Ask Jeeves and AltaVista Partner: Natural Language Question-Answering Capability Enhances Leading Search Service.BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 13, 1998-- Ask Jeeves Noun 1. Ask Jeeves - a widely used search engine accepting plain English questions or phrases or terms trademark - a formally registered symbol identifying the manufacturer or distributor of a product Question-Answering Service to Complement Keyword and Directory Searches Ask Jeeves, the leading provider of natural-language, question-answering, Web-navigation products and services, today announced that it has licensed its technology to Compaq Computer's search engine, AltaVista. Visitors to AltaVista's powerful search site now benefit from a robust search engine enhanced with the Ask Jeeves Question Processing Engine and their proprietary knowledgebase that contains more than six million answers to the Internet's most commonly asked questions. AltaVista users of all levels will now be able to ask questions in plain English Plain English (sometimes known, more broadly, as plain language) is a communication style that focuses on considering the audience's needs when writing. It recommends avoiding unnecessary words and avoiding jargon, technical terms, and long and ambiguous sentences. , and quickly and easily find their answers online. Rod Schrock schrock sorghumvulgare. , Senior VP for Compaq's Consumer Products Group, said, "AltaVista has always been the service that sets new standards for Web searching. This agreement is part of our commitment to making the Internet accessible to everyone by implementing cutting-edge technologies in search, interface design and information services See Information Systems. . We believe that Ask Jeeves' ability to answer users' questions is a perfect addition to AltaVista's popular and powerful search service." "Ask Jeeves was founded with the certainty that most people will inevitably choose natural-language querying as their preferred means of finding information," said Robert Wrubel, Ask Jeeves president. "We have been perfecting the natural language technology, knowledgebase, semantic See semantics. See also Symantec. indexing tools, and Web links, for years and it is gratifying grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. to see this technology and database adopted by such a popular and respected search service as AltaVista." "When I have a question, I first turn to Ask Jeeves. Not only do I often get precisely the information I sought, but I get it quickly. It saves me time." Said Don Norman, cognitive scientist Noun 1. cognitive scientist - a scientist who studies cognitive processes cognitive neuroscientist - a cognitive scientist who studies the neurophysiological foundations of mental phenomena scientist - a person with advanced knowledge of one or more sciences and principal of the Nielson Norman Group, experts in human-centered products. The new service, called "Ask AltaVista," allows users to ask questions in plain English and receive a short list of intelligently matched, confirmation questions as well as AltaVista's comprehensive, keyword-search results. Each confirmation question links to the site or page that best answers that specific question. This enables users to quickly find what they are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. , without having to scroll To continuously move forward, backward or sideways through the text and images on screen or within a window. Scrolling implies continuous and smooth movement, a line, character or pixel at a time, as if the data were on a paper scroll being rolled behind the screen. See auto scroll. or click through multiple pages. For example, if a user asks "What is my Honda worth?" the confirmation questions might be, "How much is my used car worth?," "How much does a new car from Honda cost?," or "How much does a new truck/SUV/van from Honda cost?" If the user selects the first confirmation question, he or she will be shown the Honda page of a site that provides used car prices. Ask Jeeves Technology Ask Jeeves is able to understand questions by using an advanced natural-language parsing See parse. parsing - parser process. The proprietary software allows Ask Jeeves to ascertain the different parts of each question, determine how each word within the question is being used and understand the question's meaning. Ask Jeeves' parsing technology is linked to a proprietary knowledgebase of question-templates and answer-links. This knowledgebase has been constructed over a period of years by a staff of research editors who search the Web for answers to common and not-so-common questions. Additionally, Ask Jeeves' editors continuously watch the stream of incoming questions in order to identify and create question-and-answer templates for the queries that occur most frequently. Matching questions are presented in a short list, so users can select the closest match and then be taken directly to the relevant Web site -- no scrolling (chat, games) scrolling - To flood a chat room or Internet game with text or macros in an attempt to annoy the occupants. This can often cause the chat room to be "uninhabitable" due to the "noise" created by the scroller. Compare spam. , searching or keyword matching. Ask Jeeves' easy-to-manage and scalable technology can be customized for use in nearly any kind of e-commerce, information or corporate site. The technology can function as an automated au·to·mate v. au·to·mat·ed, au·to·mat·ing, au·to·mates v.tr. 1. To convert to automatic operation: automate a factory. 2. customer service or technical support agent that answers customer questions and reduces the number of costly support calls; an online sales agent that allows users to quickly find products online, or simply as a superior method of site navigation. Narrowing the context of the question, as within a single site, makes the Ask Jeeves technology even more accurate. As a bonus, the technology provides site managers with a daily list of questions that are not being answered satisfactorily by its customers, providing a useful tool for improving customer support and for product or marketing research. About AltaVista Search Compaq's fast and powerful AltaVista Search Service is the premier resource for locating information the Internet. A forerunner A family of ATM adapters from Marconi (formerly Fore Systems). See Marconi. in Web search technology, AltaVista has set new standards, from indexing the entire Internet to providing the Web's first instant language translation capabilities. With an extensive line-up of innovative content and services, AltaVista is now regarded as one of the top, destination sites on the Web. For more information visit AltaVista's flagship site, located at www.altavista.com. About Ask Jeeves, Inc. Incorporated in 1996 and based in Berkeley, California Berkeley is a city on the east shore of San Francisco Bay in Northern California, in the United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington. , Ask Jeeves is the leading provider of question-and-answer Web navigation products and services. In addition to licensing its technology, the company maintains two public Web sites, Ask Jeeves and Ask Jeeves for Kids. Ask Jeeves (AJ.com), permits users to pose questions in plain English, and receive relevant answer links for each question. The children's site, Ask Jeeves for Kids (AJKids.com) is the safest and easiest way for children and families to access the Internet. Ask Jeeves is the fastest and most accurate way for users of all levels to get answers online. For more information visit http://AJ.com/factsheet/ or call 510/649-8685. Editors please contact Colin Smith, Antenna Group, 415/977-1912 or colin@antennapr.com. |
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