Super Ginormous

Author: Chris Harrison

  • Flock Revisited

    Last October, I blogged about the availability of the first Flock Developer Preview. After several months of silence, the Flock team just unveiled the first Public Beta (0.7) of Flock.

    With the new release, Flock’s also inveiled a new site design (Nice work, Mr. Veloso.) What sets Flock apart from other browsers is the inclusion of “social” web services within the browser. The tight integration with del.icio.us and flickr and blogging are pretty sweet.

    My initial impression of Flock was that it was a nice browser – and the social aspects of it definitely set it apart from Firefox and Internet Explorer – but I’m not sure how well the general public will take it. I’m not sure how I feel now.

    Because it’s been quite some time since I last used Flock, I’ve decided to give Flock another try. We’ll see how it works out…

  • New Media 101

    I just found out today that I’ll be making a presentation at the Georgia Education Advancement Council (GEAC) Summer Conference on the campus of Augusta State University next Friday. I’ll be speaking about “new” technology – blogs, wikis, podcasts, chats, etc. – and how they can improve an institution’s ability to communicate with alumni, prospective students, etc.

    I’m looking forward to the opportunity.

  • Moving

    Barring any unforseen problems, Kim and I will be the proud owners of a new home this afternoon. I’ve taken hundreds of pictures of it over the past few months, but today’s the day we’ll be able to finally call it “home”. Building a home has been more than a little stressful, but our Stephanie Kernaghan (our realtor); Rosemary and everyone at Medallion Homes (our builder); and Marsha Wilson at Augusta Mortgage Co. (our lender) have all been more than helpful. Having said that, posting might be sporadic over the next several days as we move into our new home.

  • A Lesson in Customer Service

    While shopping for a suit this past weekend, I stopped by the Men’s Wearhouse here is Augusta. I was immediately approached by a helpful salesman named Eric Sherry. Eric was knowledgeable and friendly. He was able to tell pretty early on that the store didn’t have my size, but he didn’t hesitate to refer me to a store that did. A day later, I called Eric back to see if there would be any way possible for him to measure me, so I would be able to provide the place he recommended with my measurements. He was more than happy to help out. Talk about great customer service! As luck would have it, Men’s Wearhouse did carry a great pair of size 15 shoes in stock, and I was more than happy to spend the money with them to get them. Eric went above and beyond to help me out, without the guarantee of any sort of sale, and turned me into a grateful customer. Now that’s great customer service.

    If you need a suit, tuxedo rentals, etc. stop by and see Eric and the staff over at Men’s Wearhouse. They’re located in the Augusta Exchange shopping center, 263 Robert C. Daniels Jr. Pkwy. or call (706) 736-1794.

  • Immigration

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate voted Tuesday to fine employers who hire illegal immigrants up to $20,000 for each unauthorized worker, providing teeth to a broad immigration bill before sending it to a final vote later this week.

    Employers would have to check Social Security numbers and the immigration status of all new hires within 18 months after money is provided to the Homeland Security Department to expand the electronic system for screening workers. Read Full Article on CNN…

    America is nothing without its immigrants. I’m not for returning America to isolation, but we need to do something to solve the problem of illegal immigration into our country. This is the best proposal I’ve seen thusfar, though one problem remains: enforcement. Unless Congress comes up with a way to enforce this, it’s all bark and no bite.

  • SlideShowPro Director

    SlideShowPro DirectorTaking SlideShowPro a step further, DomineyDesign just released SlideShowPro Director, a browser-based application that let’s you manage slideshows. It installs on any Linux server with PHP/MySQL, has an intuitive Ajax-driven user interface for managing all your photos, creates thumbnails in a snap, plus a whole lot more. The demo is quite impressive. I hope compatibility with Windows servers comes soon. I’d love to incorporate it into a few projects I have coming through the pipeline.

  • Live Redesign

    Nevermind the mess. I’ll be updating the look and feel of the site live over the coming weeks. I’ve been toying with a few concepts in Photoshop, and have finally decided on a direction to take. I had hoped to just unveil a new design, and I certainly still could… but I feel like this route is the saner way for me to go. (Plus, it fits into my schedule better, which is entirely too hectic sometimes.)
    (more…)

  • Reply?

    If you printed out an email that you had received and it had a ‘Reply’ button on it, would you assume by pressing the button, you could respond to the email? I seriously couldn’t have taken that support call… God bless our email support guys. (more…)

  • Cork’d

    Cork’d is a delightfully refreshing niche site devoted to reviewing and sharing experiences with wine. Developed by Dan Cederholm (SimpleBits) and Dan Benjamin (Hivelogic), Cork’d allows you to rate the wines you’ve tasted, keep track of the wine you own, and shop for the wines you’d like to buy.

    Cork'd LogoI’m going to be honest here: I don’t drink a whole lot of wine these days, but I will enjoy a glass or two on special occasions. I don’t think you have to be a hardcore wine afficianado in order to use Cork’d. Quite the contrary, actually. I think this is going to be the perfect site for people who have been a little afraid to try out new wines, because they didn’t know what to expect of them. (I’d tell you about the time I first sampled a Pinot Grigio, but I’ll refrain. It’s just too painful a memory.)

    I have bought wine in the past that I truly enjoyed, and forgotten what it was. I have bought wine, based on the design of a label, or the uniqueness of a bottle… only to be completely and utterly disappointed by the taste. Now, I can see what others think about wines, before I bite the bullet and buy a bottle.

    If you sign up, add me (cdharrison) as one of your “Drinking Buddies”!

  • MacBook, Whoa.

    MacBook from AppleSo, let me get this straight, Apple… It’s $1299 for the top-end white MacBook, and it’s $1499 for the black MacBook, and the only differences being the enclosure color and 20Gb extra hard drive space? You’re not serious, right? Should we expect black to cost more in the future on all Mac products?
    Sure, one could argue their supply of black MacBook’s will be in higher demand, hence the higher price… but it couldn’t be that much more to produce … Certainly not $200 more to produce. What’s the deal here???