Wolfram Launches...
May 19, 2009
...and I have still not grokked the service. However, many have. Seems the reviews are mixed so far...
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Comments
A lot of the reviews seem to be saying that it's not as good as Google, but that's a bit like saying that Access isn't as good a word processor as Word.
Try: http://www21.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=john+battelle
Hey John,
if you'd like a live human to talk to while discussing W|A don't hesitate to rely on me! :) (I have known Stephen for 20 years, and followed used Mathematica, A New Kind of Science approaches, and have studied W|A for all the time before its release.
(Have also written about it at length, albeit for the moment in Italian on m site, and in newspapers...)
A starting point maybe?
Mapping, and GIS—Geographical Information Systems—were a niche enterprise application for the few who could afford it before the release of the Google Maps. After, it became possible to experience the power of mapping for all first-hand. The important change came though with the APIs, which were actually forced upon Google by enterprising hackers. Now Google Maps is present in thousands of applications, and there is no coder who would dream of not using it in location-based services worldwide.
Similarly will happen with W|A which will enable people to familiarize with symbolic computation in a much wider fashion than Mathematica ever did. And W|A already has an API, so very quickly there will be applications that take the module for granted, greatly enhancing the value to programmers, and users alike.
Let me know if you'd like to chat to grok skype://davidorban (I'm on CET) ...
Just been playing with it... definitely a whole different approach than Google but that could end up with both doing some evolution and better for everyone all around...
Try this on Wolfram... put in: Life Expectancy
And make sure you follow the list down to the good old USA at number 50...
Right below Wallis and the Futuna Islands in 49th place...
And well below all those awful commie pinko European countries and most of the rest of the 1st and 2nd world nations...
Okay, maybe off the subject but at least a current topic of debate.
So Plus One! for Wolfram Alpha on this early step!
Definitely should be one to watch...
And to keep Wolfram in mind its easy to add to browsers and blogs,etc. An important early feature since its easy to always just default back to Google when a question comes to mind.
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