Thread View: 3do.software.tools
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Started by News
Tue, 09 Jan 2001 03:38
A revolutionary breakthrough in software technology!
Author: News
Date: Tue, 09 Jan 2001 03:38
Date: Tue, 09 Jan 2001 03:38
360 lines
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19724 bytes
This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_00A8_01C07A5A.A0068100 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable A revolutionary breakthrough in software technology! Brand new software technology will soon be released that will, according = to its designers SmartCode Design Inc, put an end to the endless cycles = of upgrades and new software purchases. As explained by Theo Koelder, head of the software design team that = developed the software: "We had an amazing brain storming session here = in our development lab in early 1997 and came up with the concept of = evolving software. We thought we would let the software evolve according = to the user=92s requirements. After three years of very hard work we = produced software that was capable of doing this reliably. We=92ve named = it "Evo" and it is the first of its kind of self-replicating and = adapting software. Evo has been modeled on mother nature, and uses = something like the process of evolution as discovered by Charles Darwin, = to upgrade itself based on feedback it obtains surreptitiously from the = user." There are two methods it uses to obtain this feedback. Firstly, during use, the software monitors every keystroke and mouse = action of the user. A complex algorithm somewhat like "fuzzy logic" is = employed to deduce various aspects, such as what the user might be = looking for in the software=92s menu structure (for instance an as-yet = non-existing menu item for "Copy Document"), or what mistakes the user = might be trying to undo, or what kind of macro could be constructed to = replace the user=92s repetitive tasks. The deductions are added to a = continuously growing database that the software uses to make predictions = about the user's requirements with ever increasing accuracy. Secondly, there is the option form that the user can call up and fill = in. This gives a more forceful and direct method of suggesting new = features to the software. The list of available options on this form = grows as the software=92s database grows. Whenever the user desires, the software can be made to clone itself. = This is where the brilliance of this new software technology really = shines through. With each cloning action, the software will deliberately = add random code or remove unwanted code from its cloned copy, with the = changes carefully chosen to reflect the feedback previously obtained = from the user. This is Darwin=92s "survival of the fittest" in splendid = digital form! Those features the user found most desirable will be = enhanced with each cloning. Those that the user found undesirable will = either be changed slightly or be lost altogether. In its infant form, the software is little more functional than = Microsoft=92s Notepad application, but with consistent use and cloning = the user can make it anything he or she wants it to be. Tests conducted = using volunteers from the public have shown that on average 87 cloning = operations are necessary to advance the software from its infant stage = to a moderately powerful word processor capable of supporting the most = common word processing features. Cloning is best done after at least a day=92s work using the software, = although in its infant form the software can be cloned after as little = as an hour=92s use. (This is because the infant software has very few = features for the user to try out and a very small database on which to = base its predictions.) The software can also be =91sliced=92. This is the term used by its = developers to describe the process of creating a new piece of software = that develops independently of the original software. Using this feature = it is possible to create, from the same infant software, one piece of = software that develops into a powerful word processor, and another piece = of software that develops into a powerful CAD package (or whatever the = user desires). In-house trials of the software have produced end results as diverse as = image editors, music composers, sound editors, CAD and drawing = applications, speech synthesis and speech recognition applications, = computer vision applications, spreadsheet and database applications, = word processing applications, and web browsers. Unfortunately, Evo has = not been able to produce any game software successfully. When asked why, = the company=92s predictive coding developer Ashmad Daganasani explained = that the software analyses functionality only and therefore has no = understanding of the concept of fun or difficulty. In fact, the = software=92s natural bias is towards making its use easier for the user, = which makes for rather boring games that are easy to win. Some attempts = have even resulted in puzzle-type games that solve themselves. This = ability to solve complex puzzles, while not useful for games, has = created interest from meteorological and stock exchange sectors for = possible use in more accurate prediction of weather and stock prices. An unexpected feature of the self-evolving nature of the software is = that the code it produces with each cloning is amazingly compact and = versatile. Studies made of evolved software shows that there are no = redundant chunks of code anywhere in it. This resulted in a = full-featured web-browser application reaching a size of only 2.3Mb, and = a moderately powerful word processor application reaching a size of a = mere 472Kb. Volunteer trials have been conducted secretly in a high security = facility somewhere in Europe, to ensure no copies of the highly = controversial software fell into public hands before the planned release = date of August 2001. Volunteers have found that the adaptability of the = software allows them to mold the software to their exact requirements = and provide enormous improvements in productivity. This is currently = still offset by the necessarily repetitive process of cloning, but the = developers hope to provide what they call "gene sharing" technology for = their software shortly after the planned release date. This would allow = users to share segments of code (dubbed "genes"), that they have found = greatly beneficial, with other users so that beneficial software traits = can be quickly established worldwide. This would reduce the requirement = for cloning and also help to ensure file format compatibility. According to the company=92s marketing director Johan M=F6ller the = software "will be a severe blow to a lot of the major software companies = around the world." When asked how his company will earn revenue from = self-replicating software he explained "We are currently applying for = patents in each country to protect our software. Our software is so = unique and radically different, it will be hard for anyone to sell it as = their own product. We won=92t actually sell it ourselves. Users can only = rent the software. Each =91infant=92 will run only if licensed, and the = license is based on a user account we will have for each of our = customers. The user simply pays a small monthly fee to maintain their = license status. Each new =91infant=92 sliced from the originally = purchased =91infant=92 will also need to be licensed but at a lesser = charge. The database created by the software will be the property of the = user, so can be copied freely to a second computer that the user owns to = re-create evolved copies of licensed =91infants=92 without having to go = through the cloning process again." Theo Koelder, head of the software design team, sees a bright future for = his company, regardless of future trends in the computer industry: "We = will continue to develop Evo as far as adaptability and versatility are = concerned. With further work on the predictive coding modules of the = software, we envisage that Evo will eventually be able to port itself to = different operating systems as and when they become available." SmartCode Design Inc plans to release the software in August 2001 at a = cost of US$495.00 per =91infant=92 and a monthly license maintenance fee = of US$1.00. It is currently setting up infrastructure to handle the = expected high demand for the product. ------=_NextPart_000_00A8_01C07A5A.A0068100 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <META content=3Dtext/html;charset=3Diso-8859-1 = http-equiv=3DContent-Type> <META content=3D'"MSHTML 4.72.2106.6"' name=3DGENERATOR> </HEAD> <BODY> <DIV> <P><STRONG><FONT color=3D#800000 face=3D"" size=3D5>A revolutionary = breakthrough in=20 software technology!</FONT></STRONG></P> <P>Brand new software technology will soon be released that will, = according to=20 its designers SmartCode Design Inc, put an end to the endless cycles of = upgrades=20 and new software purchases.</P> <P>As explained by Theo Koelder, head of the software design team that = developed=20 the software: <I>"We had an amazing brain storming session here in = our=20 development lab in early 1997 and came up with the concept of evolving = software.=20 We thought we would let the software evolve according to the = user’s=20 requirements. After three years of very hard work we produced software = that was=20 capable of doing this reliably. We’ve named it "Evo" and = it is=20 the first of its kind of self-replicating and adapting software. Evo has = been=20 modeled on mother nature, and uses something like the process of = evolution as=20 discovered by Charles Darwin, to upgrade itself based on feedback it = obtains=20 surreptitiously from the user."</P></I> <P>There are two methods it uses to obtain this feedback.</P> <P>Firstly, during use, the software monitors every keystroke and mouse = action=20 of the user. A complex algorithm somewhat like "fuzzy logic" = is=20 employed to deduce various aspects, such as what the user might be = looking for=20 in the software’s menu structure (for instance an as-yet = non-existing menu=20 item for "Copy Document"), or what mistakes the user might be = trying=20 to undo, or what kind of macro could be constructed to replace the = user’s=20 repetitive tasks. The deductions are added to a continuously growing = database=20 that the software uses to make predictions about the user's requirements = with=20 ever increasing accuracy.</P> <P>Secondly, there is the option form that the user can call up and fill = in.=20 This gives a more forceful and direct method of suggesting new features = to the=20 software. The list of available options on this form grows as the=20 software’s database grows.</P> <P>Whenever the user desires, the software can be made to clone itself. = This is=20 where the brilliance of this new software technology really shines = through. With=20 each cloning action, the software will deliberately add random code or = remove=20 unwanted code from its cloned copy, with the changes carefully chosen to = reflect=20 the feedback previously obtained from the user. This is Darwin’s=20 "survival of the fittest" in splendid digital form! Those = features the=20 user found most desirable will be enhanced with each cloning. Those that = the=20 user found undesirable will either be changed slightly or be lost=20 altogether.</P> <P>In its infant form, the software is little more functional than=20 Microsoft’s Notepad application, but with consistent use and = cloning the=20 user can make it anything he or she wants it to be. Tests conducted = using=20 volunteers from the public have shown that on average 87 cloning = operations are=20 necessary to advance the software from its infant stage to a moderately = powerful=20 word processor capable of supporting the most common word processing=20 features.</P> <P>Cloning is best done after at least a day’s work using the = software,=20 although in its infant form the software can be cloned after as little = as an=20 hour’s use. (This is because the infant software has very few = features for=20 the user to try out and a very small database on which to base its=20 predictions.)</P> <P>The software can also be ‘sliced’. This is the term used = by its=20 developers to describe the process of creating a new piece of software = that=20 develops independently of the original software. Using this feature it = is=20 possible to create, from the same infant software, one piece of software = that=20 develops into a powerful word processor, and another piece of software = that=20 develops into a powerful CAD package (or whatever the user desires).</P> <P>In-house trials of the software have produced end results as diverse = as image=20 editors, music composers, sound editors, CAD and drawing applications, = speech=20 synthesis and speech recognition applications, computer vision = applications,=20 spreadsheet and database applications, word processing applications, and = web=20 browsers. Unfortunately, Evo has not been able to produce any game = software=20 successfully. When asked why, the company’s predictive coding = developer=20 Ashmad Daganasani explained that the software analyses functionality = only and=20 therefore has no understanding of the concept of fun or difficulty. In = fact, the=20 software’s natural bias is towards making its use easier for the = user,=20 which makes for rather boring games that are easy to win. Some attempts = have=20 even resulted in puzzle-type games that solve themselves. This ability = to solve=20 complex puzzles, while not useful for games, has created interest from=20 meteorological and stock exchange sectors for possible use in more = accurate=20 prediction of weather and stock prices.</P> <P>An unexpected feature of the self-evolving nature of the software is = that the=20 code it produces with each cloning is amazingly compact and versatile. = Studies=20 made of evolved software shows that there are no redundant chunks of = code=20 anywhere in it. This resulted in a full-featured web-browser application = reaching a size of only 2.3Mb, and a moderately powerful word processor=20 application reaching a size of a mere 472Kb.</P> <P>Volunteer trials have been conducted secretly in a high security = facility=20 somewhere in Europe, to ensure no copies of the highly controversial = software=20 fell into public hands before the planned release date of August 2001.=20 Volunteers have found that the adaptability of the software allows them = to mold=20 the software to their exact requirements and provide enormous = improvements in=20 productivity. This is currently still offset by the necessarily = repetitive=20 process of cloning, but the developers hope to provide what they call = "gene=20 sharing" technology for their software shortly after the planned = release=20 date. This would allow users to share segments of code (dubbed=20 "genes"), that they have found greatly beneficial, with other = users so=20 that beneficial software traits can be quickly established worldwide. = This would=20 reduce the requirement for cloning and also help to ensure file format=20 compatibility.</P> <P>According to the company’s marketing director Johan Möller = the=20 software <I>"will be a severe blow to a lot of the major software = companies=20 around the world."</I> When asked how his company will earn revenue = from=20 self-replicating software he explained <I>"We are currently = applying for=20 patents in each country to protect our software. Our software is so = unique and=20 radically different, it will be hard for anyone to sell it as their own = product.=20 We won’t actually sell it ourselves. Users can only rent the = software.=20 Each ‘infant’ will run only if licensed, and the license is = based on=20 a user account we will have for each of our customers. The user simply = pays a=20 small monthly fee to maintain their license status. Each new=20 ‘infant’ sliced from the originally purchased = ‘infant’=20 will also need to be licensed but at a lesser charge. The database = created by=20 the software will be the property of the user, so can be copied freely = to a=20 second computer that the user owns to re-create evolved copies of = licensed=20 ‘infants’ without having to go through the cloning process=20 again."</P></I> <P>Theo Koelder, head of the software design team, sees a bright future = for his=20 company, regardless of future trends in the computer industry: = <I>"We will=20 continue to develop Evo as far as adaptability and versatility are = concerned.=20 With further work on the predictive coding modules of the software, we = envisage=20 that Evo will eventually be able to port itself to different operating = systems=20 as and when they become available."</P></I> <P>SmartCode Design Inc plans to release the software in August 2001 at = a cost=20 of US$495.00 per ‘infant’ and a monthly license maintenance = fee of=20 US$1.00. It is currently setting up infrastructure to handle the = expected high=20 demand for the product.</P></DIV></BODY></HTML> ------=_NextPart_000_00A8_01C07A5A.A0068100--
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