The Internet contains a plethora of information. The Web has evolved rapidly, started in 1991 by Tim burners Lee ,the Web 1.0 which had simple browers,dial up connections and low bandwidth paved the way for Web 2.0 having improved browsers, broadband connections, the advent of search engines.. Search engines were a revolution and redefined the web. You could search by specifying in the right keyword. In Later Stages of Web 2.0 the Searching got enhanced covering Audio,Video,Image Search,Map Searching,Book Searching, etc. Sites like youtube which contains thousands of videos created the path for Sites like Ustream.com which also allows live streaming of videos which actually you tube doesn’t support. Newer Languages like Ajax were developed which speeded up the process of site refreshing. The browsers had plugins which enhanced their functionalities.We also saw development of various CMS like Drupal which made the making of site much more easier etc .The latest CMS google sites developed by google can be used by layman too.The Social bookmarking sites like delicious.com are there which allows users to view other people bookmarks and also add our own bookmarks. Web 2.0 saw the growth of e-commerce industry which the mushrooming of sites like Amazon.com, Ebay.com which allows user to trade online.The RSS (Really Simple Syndication) was created to formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format.Facebook is now one of the best social networking sites available and we can access it through mobile too.
Despite all these things Web 2.0 is found lacking in many respects.Whenever, we search for something we are given tons of pages & links, and from that big heap we have to find small bit of information.This is time consuming.Man is the most intelligent animal.His time should be utilized for analyzing things NOT in physically locating them. How wonderful it would be if we type a complex question like” I want to see action movie and then eat at a good restaurants in Pune. What are my options?", we would given direct the answers like See ‘Day and night’ in Inox at 9.00 and eat at McDonalds. How good it would be if search engines could identify between colours, names of the persons and return results accordingly and not treat them as just mere words. Well many efforts have been made in this direction like creation of search engines like Wolfram Alpha. But they are in a nacent Stage of development and a lot more needs to be done. The recent acquisition of Metaweb(a search engine based on semantic Web) by Google speaks for itself that the web is changing.
So now let’s take a journey 7 years ahead (assume that you are in a time machine), the year is 2017.India is a developed economy.Web 2.0 has been replaced by Web 3.0.Now we advanced search engine Startrek(fictional character) replacing Google. The Startrek is now able to answer the user queries put to it. “Who is Sachin Tendulkar”? The results returned by Startrek are: Full Name: Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar Profession: Cricket Description: Sachin is one of the greatest cricketers in the history of the world cricket. He was born in Mumbai… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… .
The Startrek is also good in solving the complex questions. “Which is the country which is the largest producer of Milk after India”? Answer: Usa.
Startrek also maintains a Internet User Profile for each user. So It learns from the searches you do and thus displays the result accordingly. So our smart Startrek displays different results for two different users based on their profile(their likes,dislikes,behavior etc.) even if they ask the same question. Well It doesn’t use Artificial Intelligence. It uses a concept known as Semantic Web.For eg. Suppose you want to buy a DVD , “Okay I want a New DVD of Star Wars Triology Quickly within 500Rs.” So Startrek will analyze it as
<buy> DVD</buy>
<cost>500</cost>
<delivery_time>7 days<delivery_time>
<title>Star wars <//title>
<condition>new</condition>
So the meta Data will be stored like this. It uses XML & RDF for this. Startrek also gives strong set of API’s to build complex web applications. Now we begin our Journey again(assume that you are in a time machine).We are into year 2025.The World has changed,we have flying vehicles,now people are able to travel into space through space portals.Even Man has reached the mars.Fridge,Ac’s,watch everything device can now connect to the internet. Radios,Television shows and all other things use Internet as a Medium. And our very own Startrek has evolved into Corodite(fictitious name) the new Search engine.Web 3.0 has gone,Web 4.0 has arrived. Corodite is much more interactive.We give command “corodite”. Then we are asked choices which virtual being we want.. a girl (Nancy)..,or a boy (John). Nancy appears before us, says “Hello Sudarshan”, How may I help you? I stay 100m from Pune Railway Station.Can you help me locate SCIT Infotech Campus at Hinjewadi? Nancy says ya Sure “ Reach the railway Station first.There is a bus stop opposite the station.Catch the PCMC bus from there to Hinjewadi.Get Down at Hinjewadi circle.Reach the Infosys Circle and then take left.Walk a few 100 metres and you will see the SCIT building in the right hand side. So we started our journey in 1991 where we saw Web 1.0 to 2003 where we met Web 2.0,then in 2017 we got acquainted with 3.0 till the journey to 2025 where Web 4.0 ruled.Hope you enjoyed your ride.
Further Readings: www.wolframalpha.com
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07/16/google_acquires_metaweb/
