08.16.05
Watson 2.0, The New Butler Of Personal Search
 By Jason Lee Miller
The world of search software is getting cooler and cooler. Available in beta
until the end of the summer Chicago-based Intellext has released Watson 2.0, a
sort of "search butler" standing alongside you as you work, searching for relevant
topics as you go.
"Watson makes it possible for your computer to know what you need, before you
even know you need it. And it brings it right to you, without being asked," reads
the website.
The desktop application scans the text of Word documents, PowerPoiint presentations,
or other programs makes multitasking a bit more manageable by searching for relevant
data and presenting search results from Google, internal data, or whereever you
set it up to search, and presenting those results in a sidebar screen.
The program works in real time, suggesting related information and listing in
order of relevance. Intellext says advertising doesn't influence the results like
on search engines, unless you think ad content is relevant to what you're doing.
"Watson is able to find information that users didn't know existed-in places they
otherwise might not have looked," the site continues.
The breadth of information source available is also impressive as the Information
Source Wizard allows users to connect with preferred sources of information like
news sites, corporate intranets, competitors websites or paid research sources.
In essence users can build their own search engine.
Developed by Northwestern alum and Intellext founder and CTO Jay Budzik, and artificial
intelligence aficionado, Watson is based on research that investigates how people
think and how they understand language.
Once the beta window closes, trying out the next generation software won't come
cheap. For individual users, Intellext runs at $99 per year. Enterprise customers
can acquire it for $200 per seat license and 20% annual maintenance.
About the Author:
Jason L. Miller is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. |
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