Wednesday, November 28, 2007

iBlackle Theme for iGoogle now Live!

iBlackle ThemeThe long-awaited iBlackle Theme is now live! It's also an iGoogle skin to call it the other way around. The iGoogle interface has been 'monkeyed' with, using the GreaseMonkey Firefox Add-on. This release only works for Mozilla Firefox. And requires that the GreaseMonkey Add-On be installed in your Firefox browser first. Then the GreaseMonkey script should be installed next. It works seamlessly with your iGoogle custom page, but you must set 'Classic' as your theme! Don't select no crazy 'Solar System' themes just yet! I'm still working on it. For now, just enjoy the sleek iBlackle theme or skin for your iGoogle!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

iBlackle as Mashup of the Day in ProgrammableWeb!

iBlackle - Mashup of the Day in ProgrammableWebiBlackle has just been selected as Mashup of the Day!!! It is truly fun for a parody mashup site to be listed in ProgrammableWeb - a site that focuses on the web's programmability or mashability (via APIs,SDKs,AJAX,etc). This really makes my day....its so funny! Now, all I need is some ecofriendly beer to celebrate!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Google AJAX Search API for iBlackle

In my continuing quest to bring you the most ecofriendly way to perform your search, I am now working out a way to implement the Google AJAX Search API for iBlackle. Pretty soon, you will be able to do Web Search, Local Search, Video Search, Blog Search, News Search, Book Search, and Image Search directly from iBlackle.com! On the internet, it seems that AJAX will clean the planet!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Ecofriendly Tips delivered via AJAX!

It wastes a lot of energy when webpages refresh. So iBlackle provided a neat little AJAX way for you to get short pieces of green tips via iBlackle. Simply hover your mouse over the lightbulb, (soon to be replaced by ecofriendly coiled flourescents :) and watch the magic unfold. Its short and sweet. These one-sentence green tips are my own compilation of ways to save the planet. I learned them from many many sources and shortened them to a few bite-sized words to minimize transit time of AJAX data transfer. A lot of them are from my own personal list to save energy.
Feel free to suggest short, one-sentence tips via this feedback/suggestion form.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Hard@Work: iGoogle Authentication

I am now checking out Google's Authentication for Web Applications. I am working out a way for you, o energy-conscious beings - to be able to use iGoogle's functionalities via iBlackle's sleek interface. My goal is to avoid maintaining my own set of database for all your crazy username/passwords. Heck, I cant even remember my own password so why should I remember yours?! The key is to save time and energy in using iGoogle's services. And it all starts with the click! Pretty soon, not only will you save energy while using the iBlackle.com search page, you will also save time and energy using iBlackle.com's integration with iGoogle! So if anyone of you Web Developers out there that had experience with Google's Authentication for Web Apps, please let me know your experiences with it, and if possible send me a link to a working example.

Kilowatt-hour Counter Started

To perpetuate Blackle's tradition of the legendary 'Kilowatt-hours saved' counter, I have now started iBlackle.com's very own kilowatt-hour counter! This marks the date and we will see how much energy iBlackle saves.

Green WebHosting

I am now scouting for ecofriendly webhosting services to host iBlackle. It only makes sense that Your Energy-Efficient Search Engine be hosted on an environment-friendly webhosting service, right? So if anyone can give me a good suggestion as to the best Green Hosting out there, I would appreciate it.
Also, if anyone wants to sponsor iBlackle for hosting - that would even be better!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Thank You!!!

Thank you very much for the overwhelming response to iBlackle! A lot of people wanted the feature of iGoogle to be implemented for iBlackle. So I am making an extra effort to build that interface. This blog will be your window to the ongoing development of that task.
For starters, I have put a small lightbulb in the iBlackle logo to signify 'idea' and 'energy' : both powerful forces in the universe!
Also I have optimized the page a little bit for faster loading times, and I've spoken with my hosting services regarding the intermittent downtimes of the site. Hopefully you will see more improvements in both performance and interface as time goes by.
Again, I wish to thank everyone for your enthusiasm and your concern for our environment. Viva Planet Earth!