Wolfram Alpha

While mucking about on the Internet I stumbled upon a unique way to find information. The reason why I am not calling it a search engine is because it isn't.

At least not in the sense that Google, Bing or DuckDuckGo is a search engine.

Here is the explanation straight from the horses mouth at http://www.wolframalpha.com/about.html

"Wolfram|Alpha introduces a fundamentally new way to get knowledge and answers—not by searching the web, but by doing dynamic computations based on a vast collection of built-in data, algorithms, and methods."

 It's a very unique idea on information gathering. In a sense the information has already been gathered. Wolfram Alpha then helps you by putting this information into context, or calculating it for you.

This is not just a math nerds tool though (Not that there is anything wrong with that). Yes it will give you the sum of pi, and give you the square root of a number (if one exists.)

But it will also run calculations on the Beetles, apple seeds, and car transmissions and show you information that you probably have never seen before. (Just to name a few)

Wolfram|Alpha’s knowledge base covers an immense range of areas including:

Mathematics »
Elementary Math · Numbers · Plotting · Algebra · Matrices · Calculus · Geometry · Trigonometry · Discrete Math · Number Theory · Applied Math · Logic · Functions · Definitions · ...

Statistics & Data Analysis »
Descriptive Statistics · Statistical Inference · Regression · Statistical Distributions · Random Variables · Probability · ...

Physics »
Mechanics · Statistical Physics · Thermodynamics · Electricity & Magnetism · Optics · Relativity · Nuclear Physics · Quantum Physics · Particle Physics · Astrophysics · Physical Constants · Physical Principles · ...

Chemistry »
Elements · Compounds · Ions · Quantities · Solutions · Reactions · Chemical Thermodynamics · Protecting Groups · ...

Materials »
Alloys · Minerals · Crystallography · Plastics · Woods · Bulk Materials · Material Hardness · ...

Engineering »
Acoustics · Audio Waveforms · Aeronautics · Control Systems · Electrical Engineering · Fluid Mechanics · Mechanical Engineering · Steam Tables · Psychrometrics · Refrigeration · Structures · ...

Astronomy »
Star Charts · Astronomical Events · Planets · Moons · Minor Planets · Comets · Space Weather · Stars · Pulsars · Galaxies · Star Clusters · Nebulae · Astrophysics · ...

Earth Sciences »
Geology · Geochronology · Geodesy · Earthquakes · Tide Data · Atmosphere · Climate · ...
Life Sciences »
Animals & Plants · Dinosaurs · DNA Sequence Lookup · Human Genome · SNPs · Proteins · Mouse Genome · Fruit Fly Genome · Metabolic Pathways · ...

Computational Sciences »
Cellular Automata · Substitution Systems · Turing Machines · Computational Complexity · Algebraic Codes · Fractals · Mathematica · Image Processing · ...

Units & Measures »
Conversions · Calculations · Comparisons · Dimensional Analysis · Industrial & Construction · Batteries · Bulk Materials · Paint · Display Formats · Ring Sizes · Shoe Sizes · ...

Dates & Times »
Date Computations · Time Zones · Calendars · Holidays · Geological Time · Birthstones · Birth Flowers · Wedding Anniversaries · ...
   
Weather »
Current & Historical Weather · Forecasts · Wind Chill · Hurricanes · Clouds · Climate · ...

Places & Geography »
Political Geography · Physical Geography · Places · Cartography · Geodesy & Navigation · Countries · Administrative Divisions · Cities · Mountains · Islands · Oceans · Lakes · Buildings · Points of Interest · ...

People & History »
People · Genealogy · Names · Occupations · Political Leaders · Historical Events · Historical Periods · Historical Countries · Historical Numerals · Historical Money · ...

Culture & Media »
Personal Analytics · Notable Texts · Periodicals · Writing · Movies · Television Programs · Television Networks · Video Games · Songs · Fictional Characters · Mythology · Awards · ...

Music »
Music Acts · Music Albums · Songs · Music Theory · Audio Waveforms · Musical Instruments · ...

Words & Linguistics »
Word Properties · Dictionary Lookup · Word Puzzles · Anagrams · Languages · Document Length · Morse Code · Soundex · Number Names · Character Encodings · ...

Sports & Games »
Sports · Games of Chance · Football · Baseball · Olympics · Stadiums · Lotteries · Roulette · Gambling · Card Games · ...

Colors »
Colors · Color Systems · Color Arithmetic · Related Colors · Colors of Light · Sets of Colors · Color Conversions · Paint Colors · Temperatures · ...

Shopping »
Consumer Products · Electronics · Office Products · Fitness Equipment · Appliances · Musical Instruments · Movie Tickets · Retail Locations · ...

Money & Finance »
Stock Data · Indices · Mutual Funds · Futures · Mortgages · Present Value · Currency Conversion · Tips · Bonds · Derivatives Valuation · Wages · Sales Tax ·

Socioeconomic Data »
Demographics · Countries · US States · US Counties · Cities · Economics · Agriculture · Energy · Salaries · Unemployment · Cost of Living · Health Care · Housing · Social Statistics · Crime · Military · Religion · ...

Health & Medicine »
Body Measurements · Growth Charts · Exercise · Diseases · Mortality Data · Medical Test Data · Teeth · Vision · Drugs & Prescriptions · Hospitals · ...

*Examples from http://www.wolframalpha.com/examples/

There are some very unique visual examples here:
http://www.wolframalpha.com/gallery.html

There is also a tour here:
http://www.wolframalpha.com/tour1.html

I personally think the best way to try Wolfram Alpha is just to go to WolframAlpha.com.

8bit Mush, The ANSI art game

If you want to trip the light fandango, if you want that nostalgic feeling.

If you loved MUDs, MUCKs, MOOs or MUSHs, then try 8bit.

If you miss the ANSI graphics of your old dial-up BBSes, then try 8bit.

Or if you where not around during the late 70's to mid 90's and want to see what the older computer users did for fun on their machines of the day, try out 8bit.

8bit is unique because it has the black background and white keystrokes that MUD players are used too, but they have also made an extensive help and map and street system (among many others including stores and shops) with ANSI.

8bit is a high-bread.

I also suggest that if you liked playing the old nes games, you try 8bit because you will feel at home with the ANSI graphics.

Here is a sample of some of the ANSI artwork:

This is what the 8bit team has to say about 8bit:

"8BitMUSH is a collaborative virtual world, based upon text-based artwork (16-color ANSI Art, 256-color FANSI Art, and colorless ASCII Art.) Every player is encouraged to extend the world with their own creations, and explore the creations of others. The community is very social, with a unique culture and over 10 years of history.

The virtual world is based around a colorful megatropolis called ANSI City, with a surrounding suburbia and various other landscapes to explore and build upon. The virtual economy allows for players to run their own companies, invest in a stock market, and buy and sell products from various shops and vendors. Many projects and games have been coded on 8Bit using MUSHCode, the in-game programming language, including arcade games, toys, board games, interactive-fiction puzzles, a space system and much more. There are also tools to create content without writing any code, and a vibrant social community. "

If you are interested in knowing a little more about 8bit, go here:
http://ansiart.com/

If you would like to jump right into the game play, then go here:
http://ansiart.com/Play/ 

(P.S. New created characters have to go through their child hood from infancy. This goes very quickly, and is designed to teach you how to use 8bit. So be patient.)