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Google To Answer Your Questions Directly

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the what-is-the-air-speed-velocity-of dept.

RabbitWho writes "Last week Google launched a redesign of its search results page, and is now introducing some changes to the content of its results too. The company says it will directly answer 'millions of different fact-seeking searches' with short answers at the top of its results. Search for 'Catherine Zeta-Jones date of birth', for instance, and the date shows up at the top, along with where Google is pulling the information from. Google says the feature is based on Google Squared, the experimental search tool it rolled out a year ago that gathers facts from the around the Web and presents them in an organized way. "

4 of 145 comments (clear)

  1. all google did by circletimessquare · · Score: 3, Insightful

    is just rip off http://ask.com/

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  2. Accuracy? Authority? by Ismene · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This concerns me. If it is just a gathering of facts from the top sites - who is to say that information is even accurate. I find lots of sites that all reference each other with the same false information.

  3. Re:Sounds familiar by chichilalescu · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I think so. The truth is, I was very excited about wolframalpha when it became available. And then I realized I don't really need it.
    In the instances where I truly need to ask a question, it's usually too complicated, and I have to search for articles discussing a specific topic instead.

    --
    new sig
  4. Rip off? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Are you saying they actually took something that wasn't theirs without permission? Or are you just trying to demonize the natural human process of copying a useful solution one observes from others?