Wikia buys Grub - plans a head-on against Google
Planning to give Google a run for its money is Wikia Search - a community-developed Web search service started by Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. Wikia has reecently acquired Grub, a pioneering distributed Web crawler platform that will enable Wikia’s forthcoming
search service to scour the Web to index relevant sites.
Grub utilizes the spare power of thousands of personal computers connected to the internet. Volunteers can download the Grub client, and then allow it to operate as a background process on their computers—even as a screensaver. While each individual Grub client is a mite compared to a search engine crawler, the collective power of thousands of Grub clients working in tandem can be impressive [think the SETI@Home project].
The new Wikia search service will combine computer-driven algorithms and human-assisted editing when the company launches a public version of the search site toward the end of 2007.
Human editors would help untangle terms with multiple meanings, such as palm, which can refer to location like Palm Beach, or generic topics like trees or handheld computers. Search results are generated via another open-source software project called Lucerne which is an open-source indexing software.
Related reads:
Are Google’s days numbered?
Wikia details plans for search rival to Google
Google vs Jimmy Wales & Open Source Search
Search Wikia Takes Steps To Crawl; Acquires Grub
Wikia’s Outrageous Exploitation of the Human Race
Filed under: Digital culture, Ideas & Innovations
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