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Urban Airship: Providing air cover for independent iPhone developers

Portland-based Urban Airship is taking flight at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in hopes of providing similar support to independent Apple iPhone developers. And just like their Web app predecessors, the impact could be huge.

Rick Turoczy on June 8, 2009

[HTML2]While everyone points to the prevalence of open source as the primary reason for the renaissance of the Web affectionately titled “Web 2.0,” there are two particular components of Web development that have played a critical, albeit under appreciated, role. Those unsung heros? Frameworks, a means of simplifying common development tasks that allows developers to focus on the apps they want to build rather than the stuff they have to build, and Web services, a means of extending functionality and infrastructure by using services in the cloud.

Those two things have empowered small independent development teams which, in turn, has created the Web we know today.

Now, Portland-based Urban Airship is taking flight at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in hopes of providing similar support to independent Apple iPhone developers. And just like their Web app predecessors, the impact could be huge. Read More

Whiffies plays host to gluttony for the good of geeks

The sweet or savory deep fried darling of the Portland, Oregon, startup scene these days isn’t one of our traditional startups. Meet Whiffies.

Rick Turoczy on June 6, 2009

The sweet or savory deep fried darling of the Portland, Oregon, startup scene these days isn’t one of our traditional startups. Sure, it’s got a Twitter account. Yes, it’s a popular hangout for many of the usual gang in the Portland tech scene. And, of course, it gets most of its work done during #afterhours. But this startup? It makes pies.

Meet Whiffies, the food cart playing host to a very special pie eating contest tonight—Pie Champ 2.0—raising money for Free Geek, our awesome local geeky recycling center. Read More

Strange Love Live + Conferences = Tech Love Live

Rick Turoczy on June 5, 2009

Yes, yes. I know I go on and on about Strange Love Live. But c’mon. It’s a really good podcast. So good, in fact, that they’ve started taking the show on the road to conferences and events, like Cyborg Camp, BarCamp Portland, and WebVisions.

WebVisions was especially interesting thanks to an “open mic” format, where Cami Kaos spent time interviewing speakers and attendees—all day, every day. The only problem? It was one big stream.

The solution? Like Mugasha does with DJ sets, the Strange Love Live team has sliced and diced the conference stream into digestible chunks. What’s more, they’ve started a new site to house all of this ridiculously awesome content: Tech Love Live. Read More

SplashCast: I’m not dead yet! I’m getting better (focused)!

We knew full well that Portland-based SplashCast was shuttering their user generated content (UGC) features.

Rick Turoczy on June 4, 2009

We knew full well that Portland-based SplashCast was shuttering their user generated content (UGC) features. That’s been coming for months.

When initial word of the change in direction reached the SplashCast user base, there was an expected outcry of dismay. But when it finally came down to it, keeping the UGC stuff going simply didn’t pencil out. As such, SplashCast decided to continue focusing on its Social TV efforts where it was gaining traction. And the June 1 shut down of the UGC features came and went without much notice.

Until today. Read More

Sad news: Oregon Media Insiders blog calling it quits [Updated]

Rick Turoczy on June 4, 2009

I just heard that Oregon Media Insiders—arguably the de facto resource for all things mainstream media related in Portland—is no more. Writer Lynn Siprelle has decided to hang up the pen after the site led to the destruction of a friendship.

A post entitled “I’m done” outlines Lynn’s reasons behind the shutdown. Read More

Ignite Portland and Open Source Bridge lead to impressive OpenConferenceWare

Rick Turoczy on June 4, 2009

Side project beget side projects. At least that’s the case with OpenConferenceWare, an impressive proposal and scheduling system developed Igal Koshevoy and Reid Beels.

While the name may of the system—affectionately dubbed OCW—may not be familiar to you, it’s pretty likely you’ve come into contact with it.

Why? Because It’s the system that Igal and Reid developed to help them manage a couple of other side projects with which they’ve been critical components: Ignite Portland and Open Source Bridge. Read More

Open Source Bridge or Marshall Kirkpatrick? Pick one (relax, you can’t go wrong)

Rick Turoczy on June 3, 2009

Remember that one scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade? You know the one. Near the end? Where they finally find the Holy Grail but it’s mixed up with all the chalices and cups and whatnot? Well, there will be no “He [or she] chose… poorly” tonight, my friend. Pick either the Open Source Bridge Volunteer Orientation or Portland Web Innovators featuring Marshall Kirkpatrick on APIs. No matter what, you’ll come off as wise as Indiana.

Need more than that to go on? Okay okay. Here’s what you’ve got. Read More

Chris Messina on the history of #hashtags and more with #sll from #wv09

Rick Turoczy on June 3, 2009

I’ve made no secret about my appreciation and affection for the Strange Love Live crew. I’m dead serious when I say it’s the best podcast in Portland, if not the world.

That said, if I have one piece of feedback for them, it’s “Get out of the basement!” And that’s exactly what they’ve begun to do. Now, they’re making regular appearances at local conferences—and getting interviews with some really cool folks.

At this year’s WebVisions, they had the opportunity to catch up with Chris Messina. During the interview Cami Kaos chats with Messina about the evolution of Twitter #hashtags, his affection for comics, and more. Read More

Startup curious? Pamela Slim coaches your cubicle escape June 26

Rick Turoczy on June 2, 2009

For some, it’s not a question of “if.” It’s simply a question of “when.” For others, it’s completely a question of “should I?” Because when it comes right down to it, you’ve got to love being an entrepreneur. You’ve got to enjoy the craziness and the stress and the fear.

And I won’t say anything about “security,” because—quite frankly—entrepreneurs are always more in control of their destiny than the average cubicle dweller.

But to make the leap, sometimes you need some guidance. That’s why it’s a good thing that Pamela Slim of Escape from Cubicle Nation is coming to Portland on June 26. Read More

Are you listed in the Silicon Florist wiki?

Rick Turoczy on June 2, 2009

We all realize that there’s a ton of stuff happening in town. New startups, exciting side projects, crazy cool events. And every day it seems like we’re learning about more and more opportunities to draw the community together—or cool new technologies to test drive.

This leads to two issues. First, how do we keep track of all this stuff? And second, how do we filter all of this stuff?

Silicon Florist wiki to the rescue, my friends! Well or you can refer to it by its more common name: AboutUs. Read More

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