Most readers know of Walter Mossberg and his fine reviews of electronics equipment in The Wall Street Journal. His weekly reviews run the gamut from music players to the latest in digitial cameras.

I am an occasional reader of Mossberg. However the headline of his article today caught my eye: "Unlike Search Engines Answers.Com Responds With Data, Not Links."

Taking Walter's suggestion I tried Answers.com. I typed in Francis Galton (I had just read a fascinating book review about this English scientist). And lo and behold, as Walter promised, I had raft of specific biographical information entries that were on the mark.

Compare this to Google or any other search engine. These services give you hundred of entries, but of course one has to hunt and click to find a solid biographical entry.

Just as Google came out of nowhere to trump Yahoo as the first place for search, I have to wonder if Answers.com or something like it is not about to become the next big thing. To quote Mossberg: "Answers.com is also a start toward a new search paradigm where the object is to provide real instant information , not just links to pages where the information may, or may not, be found. I urge you to try it."