[serious] Wolfram Alpha - as important as Google?

[kregg]

Yes but it's not designed to beat Google. The summary of the two entities was very well put, I think.

What worries me is the possibility that a company like Google will acquire this company. A system like Wolfram will only work if it is maintained with absolutely pure focus. The first thing that Google would do would be to change answers to promote its advertisers. "Sponsored results" and such rubbish.

I think if Google acquires Wolfram, the concept will die.

Yes, because when Google acquired Youtube, Youtube has been filled to the brim with sponsored adverts, thus destroying Youtube and it's user-based content.

Google are already wealthy enough as it is. They get 98% of their revenue from advertising alone. I seriously doubt it will try to stick so many ads into the search engine and make it unusable, just to bump up that percentage to a near 100%.