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Wolfram Alpha vs. Google — Results Vary

Posted by timothy on from the and-so-might-your-mileage dept.

wjousts writes "Technology Review has an article comparing various search results from Wolfram Alpha and Google. Results vary. For example, searching 'Microsoft Apple' in Alpha returns data comparing both companies stock prices, whereas Google top results are news stories mentioning both companies. However, when searching for '10 pounds kilograms,' Alpha rather unhelpfully assumes you want to multiply 10 pounds by 1 kilogram, whereas Google directs you to sites for metric conversions. Change the query to '10 pounds in kilograms' and both give you the result you'd expect (i.e. 4.536 kg)."

3 of 255 comments (clear)

  1. this just in by Laebshade · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Karma be damned, but..

    No one cares about a new search engine. Really, Google suits all my needs.

    1. Re:this just in by gailrob · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It is not a search engine but rather a factual answer database. It is quite impressive actually and I look forward to it's release as it will provide an awesome new resource for everyone. Especially students! Google - search for websites. Wolfram - search for answers.

    2. Re:this just in by vux984 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Right, I'm a fanboy, it has nothing to do that no serious superior alternative is going to pop up within the foreseeable future.

      Just before Google there wasn't anyone standing around saying, "Just you wait, any day now I predict a company is going to offer web search that blows yahoo and hotbot out of the water."

      Any particular reason nobody couldn't improve on google? There are lots of big shortcomings in google.

      When I don't want to buy something, but google a product for reviews etc I have to sift through piles of garbage 'price comparison sites', and sites with: "0 reviews... be the first to review it".

      When I -do- want to buy something, I STILL don't want a pile of link-spam price comparison sites, mostly pointing to companies that won't ship to Canada anyway.

      Google sucks for localized/regional or country specific information searches.

      Googles image search could use significant improvements.

      When I search for answers to technical questions (programming / troubleshooting / etc), I'll find a link to a question asked on some forum, with answers. If that doesn't help, I don't need the next 7 links all to be to other sites with the EXACT SAME question and answers. (Apparently a lot of forum sites spider each other and/or usenet for their content...) I don't need to see that. I also don't much need links to forums where the question was asked six months ago, and never answered.

      And going off on a bit of a tangent... 'expertsexchange' (WFT? 'expert sex change'??) Someone should really properly spider that waste of space. Sure the information is there... but what the hell??? A question, 2 pages of 'obscured' answers, then four pages of advertising for expertsexchange to get answers... but keep scrolling, and there is the question again, now with the un-obscured answers, and 2 pages of bickering about how the stupid effing points should be awarded.

      Sure the signal is there but the S/N ratio is through the roof.

      For me, other sites have -already- supplanted google as superior ways to find certain types of information.

      Wikipedia is for example is far more useful than google as a search tool to get information and links to relevant sites for a lot of topics. There's a reason an awful lot of top google hits simply take you to wikipedia... might as well cut out the middle man.