From the BBC: > > A web tool that "could be as important as Google", according to some > experts, has been shown off to the public. > > Wolfram Alpha is the brainchild of British-born physicist Stephen Wolfram. > > The free program aims to answer questions directly, rather than > display web pages in response to a query like a search engine. > > The "computational knowledge engine", as the technology is known, will > be available to the public from the middle of May this year. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8026331.stm for the rest of the story.