Communication is a window into a person’s mind, and the way a person talks can tell you a lot about how they think. Linguists have developed two methods to decoding the written word into a meaningful profile of a person’s cognitive processes.Using a Regressive Imagery Dictionary (RID) and Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) to "build a psychological profile of a person based on the content of their Tweets." Put in any Twitter user name, and it will provide a "score" of various psychological factors, such as Cognitive Content (e.g., Social Processes, Sensations, Cognitive Processes) and Primordial, Conceptual and Emotional Content (e.g., Concreteness, Social behavior, abstract thought). My analysis is here.
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Search Engine Wars - Unless you've been living under a technological rock these days, you've probably heard about the launch of two new online search engines. (And, if you've really been paying attention, you'll know that they don't claim to be search engines -- rather, a "decision engine" and a "computational knowledge engine". Bonus points if you know which one is which.) Microsoft launched Bing and the Wolfram team launched Wolfram Alpha.
I overheard a colleague talking about Bing's launch. He was very impressed with the high-quality images that grace the home screen. When you loaded the page, you may have noticed a few flashing squares in the image. As you move the mouse around, they'll re-appear, and you can hover over the squares and they provide additional information about the image, complete with links to even more info. To be honest, I noticed the picture (it's quite the contrast from the nearly all-white Google background), but I don't think I would have touted the image while describing the new decision engine from Microsoft... Anyway, the background images are cool -- and they change. I've only used Bing a few times so far; I've read a lot about it. After what appeared to be a successful launch, Bing started having problems with it search results -- explicit images and videos were getting included, and Norton's porn filter couldn't block them. Big no-no -- you don't want to be the "decision engine" that's NSFW or for your kids to use ... Microsoft changed a few things about how Bing works, and apparently has found a work-around. Keep an eye out for that if you use Bing; I'm sure they'll get the problem sorted out some more. Tough set-back for the launch, though.
Another recent launch was the Wolfram|Alpha "computational knowledge engine." The admittedly not-a-Google-killer engine, Wolfram|Alpha attempts to use semantic language processing to take your query and to create an output based on the data stored inside Wolfram|Alpha's brain. Good ol' W|A is self-aware--it knows who it is and how old it is. Initial complaints by users charged that (1) it didn't have the answers to their queries (granted, the search syntax is a little different from Google/Yahoo, and the system is "still learning") or (2) they couldn't see a reason to use the service. Then, perhaps as a precursor to Bing's porn woes, Wolfram|Alpha users pushed back when they took a moment to really read through W|A's Terms of Service. A CNET contributor discussed W|A's "mind-boggingly backward at best, and troubling at worst" Terms of Service:
Wolfram Alpha requires: "If you make results from Wolfram Alpha available to anyone else, or incorporate those results into your own documents or presentations, you must include attribution indicating that the results and/or the presentation of the results came from Wolfram Alpha." It's a fair request, but it may not be a reasonable request. Not if Wolfram Alpha wants people to actually make widespread use of the service.Something to be aware of if you consider using Wolfram|Alpha for any projects...
Not to be left out of the headlines, Google made sure that people remembered how cool it still was, and updated some services, like its Contact manager. I'm still a fan of all of the Google services: GMail, Blogger, Reader, Search, Docs ...
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Something for the security conscious ComputerWorld did a review of an interesting software called Safe Calculator. The article says:
It doesn't even require installation. All you do is enter the password at any time and click MS, and "safe mode" appears, changing all the calculator buttons to ones that would be useful for an app like this. Then, click on + to store and = to confirm. After that, you can execute the file, bring it back from hiding, or delete it.Interesting application - but why a goofy calculator? Does anyone actually use that application anymore?
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THE URL Shortener Tracker I stumbled upon this the other day. Many of you have seen the bit.ly or ow.ly or tinyurl.com links floating around the Internet / Blogosphere. These services have exploded, especially with the need to share links via social networking sites/services like Twitter and Facebook. Someone is keeping a list of all the services available at this Google Docs spreadsheet.
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More on Bing's launch Some other reads:
- Wired: Bing hides its best features
- CNET review
- CW review
- a funny picture of Google vs. Bing suggested search terms related to Linux
More on Wolfram|Alpha I had been waiting for W|A to launch for some time [I waited for Bing too] before the day actually came. I missed the live web video of the launch (delayed from some glitches). Since the launch, I collected some links about W|A and am now finally getting around to posting the:
- Easter Egg #1
- Easter Egg #2
- Wired article about W|A and the secret of time travel
- ComputerWorld article
- CNET review
- CW "answer engine vs. search engine"
- W|A already has ads
- Read the fine print
- Another reader perhaps summed it up best: "It looks like it'll be good for something, but I'm not yet sure how it will serve me, an ordinary person. It's not readily apparent how to use it most effectively. It may just be a matter of a learning curve for a new way of thinking about inquiries."
There's computer hacking, and then there's social engineering hacking.
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A cell-phone for Ashley [W.] B: a shock- and water-resistant phone.
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"Charging Gadget redefines power-walking" -- a portable power charger/generator for small devices
