Category Archives: Uncategorized

Software roundup

I enjoy experimenting with new software  just to see what people come up with. There’s just so much unknown software to discover. I suspect most people find something they like and then stick with it until it doesn’t work anymore, but there’s something to be said for proactively replacing your software and searching for better […]

Why are micropayments not taking off?

Micropayments are an old idea. Examples of services using something that might be called micropayments today are Apple’s App Store (for the iPhone), Sony’s Playstation Network, various MMORPGs, etc. However the typical payment sizes are still quite large:  the smallest possible payment on the App Store is 100 yen (1 dollar). With even smaller payments, […]

“True Knowledge”: Another search engine

I previously commented on Wolfram Alpha and PowerSet. Fisheye Perspective now brings my attention to another “answer engine” as they are called these days: True Knowledge. You have to sign up for an account in order to test it, which I have yet to do, but one feature that’s immediately appealing is that users can add […]

Two new-ish search engines

Recently, while reading about methods for manipulating RDF, I discovered the search engine PowerSet. More recently, Wolfram Research’s Wolfram Alpha launched. There’s been no shortage of new search engines in the past year or so – Cuil is one that was much publicized but ended up remarkably useless – but these two still impress me. PowerSet […]

Research idea: a snapshot

As part of an application form I had to fill out recently, I had to write a summary of my research ideas. Of course this changes all the time, since I’m still searching for a precise topic (and probably will be for a long time). But this is what a snapshot of those thoughts, taken […]