Because Lexis-Nexis' software developers can piggyback on the capabilities of Internet browsers, their work is now easier. And Lexis-Nexis' Universe, the version of its software that is based on Internet browsers, is far more straightforward to use than its old system. Yet Universe, like Lexis-Nexis itself, operates in its own world. For other information services, just as important as the content available on the Internet has been the Web's use of hypertext to link previously isolated bits of information. That means that someone who finds data on, say, ringworm, can easily link to information on other skin conditions on the same Web site or jump to pictures of ringworm on another site.
Hyperlinks make a profound difference in how people gather information.
But Lexis-Nexis doesn't use hypertext. Using its database feels more like searching for a series of unique documents in a filing cabinet, rather than connecting to a web of related sources. The company still seems unenthusiastic about Universe. Mr. Van Vleck says business owners are more interested in keeping their employees off the Internet than in providing them access. The company is unworried partly because of the size of its database.