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Webfluency was responsible for creating the custom WordPress Template from the designed provided by Takoma Design, installing and configuring their WordPress solution to fit their publishing needs, and completely install and configure their e-commerce solution. Since the launch of their new site, book sales have doubled and have prompted ACAD to come back to us and Takoma Design to build them a more rhobust e-commerce solution to meet their new demands and future online offerings.

We are currently working with ACAD to launch their new e-commerce solution on the Magento platform to much success.  

We also maintain their live and development systems, actively consult on their technology developments including Directory Sauce, Quiz Sauce, and Social Social through their development company Sauce Technology. Webfluency provides the structure Pure Incubation needs to grow as a leader in developing small ideas in big companies.

The group has since disbanded and forwarded all players on to the Catamount Poker group but the site remains as example of how our company can help non-profit organizations provide a better marketing position for their organization.

One classic item which clearly defines a turn of the century gentleman was his pocketwatch. Always at the ready with the time and quite the fashion statement. No Steampunk outfit would be compelete without one. However, most people in 2009 still have this handy time piece is a more digital form.

It could be your cell phone. It may be your iPod. It could even be that iTouch or BlackBerry. Digital convergance has brought back a time honored tradition of looking into your pocket for somethign to tell you what the time is. Now it may not be as cool as a fog watch but it is just as useful.

The next time you grab your iPod to see what time it is, remember that you are carrying on a tradtion that goes back centruries.

Let me give you an example. I have opened iChat (connected to AIM), and Mail on my MacBook. When I look at my Inbox, I noticed a green ball next to the name of one of my contacts. When I check iChat, I see that that contact is online now so Mail is notifying me as such with a green ball because I put this contact’s AIM name in my Address Book. Knowing this, I opened up Address Book and confirmed that everyone i have on my AIM list is in my address book so they show up as online when I have Mail and iChat open. This also makes iChat show the full name of the people instead of their AIM names so it is easier for me to know whom is online and whom is not.

The moment I put an AIM name into Address Book, it changed in iChat, updated Mail, and made me feel like the time I spent on updating had an immediate affect on the system. Of course this is just an illusion of value but it does give me a warm feeling of accomplishing something that helps my programs talk to each other. Sony does this by making all of their components talk to each other easily. A PSP can connect to your home PS3 and stream video or music content to your PSP in real time. Value added content just for staying brand loyal.

This is a simple concept anyone can use when writing a suite of software. Seek out technologies that may make your development easier and allow your users to have value added services. Things like OpenID will allow for single sgn on capabilities and may give you additional information on your users you may not have had the time to develop independently.

• iLife ‘09 – This actually looks interesting and any update to iMovie would be most welcomed. iPhoto integration to Facebook and Flickr make it worth it. Totally will upgrade.
• iWork ‘09 – I don’t use iWork at all so I can’t really talk to the updates. Slides forced to iPhones looks like a cool but limited feature. If I did more presentations it might be worth it.
• 17″ MacBook Pro – Let me just say, I am STILL incredibly happy with my MacBookPro and see no reason presented today to upgrade. I rarely use it on battery only mode so 3 hours of battery time is fine vs 8 hours. I am just not sold on the uni-body aluminum design. It has to be thinner and lighter which is a plus but the non-removable battery just doesn’t work for me. Just imagine the first time a system shut down hangs and you can not pop the battery out to force a shut down. Also, the price point is still way too high for only one spec model.
• iTunes – The quick quiz on this one is how many songs that are currently $0.99 will be $1.29 by the end of the month? My prediction: ALL OF THEM! $0.69 is probably the first week of a new single. $0.99 is a “deal” price and $1.29 will become the standard price for all singles with albums going up too. So your 10 song $9.99 album just became a $12.99 album. DRM free music is cool but they have got to cost more than a DRMed version. Putting it on the 3G network is cool but only applicable for iPhone users which I am not (yet).

All in all it was interesting but just not exciting. I think there is very little in these announcements to get me to open the wallet wide and it will actually hurt consumers in the long run.

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I am neither an early adopter nor late to the game on most technology purchases. I have been described as “ahead of the curve” because I will wait a little while before trying something new. However, certain restrictions always prevent me from being on the bleeding edge. Cell Phones for me are limited because of the limited number of carriers where I live. New gadgets and tech usually are not tested in my neck of the woods. No matter how many surveys and product demos I am asked to give opinions on, they are usually for products in late beta stages and most people know about.

However, there are some pieces of tech that withstand the test of time and I will never upgrade. I am not talking about yanking out the Nintendo64 and shoving some carts in for nostalgia purposes. I mean there is tech that is 5-7 years old in my house that I use on a daily basis.

The grand-daddy of these devices is my Tivo. It’s a series one that I hacked with a larger hard drive and network connection. The main reason for not upgrading to a Series 3 HD? Lifetime Service. When I bought the lifetime service I calculated that I would have to keep the unit running for 1.5 years to see a return on investment. I have owned the box for 7 years now and have seen that ROI without a mis-step in service. OK, so maybe I can;t surf the web from my Tivo , order Pizza, or stream NetFlix movies but it does exactly what I need it to do without costing me money.

Another great example for me is my Panasonic Home Theater system. After an electrical storm claimed my previous receiver I had to make a quick buy replacement. This baby was overstock and cost all of $100 but had SDDS, Dolby Digital, and DTS capabilities. Granted it has no manual or remote but I would rarely use those things anyways. This piece of kit does exactly what I need it to do and has never failed.

Generally, I think of the following things when deciding to replace tech

1. Does the new purchase give me significant advantage over what I currently own?
2. Is the new tech backwards compatible with what I currently own?
3. Can I reuse this I currently own but may not be using to it’s full advantage?
4. Does the new purchase help me reduce long term costs over what I currently own?
5. Is the price right?

If the answer to any of these is “no” or “costs go up”, I am more likely not to upgrade. That is not a bad thing either. You don’t HAVE to have the latest and greatest if your digital needs are being met. Sure I would love to play with a G1 phone but I don’t NEED to have it. Looking at wants vs needs is what should guide some of your tech purchases.

Well I don’t know if someone out at Sony was listening to my previous rant or not but this weekend I was lucky enough to get an invite to the closed Beta for Playstation Home. Having tooled around in it for about an hour I finally have an opinion on it.

Let me make one thing clear. This software does not break any new territory. It basically is Second Life for the PS3. However, it does have fairly extensive features like Second Life does. The problem is because they are in beta stage, you can’t really use those features. For example, when you start off you create an avatar and are given a home. The home is plainly decorated but the view is incredible. When you go to the mall to buy new furniture, the store is empty. The feature to customize is there but does not exist yet.

You also have the ability to create spaces which they call “clubs”. Create to your heart’s content but it may be gone after Beta stage and the EULA gives Sony the right to take your club, name, and design to make on it’s own after full launch. Hard work and popularity could lead to poaching but the same is true of Little Big Planet.

One place where they have spent time and works well is the Bowling Alley. In here you can play games and demo mini versions of titles in the store like Echochrome. Do well enough and you can win new outfits. The pool games are addicting but I do have one minor issue here. As in real life, if the bowling alleys are full, you can’t play. I would have liked this to be more virtual so lanes expand as the need rises. If the 4 lanes have 2 people on each then a 5th lane should appear for the people waiting.

Socially, it’s a replica of Second Life right down to the huge billboard ads for Sony products. It’s ingenious and I will definitely be spending more time there as it expands. But in the end it is just a big marketing tool to get people to connect and sell banner ads. Until I can create something and own it I will probably be spending more time in Rock Band or on Little Big Planet.

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