01 PM | 03 Jan

Webware web 2.0 trends for 2008

Editor’s pick..

Powerset

Semantic search Search engines are finally learning how real users think. While popularity-based engines (such as Google) work well, there’s more potential in engines that go beyond link analysis to parsing the meaning of pages. Powerset is one of the most anticipated upcoming semantic search engines, but you can see semantic search at work, on a much smaller scale, in smaller projects such as the wine-aficionado site Snooth; it speaks only wine lingo, but it “understands” wine terms to correctly match “big” with “fruity,” for example.

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01 PM | 03 Jan

Coeliac info

As a coeliac myself I am always collecting info to help educate myself and others. Below a list of bakeries and suppliers that may help with that ever ellusive quest of… just get me some good tasting gluten-free bread, damn it!

Sunnybrook Health Store 553A North Road, Ormond – Phone: 03 9578 6400 www.sunnybrookonline.com.au

SillyYaks Bakery Cafe 105 High Street, Northcote – Phone:03 9480 1333 www.sillyyak.com.au

Tangelo Fine Foods 531 Malvern Road, Toorak – Phone: 03 9826 1297

Semilla’s Kitchen- Warrandyte Market – Phone: 0401 911 398 email: semillaskitchen@gmail.com

Gippsland Gluten Free Foods 35 Nicholson Street, Bairnsdale – Phone: 5152 3611 www.gippslandglutenfree.com.au

The Swiss Bakehouse 35 Hamilton Place, Mt Waverley – Phone: 03 9807 0699 www.swissbake.com.au

Abunda Gluten Free 432 Sturt Street, Ballarat – Phone: 5333 5344 www.abundaglutenfree.com.au

Gluten Free Foods Mornington Shop 7, 55 Barkly Street, Mornington – Phone: 5973 6466 www.glutenfreefoods.com.au

Swiss Cakes and Bread Shop 28, Mountain Gate Shopping Centre, Ferntree Gully Phone: 03 9728 0288 www.swisscakesandbread.com.au

Absolutely Gluten Free 34A Synnot Street, Werribee – Phone:03 9741 0633 www.absolutelyglutenfree.com.au

Allergy Block Shop 220 Elgin Street, Carlton – Phone: 03 9348 2066 www.allergyblock.com.au

Mandi’s Kitchen Email: puddings@mandiskitchen.com or Phone: 03 9578 3418 www.mandiskitchen.com

Gluten Free Life Phone: 1300 794 170 www.glutenfreelife.com.au

Also one of my fav pursuits is gluten-free multi-grain bread at Vic Markets!!

01 PM | 02 Jan

THE CUNNINGHAM DAX COLLECTION

In conjunction with the 32nd Congress of the International Committee of the History of Art (CIHA) Crossing Cultures taking place in Melbourne in 2008, the Cunningham Dax Collection invites you to attend a forum titled: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CUNNINGHAM DAX COLLECTION: ART, CREATIVITY AND EDUCATION IN MENTAL HEALTH

Date: Wednesday 16 January, 2008 Time: 2pm – 4pm Venue: Cunningham Dax Collection, 35 Poplar Road, Parkville, Melbourne, VIC, Australia 3052 Cost to public: Free

Program 2 pm A guided tour of the current exhibition, Creative Contexts 3 pm Afternoon Tea 3.15pm Art and Mental Health: A Conversation with Eugen Koh, Director of the Dax Collection and Anthony White, Lecturer in Art History, The University of Melbourne. Moderator: Felicity Harley 3.45pm Questions and Discussion 4pm Finish RSVP: (03) 9342 2394, Bookings essential

The Cunningham Dax Collection consists of over 12,000 works by people who have experienced mental illness and/or trauma. Its mission is to promote widely a greater understanding of people who experience mental illness and/or psychological trauma, and to foster an appreciation of their creativity through the preservation and ethical presentation of their original works. The Cunningham Dax Collection Gallery hours Wed – Fri, 10am – 4pm and Sat 1-5pm.

01 PM | 02 Jan

Web playgrounds for the Very Young

LOS ANGELES — Forget Second Life. The real virtual world gold rush centers on the grammar-school set.

Trying to duplicate the success of blockbuster Web sites like Club Penguin and Webkinz, children’s entertainment companies are greatly accelerating efforts to build virtual worlds for children. Media conglomerates in particular think these sites — part online role-playing game and part social scene — can deliver quick growth, help keep movie franchises alive and instill brand loyalty in a generation of new customers.

Second Life and other virtual worlds for grown-ups have enjoyed intense media attention in the last year but fallen far short of breathless expectations. The children’s versions are proving much more popular, to the dismay of some parents and child advocacy groups. Now the likes of the Walt Disney Company, which owns Club Penguin, are working at warp speed to pump out sister sites.

“Get ready for total inundation,” said Debra Aho Williamson, an analyst at the research firm eMarketer, who estimates that 20 million children will be members of a virtual world by 2011, up from 8.2 million today.

Worlds like Webkinz, where children care for stuffed animals that come to life, have become some of the Web’s fastest-growing businesses. More than six million unique visitors logged on to Webkinz in November, up 342 percent from November 2006, according to ComScore Media Metrix, a research firm.

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