The XO and the "One Laptop Per Child" project
Posted on October 28, 2009 in Blog
I was lucky enough to get a hands-on play with an XO laptop at last night's Geelong web tech meetup.
The XO is a small, robust laptop computer that has been specifically designed for the "One Laptop Per Child" (OLPC) movement.
The OLPC project has a vision of getting a simple, rugged laptop into the hands of every underpriveleged child in the world to enable education and opportunities that they would otherwise not have.
The laptop itself is impressive, especially considering the mere $180 price tag. It's sturdy with a solid casing and a small screen that's made to be hardy and easily carryable. It's waterproof and dustproof and uses very little power, lasting around three hours under average usage.
Google Wave, a quick introduction and practical experience
Posted on October 16, 2009 in Blog
What's all this fuss about Google Wave?
It's Google's latest collaborative tool and the buzz in the last week or two has been over preview logins that have been handed out. A couple of us here at Choc Chip were lucky enough to receive previews (thanks Elbert!) and have checked it out.
I must admit that for the first ten minutes after logging in I still couldn't see the power (or the point) of this new technology. How does it work? More importantly, what can I use it for?
A bit of experimentation and the search term "with:public" helped a lot, and my early impressions are below.
But first, if you're not even sure what Google Wave is, this quick video has a simple explanation and overview.
How to send emails that aren't spam
Posted on August 12, 2009 in Blog, Internet Marketing, Online Resource
Email is a cheap way to reach large numbers of people. We suggest that every business should have an email list that they send to regularly as part of their online marketing strategy.
But when does sending email become spam?
Spam is essentially unwanted email. If you make sure your readers are recieving quality content, know who you are and have the opportunity to unsubscribe if they want to, then there will rarely be any problems.
The Spam Act 2003
In Australia the Spam Act 2003 makes it illegal to contact anyone by email without their prior consent - which means that any email you send to someone without asking them first could be considered a breach if interpreted strictly.
Bing!
Posted on July 12, 2009 in Blog, First Principles, News, Online Resource
Bing is a new search engine created by Microsoft as the latest tool in its campaign to take control of the web. But can it outshine Google?
At first glance, Bing appears to be based so closely on Google that it's hard to spot any real differences.
The design itself looks like Google, despite the added background images. Yes, there's the search box. Yes, there's the go button. Yes, there's the links to other types of content searches, like image and video.
The returned results page is even displayed in a similar fashion to Google's results.
Love is in the air for Belinda
Posted on January 9, 2009 in Blog
Congratulations to our designer Belinda who married her partner Brentyn in early December. We wish them both all the best for the future of what I know will be a long and happy relationship.
(I know it's a bit late but she's only just put the photos online.)
Book Review: The New Rules of Marketing and PR
Posted on December 6, 2008 in Blog, Book Review
I've just finished reading The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott, a book in which the author discusses how to use news releases, blogs, podcasting, viral marketing and online media to help your busines by reaching buyers directly.
There are a couple of different things that this book tries to do. Firstly, it introduces the 'new' web 2.0 technologies - things like blogs, podcasts, videos etc - in a way that will give a beginner an understanding of what they are and how they work. It then talks about how business can use these tools to reach buyers in a new way.
One of the most important things that Scott recognises about online media is the difference between the way the user interacts with your website and your offline forms of advertising.
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