This is pretty cool (via Chris Sells). You add encarta@conversagent.com as a contact in your MSN Messenger contacts list and then you can start interacting with Encarta. I started by issuing the following questions for which I got exactly the answers I was expecting:
- I want to see a map of Xanthi
- Where is Thessaloniki?
- How many people are there in Greece?
- What's earth's population?
- Then engaged into a discussion...
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- Savas: Hello
- Encarta: Hello. How can I help?
- Savas: How old are you?
- Encarta: 5 months, 4 days, 8 minutes and 39 seconds! What else do you want to talk about, anyway?
- Savas: How about the weather?
- Encarta: Sorry savas, I'm an Encyclopedia, I don't do the weather ;-). For weather info, you can ask my friend SmarterChild (his screename is smarterchild@hotmail.com).
- Savas: Do you know anything about Microsoft?
- Encarta: Microsoft Corporation is the largest company in the world dedicated to creating computer software.
- Savas: Who created you?
- Encarta: I was created by Conversagent, Inc. in Sunnyvale, CA and New York, NY.
- Savas: And what is your purpose in life?
- Encarta: My purpose is to answer your questions using the Encarta Online Encyclopedia. I can chat with you and help you get the information you want fast! Why don't you ask me something that's actually in Encarta? 🙂 I'm sure you've heard about Uzbekistan... but do you know where it is? Just ask me and I'll show it to you on a map!
Pretty cool me thinks.
6 responses to “Interacting with Encarta via IM”
As long as the next version isn’t nicknamed HAL and doesn’t sing “Daisy daisy …” we’ll be safe!
Reminds me of a system IBM had on their internal Samtime Connect Messenger system a few years ago. There was an interface to Bluepages (address book), an acronym dictionary and others but I can’t remember what. Pretty useful but this is obviously somewhat more “smart”. Well, maybe anyway.
AOL has had an answer bot up for quite a while, too. The thing I like about the EncartaBot is its integration with Encarta-showing maps, links to informative articles, etc. It’s got much more content and can provide a much richer experience. Hey, Savas, your Blogmap still points to Newcastle upon Tyne-aren’t you in Seattle?
do i like cymon?
I added Encarta to my MSN contacts list. This lunchtime it MSN’d me saying it was back online, ready to help me and offered me some fact about mushrooms for some reason (not that I have ever expressed the slightest interest in mushrooms to Encarta or elsewhere!!) Still, more entertaining than a normal “message of the day”
is red cabbage green grocery?