BendTech

As mentioned, KOHD has discontinued their local news program.  Here’s the official announcement, with various other sources weighing in here, here, and here.

True, to say “nobody cares” is being a bit harsh.  Strictly speaking, those posts have a combined 16 comments from people who do, in fact, care (including Drew Bledsoe, btw).  But that poor showing would seem to validate KOHD’s claim that, “viewer’s habits are not reflected positively in Nielson ratings”.  Not that that was ever in doubt.  After all, viewers have been fleeing TV news in droves for years now.  What caught my eye about these comments is the concern that this gives KTVZ a virtual monopoly on the local TV news market, as though these people were losing all choice in where their news comes from.

To which I respond with a very blunt, “Dude, seriously???” Read the rest of this entry »

A big thanks to everyone who turned out for the HTML5 presentation.  I really enjoyed seeing the great turnout, and I hope everyone was able to take something away from the presentation.  Speaking of which …

The slides (PDF format) can be found in the Files area of meetup.com:

In a fit of inability-to-plan-ahead, and lured by the prospects of free beer at the new venue we’ll be trying out (G5’s new offices at Franklin Crossing), I’ve decided to step off the BendTech talk sidelines and actually present at this month’s tech talk.

The topic-du-month is “HTML 5″ which, if you haven’t heard about it yet, is set to shake up the web in some pretty interesting ways.  Why?  Well, the current version of HTML (v4.01) was standardized almost 15 years ago, well before people were building applications in browsers.  Thus, HTML is pretty good if all you want to do is pen an “old school” web page.  But if you want to make an application, something like Google Maps or GMail… well, those apps were made possible not so much because of what HTML can do, but in spite of it.  HTML 5 is a bumper-to-bumper overhaul of the HTML specification, and it introduces a slew of new technologies, many of which are targeted squarely at application developers.

I’ll be talking about leading a discussion about what these technologies are, doing some demos, and just generally prognosticating on what will happen when developers can stop worrying about how to implement a color picker widget, or draw a circle, or store some information on the user’s computer, and instead focus on solving the real problems.

So join us for a pint o’ geekiness this Tuesday at 5:30.  Meetup details can be found here.  As usual, there’s no charge, and while RSVPs are requested they’re not required.

Privacy is a hot-button issue on the internet.  ‘Always has been.  How it gets trampled by companies like the RIAA, or countries like China, makes headlines with depressing regularity. And today we have a local headline in the Bulletin, “TV station gives info on ‘anonymous’ comments to Sawyer” [bendbulletin.com paywall FAIL, sorry].  The article is about how KTVZ released personal information (IP addresses) of people who posted allegedly libelous anonymous comments about Tami and Kevin Sawyer on ktvz.com.  KTVZ gave these addresses to the Sawyers as part of a $5M libel lawsuit they have brought against the commenters in question.

I’m not going to get into the Sawyer’s saga here, which is all a bit distasteful.  Instead, I thought I’d offer a bit of analysis on the backstory of privacy issues and how they seem to be getting a bit of a rough treatment locally.  My little way of making sure we stay rigorous in protecting our freedoms around here, I guess.  So off we go … Read the rest of this entry »

Last year’s talk series was so much fun we’re gonna take another whack at it this year.  We’ve already had a great start with our recent PodCasting talk by Elise Michaels, but that leaves another 11 months worth of talks to go.  And guess what, that means we need volunteers!

Soooo… if there’s a hot new technology you’d like to tell people about, or a new trend in your industry you think is interesting, or you know some people that would make for an interesting roundtable discussion, or you’re just too frickin’ big for your britches for people not to be captivated by you, we’d love to have you help with one of these talks.  (And by “help with”, we mean “lead”.)

Not to worry, though.  Leading a BendTech talk is a low-stress affair.  We take care of setting up the venue, and announcing the talk.  All you gotta do is keep 10-20 people entertained for 60 minutes (give or take); how you do it is up to you.  Attendees at these events are bright and friendly, and enjoy lively discussions.  In fact, we encourage people to “dive deep” into whatever topic is at hand.  These are great opportunities to network and engage the local tech community.

If that sounds like something you’d be up for then fill out the Talk Survey Form to get on our list.  It’s not a commitment – just a “willingness to be involved at some point”.  We’ll contact you and work out the details as our calendar firms up.

Thanks to everyone who showed up for the podcasting talk last night, and especially to our presenter, Elise Michaels.  Her slide deck is available below for those of you who didn’t make it.

For those who did, perhaps you could help me out – I know several people mentioned interesting podcasting resources, but I failed to write them down.  So perhaps you could add a comment listing any that you mentioned, or heard mentioned?  (e.g. I suggested Jamendo as a resource for free music, licensed under Creative Commons.)

Click for photos of NedSpace Portland

If you’re an entrepreneur of any sort, or  simply like the idea of working alongside smart, creative people who are starting new businesses, take the NedSpace survey.  And please pass this on to anyone who might be interested in participating.  Here’s the link: http://bit.ly/nsbend

Seriously.  This is important.  Here’s why …

Why the survey is important

As recently reported in the Bulletin, and as discussed by NedSpace co-founder Josh Friedman at our last BendTech meetup, Josh and his partner Mark Grimes are in the process of deciding whether or not to open a NedSpace here in Bend.  The feedback they get from this survey will be a vital part of that decision making process.

What NedSpace is, and why it’s important

NedSpace is “Co-working for startups, innovative technology companies, non-profits, artists and social entrepreneurs”. Check out some photos of the Portland NedSpaces.  They are shared office spaces that provide the basic office essentials needed for small startup businesses – desks, internet, printers/copiers, palm-frond-waving eunuchs, etc.  The occupants are professionals from a broad cross-section of industries, both tech and non-tech.

… which is nifty and all, but what makes NedSpace special, and why I think this is worth getting excited about, is the culture these spaces represent.   NedSpaces are places where entrepreneurs, investors, and community groups commingle on a daily basis, and share the expertise and connections needed for businesses to flourish.  It is very much about bringing people together to benefit local businesses (read, “economy”) and community.

NedSpace is not a tech-specific endeavor – it will serve tech and non-tech groups alike – but BendTech is a tech blog and I want to touch briefly on what I think this could mean for our tech community.  People in tech here struggle against a sense of isolation.  Our attention is on the companies, clients and customers outside the area that pay our bills, making it difficult to devote the time and energy required to stay connected to one another here.  Meanwhile living in the High Desert makes it difficult to stay connected to the greater technology hubs that define our industry: Portland, Seattle, New York and, of course, Silicon Valley.

NedSpace will help reduce this sense of isolation.  Groups like BendTech, COWPU, and COISUG will have access to the space for meetings and events, making it easier for us to all get together. More importantly, NedSpaces presence in Portland (and, soon, other communities), will give us ties to those communities that do not exist today.  Imagine going to Portland and being able to work in a creative, vibrant space there, and engage the entrepreneurs that inhabit that community.  ‘Not sure about you, but that’s a pretty exciting concept to me.

So, again, if you’re interested in this, the best thing you can do is to take the NedSpace survey, and encourage like-minded friends and co-workers to do the same!