TheFreeDictionary.com Unveils Web 2.0 Personal Homepage

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa., January, 2006—Farlex, Inc., publisher of the world’s most comprehensive online database of reference information, has announced the launch of its much-anticipated personal homepage. This innovative software, available at Farlex’s flagship website, TheFreeDictionary.com, provides individual users with a personal window to the web. The fully customizable format is available free of charge, can be accessed from any modern browser, and does not require any installation, download, or additional software.

 

Since its launch in 2003, TheFreeDictionary.com has attracted over 200,000,000 users seeking dictionary and reference materials. Until now, its homepage featured items of interest such as “Word of the Day,” “This Day in History,” and “Today’s Birthday,” which linked to relevant dictionary and encyclopedia entries within the site. Though these features were updated daily and individual items were collapsible, the page was hardcoded.

 

Nick Simonov, co-founder and president of Farlex, said, “We have numerous users that have selected TheFreeDictionary.com as their homepage, but they have been looking for the ability to integrate other feeds and special features. The newly launched homepage is a direct response to their feedback, and it contains all of the features that our users have been requesting.”

 

With TheFreeDictionary.com’s expanded functionality, users can customize the homepage by adding RSS and Atom feeds from any website, as well as personal bookmarks and weather reports. Each of these items can be dragged and dropped anywhere on the screen.

 

One user said, “I’d already been using TheeFreeDictionary.com for help with my schoolwork, but with the new software, I’m able to consolidate everything I’m interested in on my homepage; and because the new homepage keeps track of all my recent searches, I can use the list of words I’ve looked up as an SAT vocabulary review.”

 

The small number of companies that have recently launched similar functionality include Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOGL). TheFreeDictionary.com, however, is currently the only customizable homepage that supports all recent versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, and Safari on both Macintosh and Windows platforms.

 

 

About Farlex, Inc.:

Farlex, Inc. (www.farlex.com) is an independent, privately held provider of online reference products based in Huntingdon Valley PA. Founded in 2004, Farlex, Inc. provides innovative, easy-to-use reference and learning tools. Farlex’s flagship websites, TheFreeDictionary.com and TheFreeLibrary.com, contain over one million pages of books and reference information from the world’s most respected sources.