This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. > Find out more here
30 Jul 2007
View Comments
Jimmy Wales, the creator of online encyclopedia Wikipedia, has unveiled details of his company's community-developed open source search engine.
The new site, due to launch by the end of 2007, will combine human-assisted editing with computer-controlled searches. Earlier this year Wales' commercial startup company, Wikia, purchased the rights to web crawler platform Grub.
Grub users download a program which makes uses of their computer's processing power while the machine is left idle. If widely adopted, such an arrangement could reduce the need for Wikia to set up a web crawling network of its own.
Wales says that the combination of human input and computer-driven technology could help Wikia Search to handle ambiguous words with multiple meanings.
'If we can get good quality search results, I think it will really change the balance of power from the search companies back to the publishers,' said Wales at a software developer conference in Oregon.
Wikia has collected $14m (£6.9m) in funding, $10m (£4.9m) of which has been provided by online retailer Amazon.com
Newsletters
Latest stories from Open Source
Latest videos
You may also like
Open Source jobs
Does Google know too much about you?
Updating your subscription status
Are you ready for BYOD? Here are seven questions you should answer as you roll out new mobile capabilities
Uncertainty about return on investment and skills shortages needs to be overcome if the promise of big data technologies is to be fulfilled
Upcoming Events
Date: 25 Jun 2013
The IT Leaders Forum brings together the senior IT professionals who drive technology decisions within major UK enterprises. The forum provides delegates...
Date: 17 Sep 2013
Security is a top priority for IT professionals, and one of their biggest challenges is remaining up to date with new threats posed by cyber criminals....
Receive the latest jobs direct to your inbox
Are you being paid what you are worth?