Wolfram/Alpha launches: Can it break out of niche-ville?

Wolfram/Alpha has launched, but after a few searches it’s an open question whether the search engine can break out of a narrow niche for select users. For many searches Wolfram/Alpha just “isn’t sure what to do with your input.”

Wolfram/Alpha got rolling over the weekend in preparation for a full scale launch on Monday (Techmeme). If Wolfram/Alpha is really supposed to understand me it will need to figure out terms like “Delaware tax system” and not try to steer me to geography or city data.

Overall, Wolfram/Alpha reads like an encyclopedia. It’s handy at times, but the big question is whether the search engine can break out of niche-ville. Sure, geeks like the presentation and it Wolfram/Alpha can be handy for deep dives, but the average person will want some sort of results every time. In that regard, Wolfram/Alpha may be a disappointment.

Read more: ZDNet.com