Unlike most specialized software applications—
like a project planner or calendar package—your
wiki doesn’t have predefi ned fi elds for specifi c
types of information. You can create any num-
ber of pages, linked from one another in
any structure you choose based on the wiki
words you enter. Every page is just a wide-
open text area, and you format its contents
however you choose. Therefore, there’s no
limit to the types of information you can store in
your wiki. Here are some ideas:
LISTS: Whether it’s a to-do list, grocery list, or laun-
dry list, your Instiki wiki’s a great place to stow it.
Simply enter one item per line or use the asterisk to bul-
let each item. While you can’t cross items off a list in your
wiki, Instiki stores page-revision history over time. So you
can click the “See changes” link at the bottom of any page to see
items that have been added to a list (in green) and removed (in red)
backward and forward through time.
BOOKMARKS: Add web-page links to your Instiki wiki using the
yourlinkname:http://example.com notation. Alternatively, simply
enter a URL into a page, and Instiki will automatically make it click-
able. While plenty of web-based services—such as del.icio.us—can
store your bookmarks online, storing links in your Instiki
wiki keeps them private and doesn’t limit the amount of
information you can enter along with them.
SOFTWARE SERIAL NUMBERS AND WEBSITE PASS-
WORDS: You just plunked down $50 for the latest version
of your favorite software package, and you want to store
the license key information in a safe, central place—like
your wiki. Create a Serial Numbers page and keep a list
of all the license keys you’ve collected over time. Use
the same technique for low-security website passwords:
Whenever you create a new login, drop it into your wiki for
safekeeping.
RECIPES: Copy and paste your favorite chicken recipe
into your wiki, and when you experiment with the ingredi-
ents, update the page with your adjustments. The wiki’s
free-form structure makes it perfect for recipes—you can
include images, ingredient lists, notes on preparation, and
links to the original recipe on the web. And when you’re
craving your favorite chicken and mushroom dish? Just
type “chicken mushrooms” into Instiki’s search box to
retrieve the recipe.
RESEARCH: Planning a party, work event, vacation, or home-
improvement project? Collecting information for a report at work?
Your wiki’s a great place to save web clippings, phone numbers,
directions, and addresses, which you can search by keyword later.
WISH LISTS AND GIFT IDEAS: Your wiki’s an easy, private place to
store wish-list items and gift ideas with links to buy the items online
or reminders about what her favorite wine or his favorite cologne is,
so you’ll be ready when a special occasion arises.
DIGITAL DIARY: When was the last time the dog got shots? Or you
got the oil changed? Or the kids went to the dentist? How many
cigarettes did you smoke today, or pounds did you lose this month,
or miles did you run this week? Your personal wiki’s a good place to
log information like this for instant recall later on.
HOLIDAY CARD LISTS: Easily track the names and addresses of
people you sent cards to and whom you received cards from in your
personal wiki. If you enter each person on one line, with each piece
of information separated by a comma (e.g., name, street address,
city, state, zip code) you can easily copy and paste the text from
your wiki page into Excel or an online card service to do a quick mail
merge. Also, Instiki automatically links email addresses for one-click
message composition from any page.
Advanced users who want the features of the granddaddy of
all wikis, Wikipedia, can install the software that runs the online
encyclopedia, MediaWiki (http://mediawiki.org). MediaWiki is
a free, open-source wiki package that requires considerably
more setup time but offers advanced confi guration options and
features, including user registration and login, page discussion,
reverse page links, more text formatting options, design custom-
ization, and fi le uploads. To run MediaWiki, you need the PHP
programming language engine and the MySQL database server
installed on your computer—both are free but are aimed at devel-
opers, not casual users. Also, you have to manually edit a PHP
fi le in order to start MediaWiki. Many affordable website hosting
packages come with PHP and MySQL for installing software like
MediaWiki—or might even come with MediaWiki preinstalled. The
advantage of installing MediaWiki on your web host is that you
can access it from any Internet-connected computer.
A page of information in Instiki is free-form and can contain lists,
links, section headings, and paragraphs.
MEDIAWIKI, AN ADVANCED WIKI PACKAGE
46 MAXIMUMPC SEPTEMBER 2007
ORGANIZE
YOUR LIFE WITH A WIKI
Unlike most specialized software applications—
like a project planner or calendar package—your
wiki doesn’t have predefi ned fi elds for specifi c
types of information. You can create any num-
ber of pages, linked from one another in
any structure you choose based on the wiki
words you enter. Every page is just a wide-
open text area, and you format its contents
however you choose. Therefore, there’s no
limit to the types of information you can store in
your wiki. Here are some ideas:
LISTS: Whether it’s a to-do list, grocery list, or laun-
dry list, your Instiki wiki’s a great place to stow it.
Simply enter one item per line or use the asterisk to bul-
let each item. While you can’t cross items off a list in your
wiki, Instiki stores page-revision history over time. So you
Put Instiki to Good Use