Wolframalpha: First Look

I tried the new computational engine "wolframalpha" at 7pm on Friday May 15, 2009. They covered the launch live on justin.tv , and I signed into that too. I have been eagerly awaiting this release for 2 long years. These guys are the makers of "mathematica" the premiere math computation software available in the world today. Wolframalpha is often mistaken for a "google-killer" or another "cuil". This couldn't be further from the truth. Wolframalpha is not a search engine at all. If it's not a search engine, what the heck is it? It's a computations engine. Wolframalpha uses "mathematica" as it's core for computing results. It uses an internal database, which a lot of people complain isn't enough info. However, from what I understand it isn't regular data like what google would look for. It's a compilation of mathematical formulas and algorithms. Things like atomic weights and how to add them up, or the decimal or hexidecimal representation of colors, or the gravitational influence of certain size bodies. For instance if you search for "the moon" you will get the accepted text-book answer for the distance it is away, but you will also get the computed real distance, which will vary from the textbook answer by up to and over 10,000 miles.

Here are some sample searches judge for yourself.

I know that a lot of people just aren't understanding how it works. A query like What is Obama's favorite color? Just isn't gonna return anything viable. Whereas "What is the height of the Empire State Building divided by the length of the nile in centimeters? " will return detailed results.
Here are a few more search queries and a few easter eggs.
Have fun!!!!