Wolfram Alpha: Google of the Future?
May 16, 2009Wolfram, the makes of the amazing Mathematica, have come out which what looks to be an exciting new tool. Basically, the concept is simple: you should be able to talk to a computer in real language and have it answer your questions. No more weeding out good vs. bad web results, etc. All the data is at your fingertips!
It’s kind of a weird concept for people who aren’t used to Wolfram’s software, but I recommend giving it a try here.
I know anyone studying the sciences will find such a tool incredibly useful. Hopefully, people not in the sciences will be able to use it too!
Now, let me demonstrate a few searches:
First, I type in an equation: x*sin(y)
It shows graphs, contours, and, further down, alternate form, derivatives, integrals, etc. Any physicist’s dream!
And for those of you more musically inclined, I entered a string of notes:
They’ll play them for you, show you sheet music, and a piano! I’m assuming they mapped them right (I’m not musical…) but it was pretty amazing!
Try it out and have fun!
I really like this Wolfram Alpha search site. It is amazing with geography searches I even tried the musical notes and, yes, my computer played them back like the piano was in the room. It’s really cool.
***** (5 stars).