The Independent calls it "an invention that could change the Internet forever." "Everyone agrees the 'next big thing' on the Web is Wolfram Alpha," writes Prison Planet. Wolf...wha? Everyone? Really? What we're talking about is a "groundbreaking new search engine" that...could be a Google killer?, wonders Chattahbox. No, no, says Business Pundit: it won't kill Google--but it may beat Wikipedia. Wait -- what is it? Developed by British physicist Stephen Wolfram, it's a "Computational Knowledge Engine," that will "actually process and answer questions in ordinary language the same way a person does," says Chattahbox. It's been in beta and will go public in two or three weeks. ReadWriteWeb leaks a bunch of screenshots. Prison Planet wonders if it will be a new propaganda tool: "For example, if I type "Iraq War" will I get back an answer like: "A war based on false pretenses which was so expensive that it has bankrupted America," or "A necessary campaign in fighting terrorism and making the world safe for democracy"? Actually neither (being accused of propaganda is Wikipedia's job).

In a Technology Review head-to-head road test versus Google, it's clear Wolfram's forte is computation and comparison. For the term "Microsoft Apple" it produced side-by-side tables about the companies. But terms with no computable answer would have stumped Wolfram and "on many common questions for which there is no obvious data element, you will not get much help." Says Memex 1.1: "Tentative conclusion: the semantic web is still a long way off." Gizmodo concludes that Wolfram Alpha is "a huge nerd" and adds: " I'm sure Wolfram Alpha's creators' blood would boil at the thought, but the engine's most natural home might be as a direct complement to Google, as a tab on their homepage or as a replacement for their modest current nonsearch functions." And anybody who remembers the hype around previous revolutionary search engines that you've already forgotten about, like Spock and Cuil is taking a wait and see attitude.