If you are into being “green” check out the Blackle search engine. Heap Media has provided a way to use a black background and the Google search engine in hopes to save energy by using less watts while searching. They also have other products including spam free email and a food search engine. Mark Ontkush posted a story in 2007 on ways believed to save energy if there was a “black” Google based on number of hits to the website and the watts used on a monitor to display a white/light background versus a black/dark background. Using the site is as simple as searching directly with Google. I question if there is monetary value behind users searching from Blackle considering its using Google custom search and if any of the proceeds are being used towards energy programs. Try it out and let me know what you think.

Posted via web from GripFactor

Mozilla has opened the flood gates for testing Firefox 3.1 Beta 3! It was great finding out about it via Twitter (@mozillafirefox and @firefoxbeta). Its Firefox 3.1 Beta 3 Test day so I’m off to run those tests and hope to get it up before the time ends! Check out the following sites for info:

Mozilla Developer Center

QMO - The Mozilla QA

Posted via web from Nick’s posterous

via likaholix.com

New recommendation site, Likaholix, is now up and shelling out 3000 invites to test in private beta. Let’s see if the Beat Knut can get in and share what’s happening. It appears to work like Delicious, Friendfeed, StumbleUpon, Bit.ly and Twitter all mashed up with options. Let’s see where this goes, juicy testing details soon to follow!

Posted via web from Nick’s posterous

The DC Twestival event was a fun success for local Twestival coordinator and volunteer, Peter LaMotte! A night of charity started on the microblogging social network, Twitter, brought together around 200+ local technology professionals, marketing and PR professionals, bloggers, journalists and photographers, including local news Fox 5 to Local 16. We managed to raise over $1000 for Charity: Water! The gloabal event goal was to reach $1 million and so far the totals are showing $250,000. With 202 cities participating and over 10,000 people world-wide this amount will provide for 55 water projects that will bring 17,000 people clean, safe drinking water. Check the Twestival website for the latest totals as some counts are still coming in for appropriate statistics. The global organizer, Amanda Rose, also posted information on Mashable.

A huge thanks to Peter LaMotte and all volunteers for putting our nation’s capitol on the Twestival map! Next year will be tremendous and I look forward to more local support and coverage for such an epic charity.

See Fox 5 Footage, images from photographer D.C. Hughes and photos from photographer, Shannon Evans.

Local 16 Photo courtesy of Shannon Evans, Sevan Photography