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Month: August 2009

Portland Incubator Experiment continues to take form

Back when I first mentioned the Portland Incubator Experiment (PIE) a collaborative project between Wieden + Kennedy and some folks in the Portland startup scene details were admittedly nebulous.

Rick Turoczy on August 17, 2009

[HTML4]Back when I first mentioned the Portland Incubator Experiment (PIE)—a collaborative project between Wieden + Kennedy and some folks in the Portland startup scene—details were, admittedly, nebulous. And understandably, to some, it seemed as if the folks at PIE were being intentionally vague. So I promised to keep providing more details as time went on.

Well, now some more folks involved in the experiment—like Renny Gleeson of W+K, Scott Kveton, and Jason Glaspey, all of whom are helping head up PIE—have provided some of their thoughts on what PIE is trying to accomplish. Read More

SwedeShop: IKEA on the iPhone

But don’t despair there’s a third frustrating IKEA thing that can be fixed: the golf pencils. Introducing SwedeShop the unofficial IKEA iPhone app from Eugene-based iPhone developer Danilo Campos.

Rick Turoczy on August 17, 2009

Some folks just can’t get enough of IKEA. I mean, do you remember the pandemonium when they finally opened a location in Portland? Cheap modern furniture and tasty Swedish meatballs? What’s not to like?

Well, a few things. For all the Swedish furnishing and food awesomeness, it does have some drawbacks. First of all, the Las-Vegas-casino-like maze that is IKEA. And that ball pit thingamajig. But I can’t help you there.

But don’t despair, there’s a third frustrating IKEA thing that can be fixed: the golf pencils. Introducing SwedeShop, the unofficial IKEA iPhone app, from Eugene-based Bend-based (according to TechFlash) iPhone developer Danilo Campos. Read More

xkcd on Oregon

Rick Turoczy on August 14, 2009

If you’re on the Web, here’s hoping that you—at one point or another—have had the pleasure of being exposed to xkcd, “a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.” Long story short, it’s sheer awesomeness. Especially if you’re a geek.

So making it into xkcd—even completely tangentially—is a bit of a coup. And a geek rite of passage.

Well, congrats to you, my friend. You’ve reached the pinnacle of geekdom by being included in an xkcd comic. Well, sort of. Read More

Need a geeky activity this weekend? MacForce Summer Blast could be for you

Rick Turoczy on August 14, 2009

Now, we all like to delve into the geeky stuff throughout the week. No doubt. But sometimes, we need even more geekiness over the weekend. You know, like camps, codesprints, coders socials, side project hacking, and the like. But what if you’re looking for some platform specific geekiness?

Well, you may be in luck my friend. The sixth annual MacForce Summer Blast is this Saturday. Read More

SAO survey results: Folks want more small and focused peer events… with beer

And while it will come as little shock to anyone in the startup scene, the feedback says that SAO members would like… (drum roll please) exactly what the folks in the startup tech scene have been doing: smaller informal discussions at brew pubs.

Rick Turoczy on August 13, 2009

You may remember the Software Association of Oregon survey I mentioned a few months back. You know the one. The one where the SAO was looking to get some feedback on what direction they should be pursuing? Remember? Well, you must. Because more than 40% of the respondents weren’t even SAO members—and I have to assume that means that you were likely one of those who responded.

Well in any case, the results are in. And they’ve been all munched and crunched and whatnot. And while it will come as little shock to anyone in the startup scene, the feedback says that SAO members would like… (drum roll please) exactly what the folks in the startup tech scene have been doing: smaller informal discussions at brew pubs. Read More

Rails Boxcar hitched to a new company: Tacoma group acquires Planet Argon Ruby on Rails hosting

And while I love all Portland and Silicon Forest projects equally, those first couple of projects I covered will always hold a special place in my heart. So today’s news that Rails Boxcar was headed north to Tacoma got my attention.

Rick Turoczy on August 12, 2009

Roughly two years ago—along about the time I launched Silicon Florist—Portland-based Planet Argon was launching a project of their own: a hosting service for Ruby on Rails apps called Rails Boxcar.

And while I love all Portland and Silicon Forest projects equally, those first couple of projects I covered will always hold a special place in my heart. So today’s news that Rails Boxcar was headed north to Tacoma got my attention. Read More

WordCamp Portland sells out

When you combine that camp popularity with the WordPress fandom that consumes the blogging world of Portland you’ve got a sure fire recipe for a killer camp. That’s WordCamp Portland.

Rick Turoczy on August 12, 2009

Now, as we all know, the Camps are a pretty popular item here in the Portland area. BarCamp Portland, WhereCamp, Digital Journalism Camp… the list goes on and on. And when you combine that campity camp camp popularity with the WordPress fandom that consumes the blogging world of Portland, you’ve got a sure fire recipe for a killer camp.

That’s WordCamp Portland. And that’s why—as promised—it sold out in a little over a week. Read More

Who’s building BlackBerry apps in the Silicon Forest?

For all my crowing about Portland being the de facto hub of mobile development, I seem to cover primarily iPhone apps and maybe an Android app every once in a while. Inevitably when those posts go live a few people always ask Is there a Blackberry version?

Rick Turoczy on August 12, 2009

[HTML1]For all my crowing about Portland being the de facto hub of mobile development, I seem to cover primarily iPhone apps and maybe an Android app every once in a while. Inevitably, when those posts go live, a few people always ask, “Is there a BlackBerry version?”

And that leads me to wonder, is there? Are people in the Silicon Forest building BlackBerry apps?

I’m not a Blackberry user, but I know quite a few people who are. And—basically in any town besides Portland—I run into a lot more BlackBerry users than iPhone or Android users.

That said, I don’t know that I’m following the BlackBerry development space as closely as I could be. Read More

Waze and means: Helping test drive Waze means a free Whiffies pie for you

While iPhone and Android app Waze isn’t Portland based, having Di-Ann working there does give us a Portland tie. And now there’s another opportunity to put Portland on the Waze map literally.

Rick Turoczy on August 10, 2009

When it comes to geogeeking here in Portland, most everyone knows about Platial, one of the original social mapping efforts that was founded right here in the Silicon Forest. But what you may not know is that Platial’s cofounder and chair, Di-Ann Eisnor, is hard at work with another geolocation company called Waze.

While Waze isn’t Portland-based, having Di-Ann working there does give us a Portland tie. And now, there’s another opportunity to put Portland on the Waze map—literally. Di-Ann is inviting you to give Waze a test drive and provide feedback on the mobile. And the reward for your hard work? A free pie from the Whiffies food cart for participating drivers. Now, what could be more Portland-y than that? Read More

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