Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia launched Wikia on Monday. Wikia is a new search engine to which users can contribute, just like with Wikipedia.

According to Mr. Wales the Internet needs to be transparent and open and while other search engines like Google or Microsoft Live Search, are closed systems to which users cannot contribute nor is it possible to see how the search results are created. However, with Wikia it is possible to see how this is done as the algorithms that determine the order of the search results are public. Besides that users can rate search results themselves. This way better search results will get a higher positioning, while phishing or other malicious websites are being omitted.

Contrary to Wikipedia, Wikia will be commercial; adds will need to generate the site's income and therefore Wikia will initially 'only' crawl between fifty and a hundred million websites; only a fraction of the capacity of its big brothers and sisters, like Google, Yahoo or Microsoft Live Search.

If you’ve been wondering where all the advertising for Windows Vista has disappeared to, look no further than YouTube. Starting from last week, Microsoft has begun uploading a series of original short videos showcasing a combination of Windows Vista, Windows Live and Office 2007 experiences.

Unlike the $500 million heart-warming “Wow” campaign at the start of the year, this campaign focuses much more on functionality with realistic end-user scenarios and clear benefits on how using Windows Vista, Windows Live and Office can help get the job done. Perhaps this marks the beginning of the $300 million more Microsoft’s throwing into the Vista advertising pool.

The videos themselves are well-produced with scenarios most home users can associate with, such as making a panoramic photo. Instead of just talking about the benefits, it’s good they actually demo the products in-use from beginning to end to show how it can be done.

I came across this collection of nearly 700 (!!) business cards on Flickr. Not just a collection of business cards, but some very creative and never seen before things. We all know the CD-ROM type business cards, but how many metal ones are there in your business cards filer? This collection has some of the best examples. So if you need a new one, if you're starting your own company or just want to see which amazing things can be done with the everyday item the business card is ... check it out!.

Once I was almost famous. For years, my friends and I were on the front lines: we were the Windows Server 2003 servers that powered Microsoft.com, one of the hottest Web sites in the world. Then, early last summer, everything changed. Read more ...

The Silverlight 1.0 Fire Starter is an online, one day event providing developers and designers information on the concept behind Silverlight as a technology, what tools are useful in development and the knowledge in order to start building their own applications. The eight sessions listed, are available to watch and to be downloaded in video and audio formats.

Besides an 'Introduction' and a 'Getting started' course, Fire Starter covers topics like:

• Silverlight programming

• Popfly and Silverlight

• Silverlight in the future

• Workflow of Silverlight with Expression and Visual Studio

• Silverlight XAML

• A Development Story

• Media, Markers and More

Great stuff there ... I will definitely check it out ...

Benjamin Selvais has been hospitalized and diagnosed with exhaustion after he had only been playing computer games during the Christmas holidays. The guy averaged at 8 hours a day but admitted that he occasionally played 24 hour non-stop.

He drank a lot of coffee and energy drinks while playing World of Warcraft. His brother found Benjamin exhausted in his room after his first day of school and having spend another night behind the computer until 3 AM. The doctor had Benjamin hospitalized where he slept till Wednesday. His mom promised to do something about it ...

Thank you for reading and please share your feedback.

Harold

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So ... what actually happened? What did I read, see and hear that I found interesting?

I'll be doing a sort of 'a week in review' at the end (or beginning) of every week, as a few years from now I might actually find it nice to read about what interested me in the past. And for now I just like to share what I think is interesting. This can be anything really - things that happened to me in real life, something that I read in the newspaper or magazine or even something that I saw on television or articles I read on the Internet.

First the stuff that I came across while browsing the Internet this week ...

I can't help myself ... I just love anything aviation related! One of the first things that I ran into this year was this press-release by the ACRO (the Aircraft  Crashes Record Office). Usually they don't have good news but this year there was a slight positive touch to this one. According to the ACRO, lat year there were 136 aviation accidents in the world - 28 less than 2006 - the smallest number of aviation accidents since 1963! The total number of victims is 25% lower than in 2006, making 2007 one of the safest years in the last half century. Still 2006 saw a total of 965 fatalities ...

China has some 47 million bloggers, of which 57% is female. The use of Internet in the Peoples Republic has exploded in the last few years. Currently there are over 180 million Internet users in China of which just over 11% of the users is under 18. According to the authorities 10% of those are addicted to Internet ... 

I and a lot of Dutch people are really proud of 'our own' YouTube Star Esmée Denters. She has made it into the 'Top 10 Videos of the Year'. The video with which Esmée gained popularity is 'me singing what goes around'. In the video you can see that after she's finished singing Justin Timberlake is actually in the studio with Esmée, playing the piano while Esmée is singing. He's clearly enthusiastic "She sings my song better than me!"

Justin offered Esmée a contract with his record label after he was impressed by her singing and she already appeared as a support act for Justin. Esmée started making YouTube films in 2006 in which she sang songs popular songs and gained so much popularity with them that she even was invited to be on Oprah.

The YouTube Top 10 is comprised by clips that have the most views, reviews or shares.

While talking about YouTube ...

MC Hammer is back! Or at least he started a website with which he wants compete with YouTube. On Hammers website DanceJam, which will go online this month, users can view and share dance video's.

Hopefully for the 45 year old Stanley Burrell (Hammer's real name), the site will be a success as the rapper went bankrupt in 1996, leaving behind a debt of over 14 million US Dollar. In the nineties Hammer scored a megahit with 'U Can't Touch This'; money flowed in but because of his exorbitant lifestyle money went out faster than it came in. When all the money was gone he became a priest and a TV host.

His latest idea is to become an Internet entrepreneur. With DanceJam Hammer hopes to gain income from advertising like YouTube does ...

The famous Bink.nu 'Expect List' is back! Some really interesting stuff is to be (or might be) expected from Microsoft this year. As in previous years, my fellow countryman Steven Bink made a list of what releases to expect from Microsoft. The lists he made in 2005 and 2006 turned out to be pretty accurate.

There are a lot of interesting things on the list. I am not going to mention them all in here - you just have to see for yourself - but some of the things that I find to be very exciting, apart from the infamous Service Packs 3 for Windows XP and Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista, are obviously the upcoming releases of Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 and of course Internet Explorer 8. But also things like the first beta for the successor of Windows Vista (codename 'Vienna'), Windows Mobile 7, ISA Server and some new security stuff like the Forefront codename “Stirling” beta make me really curious.

The Bink.nu List is based on facts, assumptions and some wild guesses. It is not complete as of yet and will be updated by your feedback so if you have information that might be of use to Steven or if you think something is missing or wrong please let him know through a comment on his blog or by sending him an email to bink[at]bink.nu.

Here's is a good one ... don't you just hate it when you have to fill out a user registration form  to get into some website? Ben Orenstein wrote a very good and funny column about how many 'user registration pages suck'. His view: you must relentlessly streamline the process by which a user joins your site and avoid even this process as long as possible.

In marketing lingo, it’s called your ‘conversion rate.’ This is the percentage of users who you successfully convince to take some action. On the web, this usually means getting someone to click your ads, create an account or buy your product. Read the entire article here and while you're there make sure you also read this; excellent stuff if you're a developer!

Last year was one of the most exciting years in tech ever. Not only did we see amazing new products come out, but we also finally started seeing cell phones take usability more seriously, the launch of Windows Vista, cars starting to cater to techies in a big way and a lot more. But were there any trends that we could see? As it turns out, last year saw some pretty unexpected trends begin to emerge.

The five biggest tech trends recognized last year would be:

• Apple conquering the world
• Google versus Microsoft Live
• DRM losing ground
• PC Makers need to improve experience
• The Cloud is starting to take over

Read more here ...

I am always looking for nice scenery for my Flight Simulator; especially Alaskan scenery to feature in my 'Tour of the Pacific Coast'. This week I found another nice package for Flight Simulator X on AVSIM: Redtail Ridge Island Resort. It is a fictitious place in Alaska, featuring a 2300x45 feet dirt runway and a 10000 feet water runway, marked at each end with a red buoy. The airport is mainly intended as a place for the weary bush pilot to go and relax. There is a line of lakeside cabins to stay in and three little docks for floatplanes to tie up at. Also available are a selection of boats to rent and for transportation around, there is a rental car agency. If the cabins are filled, stay in the hotel or sleep outdoors in the campsites. Go shopping at the mall or grab a bite to eat at the fast food joints. Anything you need to relax, you can find it here! Check it out!

TechRepublic's Calvin Sun has been a long time favorite of mine. He kicks off the year with a column containing '10 career resolutions for the new year'. He states: "Another year has arrived, and with it, the urge to take a fresh run at professional improvement and career success. Here are 10 resolutions aimed at helping you expand your knowledge, sharpen your skills, and develop better business relationships." Read more here ... good stuff!

I've seen a lot of columns and blogposts that featured something along the lines of "I can build a machine that will run better/faster than an OEM at half the price". George Ou's column at TechRepublic is just another but he's claiming to build a Mac Pro equivalent workstation for 1/3 the cost. According to George it won't run Mac OSX but it'll scream on Windows. Funny, most people spend their time screaming at Windows ...

Softpedia's Marius Oiaga wrote an interesting column about some GUI related issues with Windows Vista and Office 2007. He claims that "the Aero GUI has not been the hit Microsoft hoped for. While still being an immense step forward from what Windows XP brought to the table, the issues of hardware resource consumption is in fact what really hurt Aero, prompting critics to downplay the user interface overhauling in Vista. At the same time, while Office 2007 introduced a more radical redesign with the Ribbon/Fluent interface, the shift from Office 2003 was welcomed, unlike the mode from the XP UI to Aero. " An interesting point of view if you ask me but what I found to be even more interesting was the interview with Microsoft's Manuel Clement, which was linked to Marius' article. Insights from a Microsoft designer/developer ... always good reading material if you ask me.

Mark McGuinness is a coach who specializes in the creative sector. He recently wrote a  series about time management for Business of Design Online. He now has bundled the series in an e-book, that you can download of his blog. The e-book is especially recommended if you have a creative profession. Another piece of very interesting reading material!

Thank you for reading and please share your feedback.

Harold

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