From: "Signiform PR Department" <press@signiform.com>
To: <lwn@lwn.net>
Subject: ThoughtTreasure [Linux-related News Release]
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 1998 14:27:04 -0500

                          Signiform News Release
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Signiform releases ThoughtTreasure commonsense platform for Linux with
Java-based clients

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW YORK, NY - December 1, 1998 - Signiform today announced the release of
ThoughtTreasure 0.00021, a new version of its comprehensive natural
language/commonsense platform that runs on Linux and supports Java-based
clients. ThoughtTreasure contains 22,386 concepts, 38,380 assertions, and
51,620 English and French words and phrases.

Applications from data extractors to PIMs can use ThoughtTreasure to obtain
answers to questions easily answered by humans but previously difficult for
computers such as:

     Q: Is soda a drink? A: Yes.
     Q: Can beds speak? A: No.
     Q: How long does a play typically last? A: About two hours.
     Q: How many husbands does a person have? A: Zero or one.
     Q: What is in a typical hotel room? A: A bed, a night table, a
     minibar, ...
     Q: What do you call someone who is 16 years old? A: A teenager.
     Q: What are rough synonyms for food? A: Foodstuffs, groceries,
     chow, grub, ...
     Q: What does cassette mean? A: Cassette tape or cassette
     recorder.
     Q: What is yellow hair called? A: Blond hair.

"Human commonsense knowledge is huge," said Erik Mueller, Signiform's CEO.
"I've heard estimates that it consists of over 100 million items. So
ThoughtTreasure, with 100 thousand items, covers only a small amount of
common sense. But this small amount can be quite useful in applications."
He gave the example of a calendar manager using ThoughtTreasure to guess
how long an appointment will last, or to understand that "my mom" and "my
mother" refer to the same person.

AVAILABILITY
The ThoughtTreasure server runs on Red Hat Linux 5.2 and supports JDK 1.1.6
(or higher) clients. The server and client software are available for free
download at Signiform's web site www.signiform.com.
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Signiform was founded in 1997 by Erik Mueller, an MIT and UCLA-educated
computer scientist, to bring natural language and commonsense capabilities
to computer software.

For more information about Signiform and its products, see
www.signiform.com or contact info@signiform.com.
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Press contact:

     Erik Mueller
     Phone: 212-749-4550
     Fax: 212-280-0745
     Email: erik@signiform.com

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
ThoughtTreasure and Signiform are trademarks of Signiform.

Java and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other
countries.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

Red Hat is a registered trademark of Red Hat Software, Inc. in the U.S. and
other countries.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------