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Category: Oregon

Kumquat: Get the feedback you deserve

Marshall Kirkpatrick of Read/Write Web has reviewed the tool in a post, entitled “No, Really – How Was it For You? Kumquat Launches Simple Performance Review Service,” noting some worthwhile features as well as some potential shortcomings…

Rick Turoczy on October 12, 2007

[Editor: In the interest of full disclosure, Kumquat is a tool conceived, funded, and built through my company, Return. As such, I am over compensating to maintain objectivity in this announcement.]

Portland-based Return has announced the limited release of Kumquat, a tool for self-directed performance reviews. Designed with simplicity in mind, the tool supports both independent consultants and corporate workers who find current feedback channels lacking, allowing them to easily solicit and manage quantitative and qualitative assessments of their performance.

Marshall Kirkpatrick of Read/Write Web has reviewed the tool in a post, entitled “,” noting some worthwhile features as well as some potential shortcomings:

It’s got some early performance issues but scores high on usability otherwise. If you are seeking feedback on your work from clients or peers – Kumquat could be just what you’re looking for.

For all its elegance, Kumquat’s also got a ways to go before anyone should be too enthusiastic about the product…. Simplicity is good, maybe it’s good enough. Integration with other reputation systems? A widget? I’m not sure, maybe those steps would be overkill and Kumquat is just what independent workers need.

Fair and balanced feedback, to be sure. And quite frankly, I couldn’t ask for anything better. Rest assured, a number of the issues mentioned are either resolved or on their way to resolution.

So, if you’re interested in trying Kumquat, please comment below, and maybe—just maybe—I might be able to arrange for you to get an invite. (All kidding aside, I would be very interested in getting your feedback on Silicon Florist using Kumquat. And, once you respond to my review request, you’ll have the option of signing up, yourself.)

If you’re a member of the media—a blogger or traditional journalist—and interested in writing about Kumquat, please visit the media area for resources that may help. As always, please feel free to trackback this post. And obviously, we more than welcome your feedback on Kumquat.

Finally, thank you for putting up with my self-serving post. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

Panic starts Google Group for Coda, Web dev

Rick Turoczy on October 11, 2007

Portland-based Panic, makers of some of the prettiest and most usable Apple Macintosh software anywhere, has announced the formation of a new discussion group, designed to facilitate communications among Coda users and Web developers in general. The discussion group is hosted on Google Groups.

Back in the Audion days, we had a very active (and useful!) mailing list, and it seemed only natural to re-create such a thing for Coda. It’s a complex and powerful program, and in talking to users, I frequently see a lot of its capabilities get overlooked, just because it’s a big piece of machinery.

Both Coda itself and general web development topics are fair-game for the mailing list. We hope the list will be a boon to both you the Coda user / web designer, and us the developer.

In related news, Panic also announced the release of Coda 1.04.

This release concentrates mainly on the remaining 1.0 bugs, and some important Leopard compatibility issues. That means, I’m sorry to say, no Subversion or Global Find-and-Replace yet. Now that most of the more significant bugs are dead, we’ll once again be shifting our focus to features, so hang in there!

For more information on Panic and its products, see the Panic site.

Ignite Portland preso deadline approaching

Rick Turoczy on October 10, 2007

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of the Ignite Portland concept. And I’m hoping that a bunch of you are planning to attend.

I also hope that some of you are going to present. And if you’re in that group, then you should know that the deadline for Ignite Portland presentation proposals is October 16.

We’ve had a great response to our call for presenters. So much so that we have more ideas than presentation slots; however, keep them coming! We’ll just have to pick the best ones. Keep in mind that we expect these to be regular events, so if you do not get to present at this one, you will have other opportunities.

If you are thinking about jumping into the fray, I’d highly encourage you to visit the Ignite Portland presentation page.

Geek alert: Portland added to Google Maps Street View

Rick Turoczy on October 9, 2007

This is both a geek alert and a time-waster alert, but it’s official: Google Maps now contains street views of Portland, Oregon.

It appears that the street views are confined to more of Portland-proper, with the cameras stopping short of the west-side suburban sprawl growth. The east side looks to be well covered. And they’ve wandered around the ‘Couv a bit, as well.

To begin the time suck, visit Google Maps.

SplashCast signs 3 out of 4 major labels

Rick Turoczy on October 5, 2007

Portland-based SplashCast, the media player that allows anyone to pretend they’re a high-powered media exec, continues its quest to become the leading media player for actual high-powered media execs in the recording industry.

SplashCast has now released artist-branded channels for 3 out of the 4 major recording labels.

If you’ve been following SplashCast news, you may know that we’ve already done a lot of work with Sony through their other labels, including Zomba Music Group and Columbia Records. The addition of EMI’s Capitol Records and Universal’s Geffen means that we are now partnering with 3 of the 4 major music companies in the world.

More information on this news as it becomes available. For details on the artist channels, visit SplashCast.

In case you missed it: Widgets at Portland Web Innovators

Rick Turoczy on October 4, 2007

If you, like I, were unable to attend the Portland Web Innovators‘ get-together with StepChange, last night, fear not, gentle reader.

Justin Kistner of Metafluence has provided a thorough recap of the PDXWI event for your reading pleasure.

My biggest take away is that widgets are not just a fad, but rather an important stratification of content and services that will reshape the future landscape of the web.

For more, see Metafluence.

Planet Argon offers up Boxcar account for October Hackfest

Rick Turoczy on October 3, 2007

To support the monthly Rails Hackfest, Portland-based Planet Argon has offered a six-month Boxcar account to 1st place winner for October.

Boxcar is a pre-configured virtual server for hosting your business-level Rails applications and was designed to support the best-practices for Rails deployment.

The Rail Hackfest was designed to further the development of Ruby on Rails source code through good-natured competition. Contributions are rated and charted throughout the month, with the top contributors walking away with prizes.

For more information on Boxcar, see the Boxcar site. For more information on the Rails Hackfest, visit the Working with Rails site.

MyStrands partyStrands: Bringing the backchannel to the forefront

Rick Turoczy on October 3, 2007

[Editor’s Note: Extending the Silicon Florist urban-growth boundary a touch, I wanted to include Corvallis-based MyStrands in the coverage. They’re doing some cool stuff and some of their folks are very active here in Portland. It’s a stretch, but a reasonable one.]

partyStrands, the newest offering from the MyStrands team, takes the ever-popular backchannel concept and makes it an interactive component of parties, concerts, and other gatherings. It’s a Twitter-on-the-big-screen sort of concept that makes every partygoer with a cell phone part of the action. And I mean, seriously, are you a partygoer without a cell phone? Not likely.

What’s more, partyStrands promises the ability to bring the party to you, whether you are “in the house” or not.

partyStrands allows you to join in on the party where your friends are even though you are somewhere else. Imagine tonight you stay at home, you can partake in the party from your room and interact with your friends at the party, by sending messages and pictures, all from MyStrands.com or m.MyStrands.com. Of course, you can read, see, and “hear” what they are doing and the music that is being played.

(Imagine staying home tonight? Not a huge leap for me.)

To see images of partyStrands in action, check out the recent Paul Van Dyk concert at the Crystal Ballroom.

For more on partyStrands, see the MyStrands blog post. For more information, visit MyStrands.

MyStrands develops technologies to better understand people’s taste and help them discover things they like and didn’t know about. MyStrands has created a social recommender engine that is able to provide real-time recommendations of products and services through computers, mobile phones and other Internet-connected devices.

Walker Tracker hits one billion steps tracked

Rick Turoczy on October 1, 2007

As Lao-Tzu said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” So began the journey for Walker Tracker, a Portland-based community site for pedometer fans to log and track their steps.

One billion steps later, that journey continues.

To see how that total number of steps breaks down into the people who have taken them, try starting at the Walker Tracker Hall of Fame.

SplashCast hits one million. Walker Tracker hits one billion. Do I hear one trillion? Anyone? Anyone?

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