softperson
Software that thinks like a person
Category “technology”
14 posts
Plans for Year 2015
My company is SoftPerson, which specializes in “semantic computing” in everyday general-purpose applications. The past decade or so was one of a lot of reading, research and experimentation with entirely new technologies and user experiences, but no product. I can’t really continue for more than another year without revenues, soRead more » Jan 14, 2015, 1:03PM
NStatic , Technology
Conversational Interfaces Redux
In the past, I have talked about conversational interfaces with posts like the “Turing Test and the Loebner Prize Competition.” My interests are not purely theoretical, as I have actively explored integrating natural language deeply into applications in such ways as interpreting all text inside documents and code files andRead more » Jan 23, 2012, 6:09AM
AI , Natural Language , Technology
The Computers and Internet of Yesteryear
The underlying experiences that we obtain from using computers and the Internet may not be as alien to prior generations as we may think. Things are faster and smaller, but not fundamentally different. Many complex systems have been with us around for millennia albeit in somewhat different forms: the ruleRead more » Jan 14, 2012, 5:35PM
Technology
Technology & Liberal Arts
Steve Jobs often attributes that the popularity of Apple products comes from merging technology with the humanities. During the introduction of the first iPad, Jobs notes that "the reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technologyRead more » Oct 24, 2011, 11:15AM
Technology
Research Pipeline
On the last day of the Lang.NET Symposium, I sat through an interesting lecture on F# with Don Syme. Don Syme is a researcher at Microsoft Research’s Cambridge office. He and Andrew Kennedy previously researched and designed generics years before its eventual incorporation into the Whidbey version (2.0) of the .NETRead more » Aug 3, 2006, 1:35AM
Technology
The Microsoft Touch
Microsoft is often noted for its marketing genius, but the following set of amusing videos and articles illustrates that the company’s ultra-rationalist approach often fails the fuzzier side of its marketing efforts like advertising and branding. This video demonstrates differences between Microsoft and Apple branding. Microsoft Watch comments on the MicrosoftRead more » Mar 1, 2006, 4:50PM
Technology
Innovation at Microsoft
I frequently mentioned Microsoft innovation in the past. I encountered some interesting observations about Microsoft innovation in the past month: Eeyore designs Microsoft’s product: “It makes me think of how many feature meetings I've had and what a small percent of those features have actually ever shipped. Not that everyRead more » Jan 25, 2006, 2:45PM
Technology
Programmer's Myopia -- Natural Language Grammars
I previously wrote about Programmer’s Myopia, an affliction that a developer acquires, when he becomes fascinated and absorbed by a particular programming concept. In the writing profession, authors are warned not to become too attached to their “baby,” which is probably best edited out. I recently talked with another ex-MicrosoftRead more » Oct 29, 2005, 8:11PM
AI , Natural Language , Technology
50 Years From Now
I was speaking to a woman in her 80’s, and it was remarkable hearing about a different age in which she lived through World War II as a young adult. Fifty years from now, I will be over 80 and living in a changed world that will be every bitRead more » Oct 29, 2005, 6:40PM
Technology
Predicting the Future
I am always trying to predict to future 5, 10, 20 years from now… (I am also trying to create the future, too, with my products… We’ll see…) Looking back at predictions from 1990, I seen and heard a number of predictions that have or are close to coming true.Read more » Aug 27, 2005, 3:27AM
Technology
Innovation Trends
In the computer industry, a lot of advance innovative work in computer science is being driven in academia. I suspect over time that as an industry becomes more mature that the major drivers of innovation shift from universities to corporate research labs. Large corporations steadily accumulate greater wealth over timeRead more » Aug 10, 2005, 1:52PM
Technology
Google - Extension of the Brain
I was just reading a Slashdot post on the top 25 innovations of the past twenty-five years. CNET has been counting down each invention for some time now and plans on announcing the #1 invention on Sunday. I think their obvious pick will be the World Wide Web. One posterRead more » Jan 8, 2005, 11:29AM
Technology
The Pace of Technology
BusinessWeek has a series of articles on the The Innovation Economy including this one on "This Way To the Future," which briefly describes how life was like 75 years ago, when the magazine was founded and estimates how life will change 75 years from now. The history of science and technologyRead more » Oct 2, 2004, 6:44AM
Technology
Technology Is Young
Some time ago, I saw the World of Tomorrow exhibit in DisneyWorld, which had a major impression in me. It depicted the life style of the average American family at five different times separated by 20 years: 1900, 1920, 1940, 1980, as well as an attempt on depicting some dateRead more » May 26, 2004, 5:44AM
Technology
