GBdirect announce new (open source) geographical search enginePRESS RELEASE - 24 March 2000 GBdirect announce the release of a new platform independent geographical search engine called "Somewhere Near". It is initially accessible via the web (at http://www.somewherenear.com), but will soon be available via WAP phones and other wireless devices. The site currently runs on a familiar combination of Linux, Apache and MySQL. All development was done using robust free software tools created by GBdirect themselves and by the open source community at large. At the moment, Somewherenear.com has two essential features. Firstly, it positions any kind of place you search for on a map and, secondly, it encourages users to add places to the database with their own comments and votes (in the familiar slashdot style). Right now, the live web site catalogues UK Pubs, Guest houses, Curry houses and the like, but the search engine itself can handle any geographical object in any part of the world. Searching can be incredibly easy, e.g. you can just click on a map and the database will respond by drawing you a new map showing the nearest X places to the point where you clicked. A superficial description of the search engine's origins is available at http://somewherenear.com/about.htm A full technical description of how the site was built will follow when GBdirect release the engine's software under the GNU Public Lisense (GPL), i.e. after it has been thoroughly de-bugged. GBdirect are looking for potential partners and investors to take this unique tool to the US and other territories. For further information, please contact: Dave Fisher |
CSS/XSLT/XHTML Design at The RegisterGBdirect staff recently completed an overhaul of the content management system (CMS) and website design for The Register. Every user should notice the aesthetic improvements, but we hope that most will also experience significant improvements in usability and performance as a result of the shift to open standards compliant HTML, CSS and XSLT. A brief description of the technologies involved is available and you may be interested in this rather approving account from The Web Standards Project. Journalists and editors are already noticing a dramatic improvement in the usability of the content management system. If you are interested in a similarly high usability, standards compliant, website design please contact our development team at development@gbdirect.co.uk. If you would like to learn how to do something similar yourself, take a look at our website design training course and our Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) training course. |
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