On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 5:18 PM, SteveC <[email protected]> wrote: > > On 4 May 2009, at 08:44, Ed Parsons wrote: > >> The general scepticism here I think is well placed, semantic based systems >> always demo well, the key to more widespread adoption is the automation of >> the still largely manual creation of ontological relationships. But one day >> I'm sure this will work, after-all TBL is usually right. > > Come on, nobody believes the web of data stuff anymore surely. If they did > someone would do something like RDF but actually usable and easily > implementable in actual HTML. >
That would be RDFa, or GRDDL. > >> ed >> >> On 4 May 2009, at 06:59, R E Sieber wrote: >> >>> Because I do geospatial ontologies, I'm skeptical of anything that >>> attempts to automate semantics. However, ontologies are incredibly top-heavy >>> in design. Anything that could marshall user generated content in the >>> structuring of semantics, even if it's mostly vaporware, could represent an >>> advance. >>> >>> I also do some cyberinfrastructure stuff and ain't nothing that's going >>> to reach into private databases, particularly spatial ones, without tons of >>> standardization, web services that sit on top of each, schema, etc. Still if >>> they had something better than something like D2R, I'd be very happy. >>> >>> Renee >>> >>> Andrew Johnson wrote: >>>> >>>> We'll see if this ends up being another Cuil, or another useful tool. >>>> Either way, it's certainly not going to live up to the hype or have very >>>> far-reaching effects. >>>> >>>> There's nothing new about curating a big set of data and wrapping a nice >>>> GUI around it, not even if you write the whole thing in Mathematica. The >>>> talking heads are going bonkers over it, but the tech community, the actual >>>> programmers and engineers, is a mix of wait-and-see, and outright scorn. >>>> >>>> How could a piece of vaporware called a Knowledge Computation Engine >>>> really do anything besides hiss and steam? >>>> >>>> Andrew >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Sun, May 3, 2009 at 9:17 PM, R E Sieber <[email protected] >>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>>> >>>> Holy @#%$^! I want the API - Renee >>>> >>>> (Note how much of this is about semantic searches of geography.) >>>> >>>> May 3, 2009 >>>> >>>> http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/an-invention-that-could-change-the-internet-for-ever-1678109.html >>>> >>>> An invention that could change the internet for ever >>>> Revolutionary new web software could put giants such as Google in >>>> the shade when it comes out later this month. Andrew Johnson reports >>>> >>>> The biggest internet revolution for a generation will be unveiled >>>> this month with the launch of software that will understand >>>> questions and give specific, tailored answers in a way that the >>>> web has never managed before. >>>> >>>> The new system, Wolfram Alpha, showcased at Harvard University in >>>> the US last week, takes the first step towards what many consider >>>> to be the internet's Holy Grail – a global store of information >>>> that understands and responds to ordinary language in the same way >>>> a person does. >>>> >>>> Although the system is still new, it has already produced massive >>>> interest and excitement among technology pundits and internet >>>> watchers. >>>> >>>> Computer experts believe the new search engine will be an >>>> evolutionary leap in the development of the internet. Nova >>>> Spivack, an internet and computer expert, said that Wolfram Alpha >>>> could prove just as important as Google. "It is really impressive >>>> and significant," he wrote. "In fact it may be as important for >>>> the web (and the world) as Google, but for a different purpose. >>>> >>>> Tom Simpson, of the blog Convergenceofeverything.com, said: "What >>>> are the wider implications exactly? A new paradigm for using >>>> computers and the web? Probably. Emerging artificial intelligence >>>> and a step towards a self-organising internet? Possibly... I think >>>> this could be big." >>>> >>>> Wolfram Alpha will not only give a straight answer to questions >>>> such as "how high is Mount Everest?", but it will also produce a >>>> neat page of related information – all properly sourced – such as >>>> geographical location and nearby towns, and other mountains, >>>> complete with graphs and charts. >>>> >>>> The real innovation, however, is in its ability to work things out >>>> "on the fly", according to its British inventor, Dr Stephen >>>> Wolfram. If you ask it to compare the height of Mount Everest to >>>> the length of the Golden Gate Bridge, it will tell you. Or ask >>>> what the weather was like in London on the day John F Kennedy was >>>> assassinated, it will cross-check and provide the answer. Ask it >>>> about D sharp major, it will play the scale. Type in "10 flips for >>>> four heads" and it will guess that you need to know the >>>> probability of coin-tossing. If you want to know when the next >>>> solar eclipse over Chicago is, or the exact current location of >>>> the International Space Station, it can work it out. >>>> >>>> Dr Wolfram, an award-winning physicist who is based in America, >>>> added that the information is "curated", meaning it is assessed >>>> first by experts. This means that the weaknesses of sites such as >>>> Wikipedia, where doubts are cast on the information because anyone >>>> can contribute, are taken out. It is based on his best-selling >>>> Mathematica software, a standard tool for scientists, engineers >>>> and academics for crunching complex maths. >>>> >>>> "I've wanted to make the knowledge we've accumulated in our >>>> civilisation computable," he said last week. "I was not sure it >>>> was possible. I'm a little surprised it worked out so well." >>>> >>>> Dr Wolfram, 49, who was educated at Eton and had completed his PhD >>>> in particle physics by the time he was 20, added that the launch >>>> of Wolfram Alpha later this month would be just the beginning of >>>> the project. >>>> >>>> "It will understand what you are talking about," he said. "We are >>>> just at the beginning. I think we've got a reasonable start on 90 >>>> per cent of the shelves in a typical reference library." >>>> >>>> The engine, which will be free to use, works by drawing on the >>>> knowledge on the internet, as well as private databases. Dr >>>> Wolfram said he expected that about 1,000 people would be needed >>>> to keep its databases updated with the latest discoveries and >>>> information. >>>> >>>> He also added that he would not go down the road of storing >>>> information on ordinary people, although he was aware that others >>>> might use the technology to do so. >>>> >>>> Wolfram Alpha has been designed with professionals and academics >>>> in mind, so its grasp of popular culture is, at the moment, >>>> comparatively poor. The term "50 Cent" caused "absolute horror" in >>>> tests, for example, because it confused a discussion on currency >>>> with the American rap artist. For this reason alone it is unlikely >>>> to provide an immediate threat to Google, which is working on a >>>> similar type of search engine, a version of which it launched last >>>> week. >>>> >>>> "We have a certain amount of popular culture information," Dr >>>> Wolfram said. "In some senses popular culture information is much >>>> more shallowly computable, so we can find out who's related to who >>>> and how tall people are. I fully expect we will have lots of >>>> popular culture information. There are linguistic horrors because >>>> if you put in books and music a lot of the names clash with other >>>> concepts." >>>> >>>> He added that to help with that Wolfram Alpha would be using >>>> Wikipedia's popularity index to decide what users were likely to >>>> be interested in. >>>> >>>> With Google now one of the world's top brands, worth $100bn, >>>> Wolfram Alpha has the potential to become one of the biggest names >>>> on the planet. >>>> >>>> Dr Wolfram, however, did not rule out working with Google in the >>>> future, as well as Wikipedia. "We're working to partner with all >>>> possible organisations that make sense," he said. "Search, >>>> narrative, news are complementary to what we have. Hopefully there >>>> will be some great synergies." >>>> >>>> What the experts say >>>> >>>> "For those of us tired of hundreds of pages of results that do not >>>> really have a lot to do with what we are trying to find out, >>>> Wolfram Alpha may be what we have been waiting for." >>>> >>>> Michael W Jones, Tech.blorge.com <http://Tech.blorge.com> >>>> >>>> "If it is not gobbled up by one of the industry superpowers, his >>>> company may well grow to become one of them in a small number of >>>> years, with most of us setting our default browser to be Wolfram >>>> Alpha." >>>> >>>> Doug Lenat, Semanticuniverse.com >>>> >>>> "It's like plugging into an electric brain." >>>> >>>> Matt Marshall, Venturebeat.com >>>> >>>> "This is like a Holy Grail... the ability to look inside data >>>> sources that can't easily be crawled and provide answers from them." >>>> >>>> Danny Sullivan, editor-in-chief of searchengineland.com >>>> <http://searchengineland.com> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Geowanking mailing list >>>> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >>>> http://geowanking.org/mailman/listinfo/geowanking_geowanking.org >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Geowanking mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> http://geowanking.org/mailman/listinfo/geowanking_geowanking.org >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Geowanking mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://geowanking.org/mailman/listinfo/geowanking_geowanking.org >> > > Best > > Steve > > > _______________________________________________ > Geowanking mailing list > [email protected] > http://geowanking.org/mailman/listinfo/geowanking_geowanking.org > -- Puneet Kishor _______________________________________________ Geowanking mailing list [email protected] http://geowanking.org/mailman/listinfo/geowanking_geowanking.org
