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It’s been an exciting year for us here at Wolfram|Alpha, and we wanted to say thank you to all of our loyal blog readers. We thought we would take a look back at 2011 by sharing some of this year’s most popular Wolfram|Alpha Blog posts. This year we saw some exciting content additions, brand-new ways of accessing and interacting with Wolfram|Alpha, and an arsenal of apps for students and professionals alike. More »
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One of the hottest holiday gifts this season is Apple’s iPhone 4S. Inside every iPhone 4S comes the power of Wolfram|Alpha through the personal assistant, Siri. Siri represents the first major use of Wolfram|Alpha in a voice-based consumer environment, highlighting Wolfram|Alpha’s understanding of free-form linguistics.
What better way to utilize that new iPhone 4S than to impress your family and friends. We thought we would assist in blowing your grandma’s mind at upcoming holiday get-togethers by sharing some examples of the amazing things that can be done with Wolfram|Alpha and Siri. While we do provide the answers to many of the fact-based questions asked of Siri, it is possible to query us directly by prefacing a question with “Wolfram” (pronounced Wolf-rum, not Wolf-ram).
Momentum is important when trying to impress, so it is best to start off slow. We advise beginning with a few of these queries:
- How many calories in a bagel?
- What is an 18% tip on $86.74 for four people?
- Who is the richest man in the world?
Now that they are intrigued, move on to some more impressive queries:
- What is the price of gasoline in Chicago?
- What was the price of gold on August 12, 2010?
- When is the next solar eclipse?
Now it’s time to blow some minds:
- Say “Wolfram, planes overhead” to see a list of the planes visible from your current location.
- Say “Wolfram, International Space Station” to show exactly where the ISS is located.
- Say “Wolfram, Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth divided by total number of Facebook users” to see how much money each Facebook user would get if Mark Zuckerberg shared his money equally.
And then top it all off with some of the more fun questions you can ask:
- What is the airspeed of an unladen swallow?
- How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?
- “Who is the man that would risk his neck for his brother man?”
- Who loves orange soda?
Mission accomplished: your relatives should be thoroughly impressed.
And, for those of you still doing your last minute holiday shopping or in need of a stocking stuffer idea, give the gift of Wolfram|Alpha. Available on iOS, Android, Nook and Kindle Fire, our mobile apps let you access the full power of Wolfram|Alpha wherever and whenever you need it—even beyond what’s possible with Siri. With a wide selection of apps to choose from, ranging from calculus to genealogy, you’ll find something for everyone!
To learn more about all that is possible with Wolfram|Alpha, check out our examples page.
Happy Holidays!
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We are pleased to add our latest work in the domain of radiation shielding to our ever-widening repertoire of highly technical and challenging areas. Although this was one of the earliest features added to Wolfram|Alpha, we have now significantly expanded the functionality of the area that permits users to ask about the shielding efficacy of numerous materials against multiple radiation sources. Most importantly, we have now included the computations for shielding against that most dreaded radiation—the gamma ray. We think these new features will be extremely useful in helping people to better understand the common shielding gadgets they might see every day (such as at the dentist’s office or when getting an X-ray).
At launch we had information only for beta radiation (electron beam) but now have added alpha particles, protons as well as photons to our collection. Additionally, we have significantly improved the natural-language capabilities in this domain. For example, asking Wolfram|Alpha “At what thickness of lead is 3 MeV gamma radiation halved in intensity?” immediately returns the thickness of the lead sheet as the result. Or maybe you’re interested in figuring out how far alpha particles travel through air. Just ask, “What thickness of air will shield 5 MeV alpha particle radiation?” What if there is a glass window? Once again, the query is at your fingertips: “What is the maximum electron radiation that a 2″ thick plate glass can block?” More »
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Just in time for the holidays, we’re introducing a new functionality that provides consumers with a unique approach to shopping. By leveraging data from Best Buy’s public APIs, Wolfram|Alpha users will now be able to browse more than 35,000 appliances and consumer electronics products. Wolfram|Alpha’s intuitive natural-language interface helps you hone in on the precise products you need, while its powerful data visualization capabilities give you an innovative overview of any shopping category. More »
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Today we are happy to add a new addition to our line of Course Assistants for iOS: the Wolfram Mechanics of Materials Course Assistant. The app was created specifically to aid those taking their first mechanics of materials class. More »
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The hyperlink has been one of the most powerful tools of the information age. Links make it easier to navigate the complex web of information online by combining the information itself with the method for retrieving it. Clicking a link means “tell me more about this thing,” which naturally lends itself to “surfing.”
At Wolfram|Alpha, we strive to integrate and leverage technologies to create the most powerful computational capabilities and user experiences possible. More »
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Making your list and checking it twice, but still don’t know what to get for the last few people on your list? Gift a Wolfram app! From now through December 31, select apps are 50% off. We have apps for snowbirds and travelers, students and teachers, history buffs, word game enthusiasts, casino lovers, lawyers, network administrators, and lifelong learners—everyone, really!
While you’re shopping the sale apps, don’t forget to check out our bargain-priced apps—at only 99 cents, these apps provide big bang for your buck. These apps include the Wolfram US States Reference App, Wolfram Tides Calculator, Wolfram Fractals Reference App, and the Wolfram Password Generator Reference App.
Gift a few apps or get your own in the iTunes App Store today!
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We are happy to announce our second Professional Assistant App for iOS: the Wolfram Lawyer’s Professional Assistant. This innovative app utilizes the power of Wolfram|Alpha to provide detailed reference information and data for legal professionals on the go.
More »
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In his classic sci-fi television series Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry dreamt of a computer that could help its user with pretty much anything. Ask it a question; it has an answer. Need some Earl Grey tea? It can materialize it for you. Need to create a self-aware, artificially intelligent program based on a Sherlock Holmes character in order to defeat Data? Easy. While we can’t materialize anything for you or create a self-aware, artificially intelligent program, we are on track to make all the world’s knowledge computable, with the hopes of someday answering all of your factual questions. More »
