I Never Promised You an Organic Garden » websites http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog and other things you won't expect... Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:48:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 Technology Today: Ravelry http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/technology-today-ravelry/ http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/technology-today-ravelry/#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:33:16 +0000 Becky McKimmy http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/?p=131 As I finish  knitting projects (most recently a baby sweater and set of  wash cloths), I record my new projects in Ravelry.  Ravelry is a perfect union of two of my strongest areas of interest: knitting and the internet.  It is an online community for knitters and crocheters that goes way beyond social networking. Ravelry allows its users to post and track projects, search patterns, store information about stashed yarn, search forums, keep a list of needles owned, join groups, see what others are making, comment on other users’ projects, and much much more.

projectI mostly use Ravelry to keep track of my projects, stashed yarn, and knitting needles.  Each user has a notebook that stores this information for them. In the projects section there is a list of all the projects you are working on or have completed.  There is a searchable database of patterns or you can add your own pattern.  Each project entry also includes information about the yarn used, (there is a search able database of yarn), the status of your project, the progress of your project, your rating of the pattern and yarn used, and information about what needles were used.  The project entry also contains a place to store images of the project.  You can upload photos you have taken directly through Ravelry or through amazing integration with Flickr, you can simply drop and drag photos you already have listed on Flickr .

notebookThe stash section has a similar interface and will allow you to keep track of yarn you have on hand, including information about the brand, color, weight, and number of skeins.  There is a searchable database of yarn available that has nearly every type of yarn, even that old neon green 1970’s skein you have leftover from your grandmother’s stash. Ravelry is also smart enough to reduce the number of skeins of a particular yarn if you list it as being used in a project.  Another great feature is the ability to search for patterns that match yarn in your stash. Ravelry has a huge database of patterns sorted by yarn, project type, etc.  This is a great way to make use of random skeins of yarn.

If all those great tools and helpful sections weren’t enough, Ravelry also provides an online community for knitters and crocheters.  Users can connect with friends and view their projects.  There are also groups based around different topics, geographic locations, events, etc.  And possibly the most helpful, Ravelry has a large online forum system.  This allows users to connect with others who are working on similar projects, ask questions of more seasoned knitters or crocheters, or find solutions to common problems.

Ravelry really is the place to be if you knit or crochet!  For me it is the perfect melding of the two parts of my life and personality.  The creative artistic knitter and the technical geeky webside developer.  It feels as though this site was built with me in mind.  If you knit or chrocet and haven’t checked it out yet — GO NOW! If you are already on Ravelry, you can find me at http://www.ravelry.com/projects/bemckimmy.

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]]> http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/technology-today-ravelry/feed/ 3 Technology Today: The People Who Make the Websites http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/technology-today-the-people-who-make-the-websites/ http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/technology-today-the-people-who-make-the-websites/#comments Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:28:20 +0000 Becky McKimmy http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/?p=109 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.

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]]> http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/technology-today-the-people-who-make-the-websites/feed/ 1 Technology Today – Goog411 http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/technology-today-goog411/ http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/technology-today-goog411/#comments Fri, 09 May 2008 13:21:41 +0000 Becky McKimmy http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/?p=95 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.

Simply dial 1-800-goog-411, state your location, state the name or category of the business you are looking for, select the business you want from a list, and Google will connect you. It is entirely voice activated and does a pretty decent job with voice recognition. I used it for the first time yesterday to get the information for a local bowling alley while I was at a crowded mall and didn’t have any troubles.

As I said, this service has been available for sometime now, but after using it yesterday, I think it definitely worth a mention.

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]]> http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/technology-today-goog411/feed/ 2 Technology Today – Animoto http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/technology-today-animoto/ http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/technology-today-animoto/#comments Fri, 02 May 2008 12:41:40 +0000 Becky McKimmy http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/?p=92 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)

To create your video you simply go to the Animoto website and walk through the easy 3-step process. First, you will need to select a bunch of photos you would like displayed in the video. They recommend no more than 15 for a 30 second video. With Animoto you can either upload them from your computer or grab your photos from a photo sharing sites like flickr, picasa, or photobucket. Next, you have the choice to upload your own DRM-free music or select from some of their tracks. Finally, you title the video and begin the production.

It takes between 15-20 minutes for the video to be encoded, and once it is complete you have quite a few options. You can either download the video to your local computer, email it to a friend, post it directly to Youtub, embed it in your website, or remix the video.

I created a Wii bloopers video to test it out, and it did a great job. Enjoy:

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]]> http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/technology-today-animoto/feed/ 2 Technology Today — Geni http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/technology-today-geni/ http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/technology-today-geni/#comments Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:52:12 +0000 Becky McKimmy http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/?p=82 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.

GeniFor 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.

For a large family like mine, with people scattered across the country, it is a great opportunity to keep in touch with each other, post familiy news, plan family reunions, and learn more about our family’s history. Geni is currently ad supported, thought I haven’t seen many ads on their site so far, and may add a premium section in the future; however, the current basic features will remain free. Your tree information is also exportable. Geni offers an export to GEDCOM format, a standard file format used to save, transfer, and transport genealogical information.

You also have the capability to share your family tree with friends and family via email, a url, or embedding in a website. Here is a sample of my tree:

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]]> http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/technology-today-geni/feed/ 3 Technology Today: Common Craft http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/technology-today-common-craft/ http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/technology-today-common-craft/#comments Thu, 20 Mar 2008 21:41:57 +0000 Becky McKimmy http://www.beckymckimmy.com/blog/?p=78 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.

Common Craft LogoFor 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):

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