I Never Promised You an Organic Garden

I just completed an online survey hosted by A List Apart gathering information about what it is like to “be the people who make the websites”.  This is one of the fastest growing fields in the country, and A List Apart is gathering information to better demonstrate what it means to work in this profession.

So if are a designer, developer, information architect, project manager, writer, editor, marketer, or anyone else who makes websites, even you freelancers, I encourage you fill out the survey. It will only take a few minutes.

Spread the word: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 is the official launch date for Firefox 3, and Mozilla has set a goal to set a Guinness World Record for the most software downloads in 24 hours. All they want us to do is download the newest version of Firefox on the 17th.

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I have been a Microsoft user for a majority of my life. I started out with a 66 megahertz computer running MS-DOS on a very fancy black and green monitor. However, I recently became a self-proclaimed Linux lover. For those of you who might not know, Linux is an open source operating system that competes with Microsoft Windows and Apple’s OS X. My first experience with Linux left me with a bad taste in my mouth, but the distribution of Linux known as Ubuntu 7.10 (aka “Gutsy Gibbon”), the version prior to the current version of Ubuntu, has impressed me enough to convince me to completely switch my personal computer to Linux. It has been a fascinating adventure, and I’ve learned a lot about the inner workings of my computer.

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This week’s Technology Today is not a brand new service, but I just used it for the first time this week and was impressed: Goog411. Goog411 is Google’s 411 service, and it is totally free. It makes it extremely simple to find and connect to local and national businesses.

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This week on net@night I heard about a very exciting new web service out called Animoto. Animoto is “a web application that automatically generates professionally produced videos” from a selection of your photos and favorite music. It is amazingly simple to get a high quality video you can send to your friends and family, post on your blog, or use in a presentation. And best of all…it is totally free! (for a 30 second video)

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South Park, ever poignant, aired an episode last night in which the internet disappeared. Total chaos ensued when no one was able to check their email or talk on IM. Even the news stations were unable to report any news with the loss of the internet.

Click through to see the clip.

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Since I forgot to post an item for Technology Today last week, I am going to post a second one this week. I am pleased to announce that Matt, my multi-talented husband, has now launched a blog of his very own. From Bits to Bites & Windshields to Worship will be about Matt’s four main interests — computers, cooking, cars, and Christianity.

He plans to post once or twice a week with interesting facts and insightful commentary on topics he is passionate about. There is already a few weeks worth of information ready for your perusing pleasure so — CHECK IT OUT!

I started a Technology Today section in my blog with the intention of posting each week about a neat item in the technology community, but have not bee very successful. Matt and I have been quite busy and will continue to be, but I will try and be more intentional about posting.

For this week, I want to highlight Geni (Chris Hardie also highlighted this in his blog). Geni is free web 2.0-style online genealogy software. It allows you to create an interactive family tree that you and your family members can join and update. The software has a social networking feel and allows each person on the tree to create their own profile, containing personal information, photos, and news updates.

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I have decided to add yet another new section to my blog. I am adding a “Technology Today” section, where I will select one technology related item each week and write about it so the average non-geek can understand. It could be a website, software, a gadget, or anything else related to technology.

There is always something new and exciting going on in the world of technology, but information is not always accessible to those who don’t have time to devote hours to surfing the net or listing to podcasts. I hope to be able to wade through some of the information out there and pick out one item a week that I find interesting and share it with everyone who reads my bog.

For this week, I have selected the Common Craft Show. The Common Craft Show is run by the husband and wife team of Lee and Sachi LeFever, and they take complicated or commonly misunderstood concepts and make short explanatory videos. Their easy-to-understand videos cover a wide variety topics including RSS, Twitter, blogs, social networking sites, and new light bulbs.

New videos are posted approximately once a month, and they are a great way for non-geeks and geeks alike to learn how things work.

My favorite is their video on RSS (Really Simple Syndication):