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Wolfram Alpha Knowledge Engine Launches
The new computational knowledge engine called Wolfram Alpha launched on Friday amid a flurry of media attention. Searchers using this engine can enter a question or a calculation, and rather than return relevant results, Wolfram Alpha uses its algorithms to digest the query and compute the answer based on its collection of data. Try it out by searching for the next solar eclipse, the GDP of Norway, or the Nobel Prize winners from France. Scientists, researchers and techies alike will be interested in this new computational search engine which is running on R Smarr, the world’s 44th largest supercomputer, created by launch partners, R Systems.
Further reading on the topic:
- Wolfram Alpha shows data in a way Google can’t (CNet)
- A Screenshot tour of Wolfram Alpha (CNet)
- Putting Wolfram Alpha To The Test (TechCrunch)
- Top 10 Wolfram Alpha Easter Eggs (Mashable)
- 10 Even Better Wolfram Alpha Easter Eggs (Mashable)
May 18th, 2009 at 11:04 am
I’ve heard this is at least somewhat similar to Mathematica. Haven’t used that, so I’m excited about the possibilities with this approach to knowledge. In some ways, it will replace -some- of my Google usage (when I’m looking up formulas or scientific information like the density of a specific kind of rock).
I also saw on Newsy that it’s possible Google Squared could be competition for this (though the original search engine is not). I’m skeptical, but I suppose we’ll see. Good find, though.
May 18th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
If the fact database were to go open source, updated in much the same way as wikipedia, it might be of some use.