Wolfram Alpha vs Google

The much-hyped new computational engine Wolfram Alpha soft-launched last night. It's been dubbed by some a Google-killer... so, just for fun, I ponied up a few questions to compare the two, trying to focus on the types of specific queries that Wolfram Alpha is designed to excel at.

Click on each of the seven images below for a side-by-side comparison. 

I'm certainly intrigued by Wolfram Alpha.  I'm sure it will find a powerful niche.  But even in its target area of specific answers to data-based questions, a lot of people will be Googling for a while yet.

Here's the take from TechCrunch.

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13 responses
It's a different search engine. The way you input data to find a response is not like google's. It takes some getting used to.
— Bryan
Very interesting. I'm curious to see how the upcoming Google Squared would measure up.
— brainpicker
hmm... looks squeaky clean... yet i still prefer my google...
— tplusf
WA and Google are demonstrably different. Google uses links and keywords to find pages, whereas WA uses a database to find answers (Wolfram doesn't call it a search engine he calls it a computation engine). You wouldn't use WA to find cinema tickets for instance. I think that they can peacefully co-exist.
— Ali Smith
No question they're completely different technologies. But where they compete is in terms of people's time and attention. Most users don't care about the underlying technology, they just want the best answer as simply and quickly as possible. So the issue will boil down to: which service do you open up first to type in a query about data? Google aspires to answer all the worlds information needs and if W/A starts taking search queries away from them, you can be sure there will be a fight. Google has been adding all manner of computational extras to their search algorithms and I suspect the arrival of W/A will accelerate their efforts.
— Chris Anderson
The issue I have so far with Wolfram is one of scaling the knowledge. They apparently have 150 people inputting/making computable databases of information. Once it is in there, you can get at it really fast, but it needs to get in there. So even attempting the suggested "hometown" query I got a bad result when I put in my hometown (Halifax NS). Presumably this is because either my human-readable query was not understandable by Wolfram or because Halifax isn't yet big enough to have been included in the results.

And when I asked for the world population, I got a 2006 result and it wasn't able to give me estimates for 2009 or any other time.

Lastly, when information gets into Wolfram, it is stripped of context and origin. Everything is mashed together and you get a source list at the end and "the inclusion of any item in the list does not necessarily mean the content was used as the basis for any specific result". With regular search engines, I get to see where the information comes from without filling out a request form.

They tried making expert-human-curated search engines before. It was called Yahoo in the early days. Yahoo had to abandon the approach. I am wondering how Wolfram intends to solve the problem as far as keeping information current and complete.

— doingitwrong
I don't know, if it's the right approach to compare Wolfram Alpha and Google. I guess, that's two different things.

However it's fun to watch what people have to say and think about Wolfram Alpha. I didn't compare them on my blog, but I try to make a collection of the most funniest things you can search there.

The list so far:

http://tvundso.com/2009/05/16/spass-mit-fun-with-wolfram-alpha/

— Thomas
Appreciate the side by side. Clearly, the two are complimentary - Alpha provides a clarity of information Google can only hint at, but only if you ask it the right sort of question!

I suspect Wolfram Alpha is going to follow the trajectory of so many successful initiatives - fascination, disillusion, innovation, exponential use growth.

If only we can work out what the right sort of question is...

— Andrew Maynard
Comparing the two reminds me of the 1957 Tracy & Hepburn movie "Desk Set"! I will use both for very different reasons. As a Director of Healthcare sometimes I just want the darn answer; other times I want the backstory and all.
— Colleen Parsons
Internet is back in Iran,ppl get access to twitter & FB, there's no suspicious in this. Most ppl know abt proxy anyway
— 4load
well, in my opinion Google = www's God. If they would open a bank tomorrow i would place all my money there. If they would create a life insurance system i would place all my money there. So, no need to compare google with anything :)
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— A visitor
one thing wolfram is absolutely amazing at is higher level mathematics it can calculate derivatives inverses integrals ODE's (of all orders), matrices . just about any math problem you have and wolfram alpha can solve and all using an easy input system.

but it will never 'kill' google

— wados`
When information gets into Wolfram, it is stripped of context and origin. Everything is mashed together and you get a source list at the end and "the inclusion of any item in the list does not necessarily mean the content was used as the basis for any specific result". With regular search engines, I get to see where the information comes from without filling out a request form. north carolina realty
— gmmo
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