Minerva has long been a dream of mine ever since I read “Time Enough for Love” by Robert Heinlein. In the story, Minerva is an AI application that functions as a personal secretary; it listens to what is being said, reads your mail, and anticipates what you need. If you’re talking on the phone and agree to meet a friend for lunch on Thursday, Minerva hears that and automatically puts that in your schedule for you. Heinlein’s “Minerva” is still too advanced to be real today, but the Dream App “Minerva” can start laying the groundwork for the fictional one.
I’m not an expert on copyright law, but we may need to change the name to avoid problems with Heinlein’s estate. I don’t know how litigious they are! My backup name is “Molly”, in honor of a former co-worker who was amazingly adept at keeping her boss on time and informed. I had considered “Nyota” but I figured that was already a copyrighted name too. Extra points to those who already know who Nyota is without having to look her up!
I’m very excited about getting Minerva built. I need a Minerva to keep me organized between work and home activities. I’m a technical writer so I’m looking forward to writing a very comprehensive user guide to accompany the software. Maybe I can sneak another feature into the already packed feature list: context-sensitive embedded online help!
