I'm hoping some day that he goes into more detail about the system he uses to catalog conversations. I'm actually trying to work on a project similar to that.
An idea that I've been dreaming of (and kicking around some prototypes of) for a while now is a integrated archive of all the communications services/mediums I use these days. I have close contacts who I may interact with across 5 or 6 mediums in a given week - e.g. email, IM, IRC, SMS, twitter, comments on their blog posts. I'd like to be able to go into a contact list, click a buddy, and get a timeline of my interactions with them across these mediums. Google's gotten part way there in the last few years with email, Google Talk logs and Google Voice voicemails and SMS all being searchable from the Gmail interface but it's not as extensible as I'd like and the results quality (ironically) leaves a lot to be desired.
Yeah, I'd love a Xobni Desktop, maybe they can make it happen. The only problem I have with Xobni now is I find myself forcing important things I want to find later through email so I can easily locate it.
If a "Dropbox" style product would also index everything I send it so I could have a search experience like I do with Xobni I'd certainly pay extra for it.
That's a funny dream, considering he charges a few thousand for a copy of Mathematica. I'm sure he'd have a larger user base if it were less expensive (or free…).
"I've also had systems built for me personally. One of the more important is my archiving and searching system, which includes 25 years of email (and 20 years of keystroke data), as well as searchable scans of all my archived paper documents."
What do you think he means by "20 years of keystroke data"?
Wolfram seems to keep a searchable index of all his keystrokes.
From the 12 December 2009 issue of New Scientist:
"I'm an information pack rat," he [Stephen Wolfram] confesses. Recording our interview is just the tip of his peculiar obsession with documenting every moment of his life. "I have a keystroke logger that has collected my every keystroke for the last 22 years," he says. "Every day I get an email that tells me how many keystrokes I typed the previous day into each application. I find it slightly interesting." He shrugs off my suggestion that it's a way of securing his immortality; he believes that soon everyone will be doing it.
I don't get that from this article. The one time I met him (at StartupSchool), he seemed like a really pleasant person I'd like to invite over for dinner. He was not faux-humble, but he was also not boastful.
Now, from other publications like NKS, I do get the vibe you mentioned.
I loved the "interview" and also the website. I have always wondered what the great people use on a daily basis.
But it could use some sane URL organization. Sub domains are horrible for quick "select and erase/replace" actions, though I understand the final result is quite beautiful.
Needs a laser drawing tool (think laser light show) to be even remotely useful, not just a pointer, else how do you describe something they haven't seen?
"No, the $circle_7 goes below the $resistor_3_12, inscribed in $heptagon_3, like in a fronkit. What? Never seen one? Oh hell..."
Until then, good luck designing anything collaboratively. I like the hat-like look to the top, though. Personality without uncanny valley, and still highly functional in design; perfect for something like this.
in response to the last "the setup" interview posted here, i created a "setups" subreddit for people to post links to their own articles describing their workspaces
I like a man who spouts off about how great it is to use software builds that are (gasp!) an hour old! That's so 1337 dude! Welcome to the world of open source, douche bag.
I appreciate that I probably shouldn't be nagging on the guy who built Mathematica. But seriously? webMathematica? yawn.
[+] [-] m0nastic|15 years ago|reply
Wil Shipley talked about it upon meeting him at Ted in this blog entry: http://wilshipley.com/blog/2010/03/ted-2010.html (towards the bottom of the entry)
[+] [-] arst|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bretpiatt|15 years ago|reply
If a "Dropbox" style product would also index everything I send it so I could have a search experience like I do with Xobni I'd certainly pay extra for it.
[+] [-] quickpost|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sophiebits|15 years ago|reply
> Mathematica + Wolfram|Alpha everywhere!
That's a funny dream, considering he charges a few thousand for a copy of Mathematica. I'm sure he'd have a larger user base if it were less expensive (or free…).
[+] [-] tzs|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] philjackson|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] portman|15 years ago|reply
What do you think he means by "20 years of keystroke data"?
[+] [-] Donald|15 years ago|reply
From the 12 December 2009 issue of New Scientist:
"I'm an information pack rat," he [Stephen Wolfram] confesses. Recording our interview is just the tip of his peculiar obsession with documenting every moment of his life. "I have a keystroke logger that has collected my every keystroke for the last 22 years," he says. "Every day I get an email that tells me how many keystrokes I typed the previous day into each application. I find it slightly interesting." He shrugs off my suggestion that it's a way of securing his immortality; he believes that soon everyone will be doing it.
[+] [-] Tim_M|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mmaro|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] shin_lao|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] JabavuAdams|15 years ago|reply
Now, from other publications like NKS, I do get the vibe you mentioned.
[+] [-] jacquesm|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] BoppreH|15 years ago|reply
But it could use some sane URL organization. Sub domains are horrible for quick "select and erase/replace" actions, though I understand the final result is quite beautiful.
[+] [-] SoftwareMaven|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] philwelch|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Groxx|15 years ago|reply
"No, the $circle_7 goes below the $resistor_3_12, inscribed in $heptagon_3, like in a fronkit. What? Never seen one? Oh hell..."
Until then, good luck designing anything collaboratively. I like the hat-like look to the top, though. Personality without uncanny valley, and still highly functional in design; perfect for something like this.
[+] [-] zmmz|15 years ago|reply
Wanted to let you know that your rss feed seems broken.
[+] [-] paxswill|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] there|15 years ago|reply
http://www.reddit.com/r/setups/
[+] [-] long|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jcsalterego|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nanairo|15 years ago|reply
It would be like wondering which car a top class football player drives, or which flight tickets the USA president uses.
:(
[+] [-] gcb|15 years ago|reply
He barely touched the thing his usethis would be most interesting, the fact that he claims to record so much.
He may be a good mathematician and project manager. but hardly fun for a usethis
[+] [-] bhellman1|15 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] powellc|15 years ago|reply
I appreciate that I probably shouldn't be nagging on the guy who built Mathematica. But seriously? webMathematica? yawn.
[+] [-] atuladhar|15 years ago|reply