[27 Apr 2010 | One Comment | ]
Video:  Stephen Wolfram – Computing a Theory of Everything

Stephen Wolfram recently gave a talk about his efforts to understand the universe around us through computation.  He’s the CEO and founder of Wolfram Research, creator of Mathematica, and author of A New Kind of Science.  Wolfram recently launches his computational knowledge engine, Wolfram|Alpha (I wrote a post about its launch some time back…). 
Here’s the video of his talk, given at a recent TED conference…

Watch and learn!

Read the full story »

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[30 Jun 2010 | No Comment | ]
Supercomputer Wins At Jeopardy! – IBM’s Watson

Here is an incredibly in-depth article from the New York Times about IBM’s latest articifial intelligence invention – Watson.
IBM gained fame in this supercomputer arena with their Deep Blue computer, beating world chess champion Garry Kasparov two games to one (with three draws) in a six-game match.  This was the first time a computer had ever beaten a human chess champion.  Kasparov apparently was so upset that he demanded a rematch, but IBM ended up dismantling the Deep Blue computer.
Rather than focusing on known chess moves, Watson can understand natural language, and …

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[30 Jun 2010 | No Comment | ]
What’s In A Name? – Let Wolfram|Alpha Tell You

A recent article in the Vancouver Sun shows some interesting things that you can do with the new computational knowledge engine Wolfram|Alpha.
Author Chad Skelton decided to check out the statistics of his first name, “Chad”.  By inputting “chad” into the entry line, Wolfram|Alpha gives you a wealth of information.  Rather than return a series of links to webpages that may or may not be relevant to what you’re looking for, you get relevant information (that Wolfram|Alpha actually computes itself) on your request.
Now, since “Chad” is an African country, you can …

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[29 Jun 2010 | No Comment | ]
Report: Verizon to Offer iPhone Service

According to Bloomberg, Verizon Wireless will start offering service for Apple’s popular iPhone, possibly as soon as January of 2011.
I have friends that have iPhones and talk of switching to Google Android phones in order to get Verizon service.  However, if this report is true, it could keep Apple at the top of the heap for some time.
You can read the original Bloomberg article here…