IBM developing ‘Koala’ wiki tool

IBM is developing a Wikipedia-like tool for how-to knowledge, at its Almaden Research Lab.

The tool, a Firefox Web browser plug-in called Koala, will help people automate repetitive online tasks, such as filling out forms or paying bills.

An IBM researcher demonstrated Koala at the ETech (emerging technology) conference in San Diego, but it has yet to be released to the public.

Koala allows users to script tasks then share their script with others.

The Koala plug-in is displayed in the left-side pane of the Firefox browser. When a user clicks on record, the application will create a simple programming script of the actions which the user is performing. The script for the tasks will appear in the pane.

When the task is completed, the user would save the script and upload it to the Koala wiki so others could share it.

There are concerns that the tool could be used to create malicious scripts, but because the software is open source, it is hoped that this will be overcome by community regulation.