We’ve put together a quick survey to get your feedback about Refresh Austin. If you have a few minutes, we would really appreciate your answers to these questions. Thanks!
Tags: refresh austin, survey
Hello everyone, as I mentioned in our last meeting, we’ll be co-hosting the GeekAustin 8th anniversary party on Tuesday September 30th - an event that will be one to remember, and unlike some of the recently imported happy hours, this party is free.
A night of geeks, drinks, food and music - what more could we ask for?
The party will span the entirety of Union Park (612 W Sixth St - Next to Katz’s), and while we encourage Refreshers to mingle, we hope you’ll spend some time back in the Refresh Lounge, sometimes known as the BoomBoom room. We’ll have someone at the door to welcome you in, so make sure you say hi so we can give you a Refresh Austin name badge!
The Austin Electronic Music Grid will have different laptop musicians performing throughout the night all over the club to keep ya movin’.
You don’t have to RSVP, but if you’re on FaceBook, please let us know that you’re coming.
It’s going to be a helluva time, I hope to see you there!
Tags: Austin, austin music grid, electronic music, event, geek austin, music, party, refresh austin
Tuesday, September 9th, 7:00 p.m.
Buffalo Billiards, 6th and Brazos
View the Event on Upcoming.org
We have a great meeting set for September 9th (this Tuesday) with a focus on the future.
Google Chrome
First up is a group discussion about Google Chrome, and the implications it has for our industry. Google’s new browser has a lot of potential, but as it was just released, we thought it would be an exciting topic of discussion. Some of the questions that we’ll touch upon are:
- How will Chrome change the user experience of the Web?
- What work will it add to the day in and day out lives of designers and developers?
- Does it provide tools that you’re excited about?
- At what point will Chrome become important enough that you’ll officially support it?
- What tools does it need to tempt you to switch to it from your browser of choice?
- What excites you about the browser
Looking into the Future of Refresh Austin
This will be a mixture of topics related to Refresh Austin, including:
- Gathering feedback about our past meetings and ideas for future presentations that you would like to hear or would be willing to present.
- The topics that we’ll be covering over the next few months of meetings
- Discussion around the direction you think we should take with the group:
- Should we have more or less advanced topics?
- Do we strike the right balance of design, technical and business topics?
- Do we provide enough social opportunities?
- Our Plans for improving the way members post job opportunities
- Your thoughts on other groups in Austin that we should know about and work with.
Tags: chrome, event, google chrome, meeting, refresh austin
Photos from the August Refresh Austin meeting are online. They’re also part of the Refresh Austin Flickr group. If anyone’s got additional photos and you’re a Flickr user, please add them to the group “Refresh Austin.”
Tags: flickr, meeting, photos, refresh austin
Mobile Blogging, Courtesy of WordPress? Check Out Ma.tt’s WordCamp Dallas Speech on Wordpress 2.6
Apr 1, 20081 |
WordCamp Dallas was productive for all who went. I had a great time with fellow RefreshAustin peeps Paul Menard,Jen Simmons, and Ryan Joy. Unbeknown to me, Wordpress founder Matt Mullenweg would kick things off by giving a speech on Wordpress 2.5, which was launched just 20 minutes before he started. What impressed me the most was Matt Mullenweg’s commitment to making Wordpress easy to use for wordsmiths like me yet robust enough to be a powerful CMS. |
Not only is Mullenweg accessible, but he was eager to take as many questions as possible and was available throughout WordCamp for questions, comments and conversation. It was a real treat.
If you haven’t read an overview of Wordpress 2.5 already, I suggest taking a look at Aaron Brazell’s comprehensive post on its features, or check out Mashable’s live stream of Mullenweg’s hour-long speech.
I too filmed the speech, but 1.) Mashable already had this streaming live, so I didn’t see much point in posting it too and 2.) I’d rather give you the goodies that were ONLY covered at WordCamp–plans for Wordpress 2.6.
Here’s an overview:
We’ve all heard of Utterz and Qik for moblogging on the go, but if you don’t want to stream every waking moment of your life, Matt Mullenweg plans for you to be able to publish a Wordpress blog from your phone. Apparently, an undisclosed device maker is even creating a phone to accommodate this. This should be available for version 2.6.
Other plans for version 2.6? A template gallery, a way to check plugins before installation, the ability to post outside the Wordpress admin, and an easier to use interface, and more security. Check out the details in Matt’s speech on how Wordpress will be “meaner, lighter, and faster” here :
**photo of Michelle Greer and Ma.tt courtesy of Anuj Bhatia.
Tags: ma.tt, matt mullenweg, matt mullenweg speech, mobile blogging, moblogging, moblogging wordpress, refresh austin, refreshaustin, wordcamp dallas, wordcampdallas, wordpress, wordpress 2.5 overview, wordpress 2.6, wordpress 2.6 features, wordpress 2.6 review, wordpress phone
Currently, there are over 80 Burmese refugees living in Austin. These people came to the United States with nothing, and most of them do not speak English. They are all here legally and have social security numbers. Much of the kids’ school work requires the use of a computer, but the kids cannot stay after school to use the library’s computers because they have to catch the bus home. None of them have computers or cars.
Do you have retired computers around your house? If so, please bring them to the next meeting and I will take them to the apartments where the Burmese live. Remember to reformat your hard drive prior to donating. I will give you a donation receipt for tax purposes.
To understand what these people have been through, please watch these videos:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7B5lYCh9Eyc
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ODluciW9RgA&feature=related
If you don’t have extra machines around your house, you could also bring diapers, non-perishable foods, rice cookers, athletic or sturdy work shoes, or calculators. Any help we could provide would be much appreciated. If you have any questions, just email me at michelle(at)michellesblog.net. Thanks, and I’ll see you at the next meeting!
Tags: donate computer austin, olpc austin, refresh austin, refugees austin, sell computer austin, volunteer austin
