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June 26, 2007

Google Docs to Integrate with Encyclopedia Britannica

Among the new features that are referenced by the Google Docs' code, the most important seems to be the integration with online knowledge bases. Google Docs will let you access Merriam-Webster's dictionary and thesaurus directly from a document. You'll also be able to read articles from Encyclopedia Britannica. It's rather curious that Google didn't opt for everyone's favorite encyclopedia, Wikipedia, and choose the oldest English-language encyclopedia still in print, but also an encyclopedia hard to access online for free. Britannica has an odd policy of allowing you to read an article for free only if you place a link to the article in a web page and click on that link.


Google Docs should make use of more online resources and let you integrate information from search results, translate text or use Google's statistical data about languages to correct grammatical errors or reformulate incomprehensible text.

6 comments:

  1. This is a great feature, but you are right Wikipedia will help us in the open source. Or they can offer choices for the users to choose. Also, they should have a grammar checker in Docs.

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  2. Didn't Google try to purchase Wikipedia? I think it is Jimmy Wales who is openly challenging Google with his own search engine. Perhaps Google is pressuring Wikipedia via Britanica.

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  3. WIKIPEDIA LOL Although usefull at times, wiki is not something I would want to refrence material from. I don't think people understand that anybody could put anything in wiki. I know if I used wiki in one my papers I would FAIL!

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  4. Anonymous makes a good point. I love Wikipedia, really I do, but it doesn't have that 100% reliability that you need for some projects.

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  5. Whilst we wait for the Encyclopedia Britannica feature to arrive, we can always use the very useful 1-Click Answers tool from Answers.com. Once you have downloaded this free tool, all you have to do (instead of right clicking on the word) is hold down Alt and click on the word.

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  6. This is a great feature, but you are right Wikipedia will help us in the open source. Or they can offer choices for the users to choose.

    ReplyDelete

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