Re: [CGUYS] Wolfram Alpha
Answers.com has been doing this for a couple of years. I don't know the details, but they often give context for the answer. Not any more. I asked Where is the Mars rover. It wanted to know if I wanted to buy one. It asked if I was interested in a Land Rover. And it displayed a reformatted story from Wikipedia about the Mars Rover. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Wolfram Alpha
Tom, Answers.com has been doing this for a couple of years. I don't know the details, but they often give context for the answer. On Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 9:35 AM, Tom Piwowar t...@tjpa.com wrote: Actually Google is already doing something close to this. You can put queries of that type into Google Spreadsheets and it often does return an answer. Having this capability in a spreadsheet makes the results even more useful than what Alpha is described to be. However both Alpha and Google's feature suffer from a problem of context. When I get a number I want to know where that number came from so I can judge the quality of the answer. I also want to check that the computer is actually answering the question that I think I'm asking. -- John DeCarlo, My Views Are My Own http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=34091576500ref=mf * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Wolfram Alpha
Answers.com has been doing this for a couple of years. I don't know the details, but they often give context for the answer. I have not looked at Answers in a long time. Last time I looked I was not impressed. They offered many variations on the question typed and wanted me to figure out which one was my question. Sometimes none of the choices were right. I will have to take another look. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
[CGUYS] Wolfram Alpha
This is pretty interesting, if it actually works. It doesn't simply return documents that (might) contain the answers, like Google does, and it isn't just a giant database of knowledge, like the Wikipedia. It doesn't simply parse natural language and then use that to retrieve documents, like Powerset, for example. Instead, Wolfram Alpha actually computes the answers to a wide range of questions -- like questions that have factual answers such as 'What is the location of Timbuktu?' or 'How many protons are in a hydrogen atom?', 'What was the average rainfall in Boston last year?', 'What is the 307th digit of Pi?', 'where is the ISS?' or 'When was GOOG worth more than $300?' http://tinyurl.com/aegawx * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Wolfram Alpha
Wolfram Alpha actually computes the answers to a wide range of questions Actually Google is already doing something close to this. You can put queries of that type into Google Spreadsheets and it often does return an answer. Having this capability in a spreadsheet makes the results even more useful than what Alpha is described to be. However both Alpha and Google's feature suffer from a problem of context. When I get a number I want to know where that number came from so I can judge the quality of the answer. I also want to check that the computer is actually answering the question that I think I'm asking. Meanwhile, I hear that Live Search is about to undergo another name change. The hope is that the right combination of letters will suddenly make it popular. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Wolfram Alpha
Actually Google is already doing something close to this. You can put queries of that type into Google Spreadsheets and it often does return an answer. Really? Google Spreadsheets can tell me the average rainfall in Boston last year or where the ISS is right now? Meanwhile, I hear that Live Search is about to undergo another name change. The hope is that the right combination of letters will suddenly make it popular. You just can't stop yourself, can you. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Wolfram Alpha
Well now I have to agree with Tom on this one...although I lack his hope that any combo of letters will make it successful. On Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 7:07 AM, Chris Dunford ch...@covesoftware.comwrote: Meanwhile, I hear that Live Search is about to undergo another name change. The hope is that the right combination of letters will suddenly make it popular. You just can't stop yourself, can you. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Wolfram Alpha
Well now I have to agree with Tom on this one...although I lack his hope that any combo of letters will make it successful. Meanwhile, I hear that Live Search is about to undergo another name change. The hope is that the right combination of letters will suddenly make it popular. You just can't stop yourself, can you. Yeah, I don't disagree with what he says, just the need to attach something about MS to any message. A reply isn't official unless it contains an irrelevant MS slam. It's like a signature or something. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Wolfram Alpha
Really? Google Spreadsheets can tell me the average rainfall in Boston last year or where the ISS is right now? It won't for you. Just you. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
