Karelia Watson
Encyclopedia
Watson is a software program released by Karelia Software
for the Apple Macintosh on November 27, 2001, which provided Internet content through a familiar Mac OS X
-like interface through the use of plug-ins.
Plug-ins were programmed in the Objective-C
language using the Cocoa frameworks, included with the Mac OS X operating system
.
On September 18, 2002, Apple
bundled a similar program, Sherlock 3
, with Mac OS X v10.2
. Advocates of Watson claim that Apple copied the features of Watson without permission, compensation, or attribution. Apple, however, claims that a Watson-like program was simply the natural evolution of Sherlock 2
.
At Sun Microsystems
JavaOne
conference in June 2004, Sun announced that they had licensed the Watson technology and were porting it to the Java programming language
under the name Project Alameda. On October 5, development of the Cocoa-based version of Watson ceased. On November 24, Dan Wood, Karelia owner and Watson lead developer, made the last version of Watson available free of charge by posting a registration code on his weblog. http://weblog.karelia.com/MacOSX/WatsonStatus.html
Karelia Software
Karelia Software, or Karelia is a software company with a headquarters in Alameda, California that claims to pioneer the desktop Web application market. It was founded by Dan Wood and later joined by Terrence Talbot. The company derives its name from the Karelia Suite of classical music by Jean...
for the Apple Macintosh on November 27, 2001, which provided Internet content through a familiar Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
-like interface through the use of plug-ins.
Plug-ins were programmed in the Objective-C
Objective-C
Objective-C is a reflective, object-oriented programming language that adds Smalltalk-style messaging to the C programming language.Today, it is used primarily on Apple's Mac OS X and iOS: two environments derived from the OpenStep standard, though not compliant with it...
language using the Cocoa frameworks, included with the Mac OS X operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
.
On September 18, 2002, Apple
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
bundled a similar program, Sherlock 3
Sherlock (software)
Sherlock, named after Sherlock Holmes, was a file and web search tool created by Apple Inc. for the Mac OS, introduced with Mac OS 8.5 as an extension of the Mac OS Finder's file searching capabilities. Like its predecessor, it can search for local files and file contents, which it does using the...
, with Mac OS X v10.2
Mac OS X v10.2
Mac OS X version 10.2 "Jaguar" is the third major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system. It superseded Mac OS X v10.1 code name Puma and preceded Mac OS X Panther...
. Advocates of Watson claim that Apple copied the features of Watson without permission, compensation, or attribution. Apple, however, claims that a Watson-like program was simply the natural evolution of Sherlock 2
Sherlock (software)
Sherlock, named after Sherlock Holmes, was a file and web search tool created by Apple Inc. for the Mac OS, introduced with Mac OS 8.5 as an extension of the Mac OS Finder's file searching capabilities. Like its predecessor, it can search for local files and file contents, which it does using the...
.
At Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
JavaOne
JavaOne
JavaOne is an annual conference inaugurated in 1996 by Sun Microsystems to discuss Java technologies, primarily among Java developers. JavaOne is held in San Francisco, California typically running from Monday to Thursday. Technical sessions on a variety of topics are held during the day. In the...
conference in June 2004, Sun announced that they had licensed the Watson technology and were porting it to the Java programming language
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
under the name Project Alameda. On October 5, development of the Cocoa-based version of Watson ceased. On November 24, Dan Wood, Karelia owner and Watson lead developer, made the last version of Watson available free of charge by posting a registration code on his weblog. http://weblog.karelia.com/MacOSX/WatsonStatus.html
External links
- Karelia: Watson FAQ - See "What is the relationship between Watson and the new Sherlock 3?".
- Karelia: Developing Tools for Watson - See "How does Watson's plug-in architecture compare to Sherlock 3?".
- Sun licenses search software for desktop push