Jimmy Wales Stops Wikia Search--MS Encarta also Closed
Two very different projects have closed this week: Microsoft's commercial Encarta, and after just 14 months, the free search engine Wikia Search.
Encarta has been around since the '90's and has since been available on CD and DVD. Some articles have been integrated into MSN Search. The project has around 50.000 entries with updates over the Internet and other more traditional media. A subscription version was also available. From June, according to a Microsoft statement, sales of the media will stop and subscriptions refunded. World-wide closure of the website will take place in October, except for Japan, which will hang on until December 31. Competition projects like Pediatric killed Encarta, even if Microsoft does try to cloud the issue by claiming that people's search habits have changed.
Another project from Wikipedia's founder, Jimmy Wales, has not been as successful as Wikipedia itself. After a short life, Wikia Search will also be discontinued. The reason, according to Wales, is although growth of the user-controlled search engine has been impressive, it's still well behind his expectations. He blames the current financial crisis.
"In a different economy, we would continue to fund Wikia Search indefinitely. It's something I care about deeply. I will return to again and again in my career to search, either as an investor, a contributor, a donor, or a cheerleader" writes Wales on his website. Until then, he'll be devoting his time to other Wiki.com projects such as Wikianswers.
Issue 43: Getting Started with Linux – /Special Editions
Buy this issue as a PDF
News
-
Linux Can Now Run on Apple’s M1 Chipset
Linux users looking to take advantage of Apple Silicon are about to get their wish with the M1 chipset.
-
MX Linux 21 RC Candidate Available For Testing
The MX Linux development team has released the RC images for MX Linux 21 for testing purposes.
-
Fedora 35 is Shaping Up to Be an Impressive Release
Although the beta version of Fedora’s upcoming release is behind schedule, the Linux distribution is still slotted for October and will include numerous bug fixes and some exciting new features.
-
Canonical Extends Support For Ubuntu 14.04 and 16.04
The company behind Ubuntu offered a much-needed lifeline to those who still depend on older versions of the open-source operating system.
-
GNOME 41 Has Arrived
The latest version of the GNOME desktop environment has been released with new functionality and plenty of improvements.
-
System76 Updates the 15" Pangolin with Ryzen
System76 announced they’re updating the Ryzen-powered Pangolin laptop to meet today’s need for more power.
-
KDE Plasma 5.23 Promises Plenty of Subtle Improvements
The next release of the KDE Plasma desktop includes new features, numerous improvements, and plenty of bug fixes.
-
GNOME 41 Beta is Now Available
The most popular open-source desktop environment is on the cusp of yet another new release, but don’t expect the massive changes found in the previous iteration.
-
Debian 11 “Bullseye” Now Available
The developers of Debian have released the latest version of the operating system so many distributions depend on.
-
Elementary OS 6 Odin Now Available
The developers of elementary OS have released their latest iteration which is all-in on Flatpaks and all about the user experience.