Alpha Google Adds Computational Answers To Google Results
You’ve heard all about it, you’ve probably given it a spin, and maybe added it as a search plugin. But wouldn’t it be nice if you could get Wolfram Alpha’s “computational knowledge” at the same time as Google results? This Firefox extension makes it so.
It’s an experimental extension, which means you’ll have to click and agree that you understand the unofficial nature of Wolfram Alpha Google. Once you do, you’ll start seeing Wolfram Alpha results pasted JavaScript-style into the right-hand side of your Google search results page—well, maybe. The Wolfram results’ appearance was somewhat hit and miss when I tested it out on a clean Firefox install. Sometimes signing out and refreshing would have them show up; other times, being signed in and slightly resizing the window seemed to voodoo-activate the Wolfram results. It might be server load or connection issue, so don’t expect to get perfect paste-ins from the get-go.
That said, when it works, it’s really helpful. If you’re using Google as your primary search tool (despite our founding editor’s reasoned suggestion to switch), getting a second, nerdier opinion from Wolfram Alpha is just what you needed in some cases. A neat feature is that If Wolfram has nothing to say, the results won’t show up at all. Then again, if you’re not sure whether those results are showing at all, that’s more worry than win.
Wolfram Alpha Google is a free, experimental download, works wherever Firefox does.
Wolfram Alpha Google [Firefox Add-Ons via Webware]
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
@Dorian Kernytsky: Well, they sure do.
If you select "Search The Web" in Wolfram, it's gonna send the query straight to Google (or Yahoo/Live). It's just gonna either tell you the answer of something, or nothing at all.
arahman56
Two things:
1) AdBlock Plus will probably block the Wolfram|Alpha page by default so you need to unblock it.
2) As noted, longer Wolfram|Alpha results get cut off. I've read increasing the number of Google results fixes this but I tried 20 results per page but I'm still getting cut off.
lhed
I believe i heard one of the founders say that they're not competeting directly with gooogle but act as more of a compilment to google.
On that note, Google can't easily give you a simple click to get a pdf/"Live Mathematica" document of your results.
Dorian Kernytsky
This is what I thought WA would be perfect for all along. It didn't seem to be the catch-all results that I'm often looking for in google, but a nice complement instead.
I wonder if it integrates well with the greasemonkey script that integrates realtime twitter search results inline at the top of your google results.
If they appear nicely side by side I suspect that it could work surprisingly well, as the inline WA results looks pretty unobtrusive and except for the text being yellow instead of blue could easily be mistaken for a part of google itself.
Time to try it out.
Nice :D
nbgangsta
WOOT WOOT Philly in da house!
If you're using yubnub:
mash2 search terms here -cmd wolfram twits g y
It's not as convenient, but it's guaranteed to work and you don't have to type in the same search terms over and over again
Sometimes I have to refresh before seeing the W|A results. Also, wonder what Google thinks of this covering up their sponsored links!
paix120
I noticed that the results won't show up when I have XMarks search suggestion icons showing next to the Google results. May be a formatting/space thing.
paix120
Kevin: You can tell if the extension is working or not because even when there are no results there are two little buttons that show up in the upper right.
Cool addon! Having them side-by-side shows some of the differences. When I did a search for "Brooklyn" Google figured I wanted info on the borough of NYC whereas Wolfie thought I meant the small town of 7,700 in Connecticut. The borough of Brooklyn isn't even a selectable option in WA.
Lousy flyover country search engines... :)
GiantMonster
@Adam Howard: What is your screen resolution? It shows up right next to the top of my google results on my 1280x1024 secondary monitor.
I'm also using the realtime twitter extension and Wolfram Alpha Google results show up beautifully right next to the twitter results.
I'll have to try it out when I get home.
On another note, I found it interesting when searching my name that around 1981, the same year Rick Springfield's song "Jessie's girl" was a hit, there was a spike in people naming their kids Jesse.
Coincidence?
Thanks...I like it so far. I'll probably start ignoring it in a few days, but for now it's fun.
@Adam Howard: This script puts the Wolfram Alpha results at the bottom of a Google search...that's a start I suppose.
Adam Howard
@TheLostVikings R.O.A.C.H.: I'd rather see this Wolfram Alpha plugin as a Greasemonkey script, that way I could turn it off and on as I please along with the Twitter search script.
Adam Howard
Thanks for this one. But I find it too intruding on my google results page. though: nice idea. Maybe one day they'll switch to "short WA listings"... that'll do
tabledrummer
Honestly, I don't understand what the hype is. Sure, WA gives you results immediately, but google has been working towards this on their own since the search engine's beginning. Meh, the whole WA craze seems overblown and overhyped.
CarltonGabsta
@YachiraG: Their terms make sense, because in effect they are creating new data.
It'd be nice to see Google buy up Wolfram and implement it similar this way, it'd result in an all around more useful experience.
jeremy_mccurdy
Wolfram is the bane of my existence. I can't stop thinking of utterly useless queries, esoteric stats, or whatever it is that keeps me glued to it. One more temptation for the internet addicted (I assume that's all of us).
nolabar10der
I'm not sure WA are ready to have people searching on their engine the same way people search google, if many people start doing this they could have a huge amount of unwanted server load from people who are predominantly doing "google" searches.
Bobly
I'd be wary of Wolfram. See this" Wolfram|Alpha's Surprising Terms of Service
YachiraG
@jeremy_mccurdy: Yeah that would be great, although I doubt Stephen Wolfram would do that, the guy seems too full of himself (I guess you can't blame him?:/ ).
AtomFury
@Adam Howard:
@yachius:
It showed right up top for me too on my 1024x768 laptop, though the top few google results end up squashed horizontally a bit, but otherwise it seems to work well.
Of course the first time I tried a google search after installing it it managed to put the WA results on top followed by 8 blank pages that I had to scroll down to get to the google results XD It didn't happen again, but it IS an experimental addon so some hiccups now and then is to be expected I guess.
I tried this, liked it and decided to uninstall. When I did, google stayed stuck to the left (the app shifts google left so that Walpha can fit). That means the video previews you get from You Tube get squashed out. They don't appear. I've tried reinstalling etc... but can't fix it. Any one else with this problem?
ChaseCoeurl
@ChaseCoeurl: Oh crap. I am having the same problem.
gpzbc
@Popstar Dave: After a bit of trial and error, I've got my google back to normal. I re-installed up to the latest version of Wolfram Alpha Google (0.6), then uninstalled that. It seems like the uninstall function has been upgraded somewhere along the line, and 0.6 puts google back the way it was.
@ChaseCoeurl: Me, too. That's why I was back here - to see if anyone had an answer.