With an estimated 12 billion websites online, it's not always easy finding the exact site you want. However, University of Alberta computer scientists have developed software they believe will make surfing the Web faster and easier.
The software uses machine learning technology to predict the information needs of web surfers by refining search engine queries and filtering out irrelevant search results based on surfers' past surfing results.
WebIC is a "complete web recommendation system" said one of its creators, Tingshao Zhu, a PhD candidate in the U of A Department of Computing Science. "Surfing the Web can be time-consuming and frustrating, but this product can simplify things a lot."
The software can be incorporated with search engines or be downloaded directly onto to individual computers. It works by anticipating users' needs; users can click on an icon that leads to suggested sites the user may be looking for, which is a step beyond the usual search engine index retrievals. It can also be used to filter e-mails and find specific articles online - not simply direct you to related sites.
"On most search engines the order of the keyed words is very important as the associations are made sequentially," Zhu said. "But our software uses machine learning to transfer human inquiries into the type of inquiries a computer can fully understand. Our system can point you directly to the sites that you want and not just to sites that are related to your keyed words."
Zhu and his colleagues have refined their software over the past five years, testing it extensively with good success among U of A business students and the general public. They are now creating a spin-off company to sell their invention. They hope to have a product on the market by the end of 2006.
An article about WebIC has been published in the current issue of the journal Intelligent Techniques for Web Personalization.
"I'm quite sure that our product is unique. Anyone can use it for any purpose to find anything they want on the Web," Zhu added. "I think we've made a breakthrough, and it's really exciting to create something that you think can help a lot of people."
Canada's National Science and Engineering Research Council, the Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Machine Learning, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada have all sponsored this research.
Source: University of Alberta
Related stories:
Google chief admits to 'defensive component' of browser launch
Google's chief executive admitted Thursday there was a "defensive component" to the Web search giant's launch of its own Internet browser, thereby pitting it against Microsoft's dominant software.
Amateur Astronomers See Perseids Hit the Moon
One, the old-fashioned way: Find a dark place with starry skies and count the meteors streaking overhead. Two, the new way: Find a dark place with starry skies and then completely ignore the meteors. Instead, watch the Moon. That's where the explosions are.
Google polishes product line with Chrome browser
(AP) -- The new Web browser that Google Inc. released Tuesday is designed to expand its huge lead in the Internet search market and reduce Microsoft Corp.'s imprint on personal computers.
Scientists Develop New Method to Investigate Origin of Life
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at Penn State have developed a new computational method that they say will help them to understand how life began on Earth. The team's method has the potential to trace the evolutionary histories of proteins all the way back to either cells or viruses, thus settling the debate once and for all over which of these life forms came first.
Microsoft to buy Greenfield Online for $486 million
Microsoft Corp. on Friday said it will buy Web-based survey company Greenfield Online Inc. for about $486 million in cash in a move that will bolster its search and e-commerce services in Europe.
Internet law made simple
(PhysOrg.com) -- Internet law is a new frontier where SMEs fear to tread. Now European researchers have created a new internet law wiki designed to encourage more SMEs to go online. The internet has enabled a brave, new world of online commerce, pushing new ventures and large corporations to launch confidently into cyberspace.
Microsoft's newest browser may block ads
(AP) -- The next version of Microsoft Corp.'s Web browser makes it easier for people to surf the Internet without leaving a trace. Companies that sell advertisements online - including Microsoft - can electronically gather tidbits about Web surfers' habits, and then use that information to help decide what kinds of ads to show. However, in the newest "beta" test version of Microsoft's forthcoming Internet Explorer 8, which was made available Wednesday, a mode called InPrivateBrowsing lets users surf without having a list of sites they visit get stored on their computers.
'Cloud computing' trend heightens privacy risks
A US military computer science professor has warned that a trend to push software into the "clouds" exacerbates privacy risks as people trust information to the Internet.