[LM_NET] New Search Tool: Wolfram|Alpha Prepares for Debut

[gary price <gary@RESOURCESHELF.COM>]

Over the weekend a new search engine, or better said fact engine or  
computational knowledge engine (their language) is set to get ready  
for launch. It?s name?

Wolfram|Alpha (WA).

Although search tools have been around for a long time trying to place  
a specific answer on a search results pages, many have done only ok  
job across a broad range of knowledge. While WA is far from perfect,  
it?s the best I?ve seen to this point in trying to put a specific  
answer to a query on a results page and then to make that data useable  
in one of many formats.

Is this the end of Google, Yahoo, and Live.com?  Hardly. These and  
other search tools are still essential when it comes to doing online  
web research. If you think of Google or the others as an encyclopedia,  
providing you with links to specific sites (some good, others not so  
good), think of WA as an almanac for certain types of facts.

This from a CNN article, ?It?s not a new Google. It?s not supposed to  
be. It?s very complimentary, in a way, to what search engines do, said  
Theodore Gray, co-founder of Wolfram Research, the company behind WA. ?

Btw, Wolfram comes from the name of the company?s founder, Dr. Steven  
Wolfram. Wolfram?s primary product, Mathematica is used by tens of  
thousands of mathematicians and engineers.

I?ll be posting more on ResourceShelf on Monday when the official  
launch happens. This weekend it?s going to be difficult to reach there  
severs. But give it a whirl at:

http://www.wolframalpha.com

In the mean time, take a look at what Wolfram|Alpha can do via this  
screencast (note:  it doesn?t have audio).
http://www.wolframalpha.com/screencast/introducingwolframalpha.html


cheers,
gary

-- 
Gary D. Price, MLIS
Librarian
Editor, ResourceShelf and DocuTicker
Visit ResourceShelf and Docuticker
http://www.resourceshelf.com
http://www.docuticker.com

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