RE: Real World Semantic Web Tools?

I do not share the opinion that semantic web is unusable. I think the
goals are set way too high. Before you want to manage global
information, check out the mess in your email inbox.

I have built a PersonalInformationManagement prototype and integration
suite.

gnowsis - a Semantic Desktop

It is usable, I use it myself to associate pictures to people,
powerpoint slides to appointments
and other stuff.

I integrated a wiki/weblog into it, a fine idea for information
management.

and I generated my foaf with it automatically (extracted data from MS
outlook)
foaf is here:
http://www.gnowsis.com/leo/foaf.xml
you see funny urls in it, they are from gnowsis.

Gnowsis does most of the points you mentioned, read the paper (see
below).

It will be released under something like a BSD license later in this
year, 
I have problems with patents etc. right now.

In  the meantime, 
have a look at my paper about it,
it has screenshots.

http://www.gnowsis.com/wiki/GnowSis/LeoSThesis
http://www.gnowsis.com/thesis/GnowsisThesis.zip

there are many a powerpoint - f.e.:
http://www.gnowsis.com/DaDa/2004_01_26/Gnowsis.ppt

read the note about scripts here:
http://www.gnowsis.com/wiki/DaDa/DaTe20040126


 do what is possible-gnowsis

greetings
Leo


> -----Original Message-----
> From: www-rdf-interest-request@w3.org 
> [mailto:www-rdf-interest-request@w3.org] On Behalf Of Mansur 
> Darlington
> Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2004 3:42 PM
> To: www-rdf-interest@w3.org
> Cc: semanticweb@yahoogroups.com; kaw@swi.psy.uva.nl; 
> www-rdf-interest@w3.org
> Subject: Real World Semantic Web Tools?
> 
> 
> 
> First, an apology for cross-posting this.
> 
> This is a plea for help, from some fairly non-techy 
> information users, 
> but we feel it might strike a chord of recognition across 
> interest groups!
> 
> We are trying to explore the practical benefits that 
> developing Semantic 
> Web technologies might have to offer for improving access to 
> information 
> for engineering designers. As part of this effort we wish to 
> demonstrate 
> the advantages of SW technologies over conventional 
> information search 
> and retrieval approaches (assuming there really are any!).
> 
> Using a document test-bed and a couple of ontologies developed weve 
> demonstrated some of the potential benefits that can be 
> achieved (akin 
> to those found in any basic RDF primer or the like). We now wish to 
> provide a more realistic practical demonstration of the benefits (and 
> the associated costs and difficulties associated with the 
> semantification process) using a range of tools that have been 
> developed by the SW community.
> 
> These would include:
> 1) Ontology creation and lifecycle management (e.g. Protégé, OilED, 
> OntoEdit, etc.)
> 2) An annotator for constructing mark-up documents from the 
> corpus, or 
> marked-up proxy documents (e.g. OntoMat, MnM, etc.).
> 3) A means for capturing and representing axioms or rules which 
> formalize useful inferences in the domain (e.g. using the above).
> 4) An interface that invites the construction of queries 
> (e.g. plugins 
> for the above).
> 5) An accessible query engine which will handle querying and 
> inferencing 
> (using the axioms/rules) and present the result in a useful way.
> 
> We have done our best to identify - from the hundreds of applications 
> available  those which: (i) work reliably (ii) have 
> compatible inputs 
> and outputs (iii) can be *used* and understood by end information 
> users (we are not programmers!).
> 
> Despite our efforts we are having remarkably little success. 
> On the one 
> hand we are overwhelmed by the amount of information that is 
> available 
> on Semantic Web topics, on the other we have found that much of the 
> information is completely inscrutable.
> 
> Fundamentally our questions are: Is it that the tools which 
> we require 
> are simply too immature (or dont yet exist) or that 
> substantially more 
> technical expertise is needed to use what is available than can be 
> reasonably expected from information users?
> 
> Comments or help in answering these questions from the Semantic Web 
> community would be much appreciated.
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Mansur Darlington and Al Lowe
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> ---------------
> Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre
> Department of Mechanical Engineering
> University of Bath
> UK
> 
>

Received on Thursday, 12 February 2004 11:28:47 UTC