections of data to create navigation services. Founded in April 1996 by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, Alexa Internet harnesses the collective wisdom and experiences of the entire Internet community and transforms them into the Alexa service. The company donates a copy of the Web on an ongoing basis to the non-profit Internet Archive See Wayback Machine and Web archiving. , which is endowed en·dow tr.v. en·dowed, en·dow·ing, en·dows 1. To provide with property, income, or a source of income. 2. a. to preserve digital heritage for scholarly access. The free Alexa toolbar is compatible with browsers that run on a Windows95 or Windows NT (Windows New Technology) A 32-bit operating system from Microsoft for Intel x86 CPUs. NT is the core technology in Windows 2000 and Windows XP (see Windows). Available in separate client and server versions, it includes built-in networking and preemptive multitasking. operating system operating system (OS) Software that controls the operation of a computer, directs the input and output of data, keeps track of files, and controls the processing of computer programs. . Alexa Internet is working toward supporting the Windows 3.1, Macintosh and Unix platforms in future releases of the service. Alexa Internet is committed to offering value-added services to Alexa users, and is continually building relationships with leading companies. The company is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.alexa.com . CONTACT: Alexa Internet Cynthia Lohr, 415/561-6786 cynthia@alexa.com or Antenna Group Jennifer Weissman, 415/977-1911 jennifer@antennapr.com or Encyclopaedia Britannica Nick Farina, 312/347-7102 nfarina@eb.com |
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