Bing, Wolfram Alpha agree on licensing deal
Summary
Topics
Representatives from Microsoft and Wolfram Research declined to comment on the deal.
Wolfram Alpha's unique blend of computational input and curated output has not taken the world by storm, but it is considered an interesting enough take on the business of internet search to attract high-profile attention within the industry.
Wolfram Alpha does not return the usual list of links to pages with search keywords, instead providing answers to questions such as stock prices and complex mathematical formulas — with mixed results.
Bing, on the other hand, is enjoying a solid start in the three months since it made its debut as it gains users, and it will at some point be the default search experience on Yahoo's highly trafficked pages following a long-awaited deal.
It is not clear whether Bing results will carry Wolfram's branding (that is, results 'Powered By Wolfram Alpha'), but there will be some sort of presence.
It is unlikely that Bing is going to turn over the bulk of its results to Alpha, however. In a blog post on Friday, Wolfram founder Stephen Wolfram admitted that linguistic problems are to blame for half of the occasions when Wolfram Alpha does not return a result. That percentage is changing as Wolfram refines the science behind Wolfram Alpha, but it will take some time.
This article was originally posted on CNET News.
Talkback Most Recent of 8 Talkback(s)
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On Microsoft-Wolfram Deal
I think we are gradually seeing web dominance shifting from Google. Facebook now have bing search on their site, Microsoft has a search deal with Yahoo and now Wolfram. Rather than a dominante force that Microsoft once imparted on the Windows, peharps we would see a number of big companies sharing the spoils.
caleboki24th Aug 2009 -
RE: Bing, Wolfram Alpha agree on licensing deal
Bingram Alpha?
Wolfram Bing?
Binghoo Alpha?
Wolfhoo Bing?
Yahram Bing?
bc3tech24th Aug 2009 -
RE: Bing, Wolfram Alpha agree on licensing deal
Sounds like Microsoft is committed to continually improving Bing.
artzm24th Aug 2009 -
Not ready to switch to Bang yet.
Where's the "cached" link below each search result?
HollywoodDog24th Aug 2009 -
When was the last time..
You used Bing? It's right there to the right of the URL.
Not every result has it, but most do.
The "cached" link text reads "Cached page", it's in grey and underlined.
TylerM8924th Aug 2009 -
About time!
I watched Wolfram Start and was impressed with what it could do but it is not a mainstream search engine but it is handy for certain things.. and blended with a major search provider, such as MS, it's all good!
I'm kind of surprised MS got it as I'd be surprised if google didn't try.. but I suspect they (google) went to Wolfram with a bag of money and said, can we buy your idea please? And Stephen said 'no'.. whereas MS is far more likely to get into bed with a partner.. google doesn't appear to as much..
And I don't actually like/trust google.. so I'm all for their current dominance being reduced..
Malcolm
ursulus24th Aug 2009 -
RE: Bing, Wolfram Alpha agree on licensing deal
Who cares about baseball? It's just a dumb
game. WolframAlpha can't even sort out
scientific stuff. For example, it can't even
answer the question:
'What is the connection between a bucky ball
and carbon 60?'
Yet the information on Buckyballs is
contained on the page dealing with
Truncated Icosahedrons
, currently being displayed bottom right on
their main page!
Instead of illustrating the connection with the
structure of the Carbon 60 atom, it returns:
'? Wolfram|Alpha isn't sure what to do with
your input'
Let me draw a roadmap. First you make a
deal with Bill Gates... you learn to bend
over... and history will take care of the rest.
Graham Ellison24th Aug 2009 -
windozefreak24th Aug 2009
Talkback - Tell Us What You Think
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