Answers.com is a pretty neat site. It is an information aggregator that allows you to obtain information about words, phrases, abbreviations, etc. It is part dictionary, part encyclopedia, part translator. Results of a search are pulled from thousands of sources and presented to you in a single page. Not the links, but the content (which is important to note).
As much as I like the site, I don’t think I have visited it in years. The killer app that I want to introduce you too here is their “1-Click Answers” tool. This light-weight application runs in the background and allows you to Alt-Click on any word in any program on your screen. Doing so brings up a pop-up window with a concise AnswerTip.
So say you are running Microsoft Word and you want to know how to spell something, or find alternate definitions. Alt-Click on the word in question and the answer appears. Or say you are reading a web-page and you come across an unfamiliar phrase, select it, then Alt-Click and the definition appears before you without you having to switch windows or load a separate application. When you are done, close the pop-up to dismiss it. It’s simple, intuitive, and an application that I love having installed because it works across all programs on my computer.
If you want to give this little gem a whirl, you can get the 1-Click Answers tool here.
