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Haystack: A More Compelling View Of Your Data
Peristaltic writes "MIT's Haystack project has released the source for it's "Universal Information Client", Haystack.
In their words: 'Haystack looks into the use of artificial intelligence techniques for analyzing unstructured information and providing more accurate retrieval.' Unlike some attempts I've seen in the past to pull it all together on my desktop, Haystack shows some promise -- One of it's more useful features allows you to take the information you've been wallowing through, and have Haystack continually refine a 'dynamic hierarchy' until you get what you need. Haystack also performs some neat tricks such as combining Email, IM, web pages, etc. into a single inbox."
Not too much to ask, it doesn't even need to be truly a filesystem. Just overload all the file access commands (At this point, probably easier to just write a new filesystem)...
Group data by category, content, whatever. "Symlink" to the inodes, and you're off. We don't need AI for that and I think it would be a more complete solution. I don't see an AI engine that can correctly categorize my mp3's, I don't think I'd trust it for all of my data yet. Let's start small and get usable systems.
Spiffy program though, wish it weren't in Java... wish it weren't 42MB... wish it ran smoothly under Linux. I'll stop complaining now.
On a side note, Did anybody else find that scrolling image annoying and mentally confusing. Er, I'll really stop complaining now.
Dacels Jewelers can't be trusted.
So should I assume you don't want it embedded within Emacs.
Nothing like slashdotting MIT to make you feel like you've accomplished something! How's your precious class-A IP registry now?
Sincerely
Bunker Hill Community College
Haystack is an interesting idea, but I have a hard time distinguishing what it does from what, say, Lotus Notes does. And Lotus is _terrible_.
I like the idea of bringing all my information together in one place. I don't like the idea of only having it in that one place. What I would like would be an application that can watch how I use the computer, then bring those applications together to make it more seemless.
For example, I have about four different calendars in my life: the work calendar, the one on the cell phone that I use for stuff that I can't miss, the calendar that schedules airplane rentals, and (of coursE) my girlfriend's calendar. So how do I bring those all together, and yet still be making entries in them separately?
The same is true for information. I have a primitive blogging system (really just a bunch of text files that are date coded), I have work documents that I use regularly, I have web pages that I monitor (sometimes a little too often) and I have textbooks that I'm reading (instrument flying at the moment). So how do I get all these forms of information - or at least an index into them - together in one place? But again, without changing the current organization scheme.
This is the tool that will make the computer a lot more useful - an actual organizational tool.
Rudy
1. 2.
Six Degrees by Creo is another attempt to do this same sort of thing, except that it's commercial and it's been available for Mac OS X and Windows for several months.