Do-It-Yourself Web Site Host Acquires Developer of moo.fx Javascript Effects Library

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Monday, August 28, 2006; 06:38 AM

Freewebs.com, ta free do-it-yourself Web site host, has acquired Rome-based Mad4Milk.net, developers of the popular moo.fx javascript effects library used by developers to easily insert Web 2.0 elements into any Web site. Freewebs also announced that it has launched "Freewebs Farms," a new online community and collective for developers interested in helping to create a better user experience on the Internet.

The easy-to-use moo.fx tool is cross-browser and standards-compliant and provides a solid framework for dynamically modifying nearly every aspect of any Webpage element, like the height, width, or opacity, to easily insert Web 2.0 features and look-and-feel. New widgets based on the technology will soon be available to Freewebs' 11 million active users.

moo.fx has been well-received by developer sites such as ajaxian.com and has caught the attention of thousands of developers worldwide, with nearly 8,000 bookmarks on del.icio.us.

Slashdot.org, one of the world's most visited technology news and discussion sites, announced the winner of its highly anticipated redesign contest. From more than 200 competitors, Alex Bendiken was selected as the winner. A user experience design partner at MakaluMedia.com, Alex built the winning Slashdot design around the moo.fx effects library, in combination with Prototype.

"For quite some time, I've followed the moo.fx evolution, and saw an opportunity in the Slashdot redesign to use the library to achieve the accordion effect, with a small code footprint," said Bendiken. "Slashdot emphasized the importance of both cross-browser compatibility and small codebase as criteria in selecting the winning design, and with that in mind, moo.fx was simply the best choice. Designing with moo.fx was fast, straight-forward and reliable. I intend to integrate the library as a standard element in my development toolbox."

Mad4Milk Technologies First Projects on Freewebs Farms

The first active projects on Freewebs Farms have been begun by the designers of moo.fx. Freewebs Farms operates under the philosophy that the time between idea and completed product should take days, maybe weeks, but not months or years.

The Farms extends Freewebs' goal of Web democratization--guaranteeing professional-looking Web sites to anyone with Internet access and something to share--to the development process, allowing developers and interested end users alike the opportunity to participate in the creation of new features from seedling to fruition.

"Freewebs is democratizing the Web development process in order to fuel healthier innovation. The Freewebs Farms collective will bring together individuals worldwide to play an important role in furthering a better Internet experience," said Shervin Pishevar, Freewebs' president and COO. "We also see Freewebs Farms as a means of allowing users around the world the chance to suggest new ideas and participate in bringing others to completion, and we plan to recruit heavily from this burgeoning community to add to our staff of talented developers."

The Freewebs Farms site is open to anyone--developers, users curious about Web 2.0 development, or the broad population of the Internet population interested in seeing the latest and greatest Web tools and features. Developers and interested end-users alike can access the site at www.freewebsfarms.com.

Taking Labs to the Next Level

Freewebs Farms goes beyond traditional online "labs" that allow users to try "already-grown" promotions by adding a collaborative layer that offers developers the ability to suggest new ideas ("seedlings") and work with other developers to bring them to fruition.

While some of these ideas will eventually find their way to Freewebs' 11 million users, many others may simply be used by developers for their own Web sites or as the basis for furthering the global development of Web 2.0 features.