I tried to put the "=" symbol in front of an evaluation cell but get a "Request denied by Wolfram|Alpha Server 3004.
What does that mean? I activated my api id and everything else
If you are using a newer version of Mathematica, you will need to use "==" instead of a single "=" sign to invoke Wolfram|Alpha. Clicking on the tab with the plus sign, also provides you with a means to select Wolfram|Alpha.