| Wikia Wants to Shake Up Search
Jimmy Wales isn't entertaining David-and-Goliath delusions when it comes to battling Google at Internet search. Wales, co-founder of online encyclopedia Wikipedia, knows his new Web-search tool won't come close to reaching Google's (GOOG) market share any time soon. But he's got what may be an even grander agenda: Wales wants to shake up how people search the Web, whatever engine they use. Wikia Search debuts Jan. 7, the result of more than a year of development (BusinessWeek.com, 12/27/06) and $14 million in funding from Amazon.com (AMZN), venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners, and a who's who of angel investors including Netscape Communications co-founder Marc Andreesen, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and Lotus Development founder and Electronic Frontier Foundation co-founder Mitch Kapor.
IBM backs OpenDocument in Lotus Notes
IBM has announced an upgrade to Lotus Notes that will include access to office productivity applications and support for the OpenDocument format. The new version of Lotus Notes, codenamed "Hannover", will feature IBM Workplace applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and numeric data analysis. These "office productivity editors", as IBM refers to them, all support OpenDocument Format (ODF) files. ODF is an XML-based file format that is independent from the particular software application in which it is created and used. ODF files can be imported and exported to and from any applications that support it, allowing entities using different software applications to work on the same document. Lotus Notes users will be able to natively create, open, edit and save in ODF.
Kia Sephia Fender: Delivering Style and Performance
When the Korean automaker Kia introduced the first Sephia in the US in 1994, the brands main focus was on creating an economical option for the American market. With the combination of a low base price, high fuel economy, and commendable handling, the Kia Sephia entered the car scene as an ideal product for city commuters. However, its practicality has been unable to escape certain negative observations and feedbacks. Indeed, some have criticized the Sephias noise at high speed, its easily wounded plastic interior, not to mention its frail exterior that surprisingly wears out fast.
As answer to these grumblings, Kia gradually but efficiently overhauled and improved the Sephia model. In doing this, Kia partnered with the best technological firms. Those included Lotus Engineering of England and Getrag of Germany.
Meditating on shifting sands
But the Mandala sculpture, slowly taking shape in Brisbane's Judith Wright Centre, will be much more impressive than it might look at first glance. Four Tibetan monks are spending this week building the Mandala, the Buddhist version of a sandcastle, grain by grain. Despite putting in hefty 10-hour days on the project it will still only reach a height of 1cm. And then, as soon as it is completed, they will destroy it beside the Brisbane River to symbolise the impermanent nature of the universe. Tibetan musician Tenzin Choegyal, who organised the monks' Australian tour, said the ritual taught people of all ages "'non-attachment" to material things. "When little kids see the Mandala the first thing they want to do is kick it," he said. "Then they gasp when we destroy it." The crushed marble Mandala, which depicts an intricate design of Buddha and a lotus, is being constructed as part of a week-long festival of concerts, meditations and workshops to celebrate the first week of the Tibetan New Year.
IBM to add software for Apple devices
EMAIL software from IBM will be available on Apple iPhones and iPod Touch devices under a new partnership that brings together two big rivals of Microsoft. IBM plans a formal announcement of the Lotus Notes email package for Apple's portable devices at its Lotusphere conference in Orlando, Florida, next week. The software, which requires use of IBM's Domino email server program, will be free for users who already have a Lotus web-access licence and start at $US39 ($44) per year for new users. IBM also plans to release Lotus Notes and the free Lotus Symphony "productivity" package - which includes documents, spreadsheets and other Microsoft Office-like software - for Apple's Macintosh computers. With these moves, IBM is trying to find more avenues for its software and take advantage of Apple's natural affinity for Microsoft alternatives.
OC's Brody gets cosy with Teresa Palmer
THE OC heartthrob Adam Brody is one American who clearly doesn't wish they all could be Californian girls, after settling into Sydney, squiring Aussie actress Teresa Palmer around town. Brody, who became a pin-up to millions of girls playing Seth Cohen in the Orange County-based drama, has started a professional and personal relationship with Palmer, his co-star in the upcoming flick Justice League of America. While she's set to kill his character, Wall West aka The Flash, in the superhero blockbuster, it was all sweet lovin' for the off-screen couple, who held hands and cuddled up over dinner at Lotus restaurant in Potts Point on Saturday night. Onlookers who contacted Confidential yesterday were stunned to see the celebrity duo, who sat in a party of six, going largely unnoticed for the duration of their meal.
Two new Movenpick luxury cruisers embark on maiden voyage in Egypt
At the beginning of November, the new Movenpick M/S Royal Lily and the refurbished Movenpick M/S Prince Abbas have set to sea. Movenpick’s fleet in Egypt now consists of five luxury cruisers. Like its companions, the Movenpick M/S Royal Lily will sail between Aswan and Luxor, while the Movenpick M/S Prince Abbas will ply the waters of Lake Nasser to cruise between Aswan and Abu Simbel.Nile Exploration Corporation is the owner of both the two new ships and the Movenpick M/S Royal Lotus, which was named the best Nile cruiser by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism in 2006. "We are honoured that, thanks to our strong partner Nile Exploration Corporation, we are able to offer our guests new cruise ship opportunities of the very highest standard," says Josef Kufer, Senior Vice President Africa Movenpick Hotels & Resorts.
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