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	<title>Christian Ross - Purveyor of Awesome &#187; Technology</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.christianross.net/category/technology/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.christianross.net</link>
	<description>Purveying Awesomeness since '78 - Ramblings, thoughts and Internet goodness from Christian Ross</description>
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		<title>The Bloom box</title>
		<link>http://www.christianross.net/the-bloom-box/</link>
		<comments>http://www.christianross.net/the-bloom-box/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:35:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christian</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Awesomeness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bloom box]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electricity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.christianross.net/?p=2299</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Of course I&#8217;ll reserve a feet first bandwagon jump on the emerging device called The Bloom box at this point but I am curious to see where it goes. The box &#8211; about the size of a kid&#8217;s shoe box &#8211; is a fuel-cell driven, mini-power plant that is touted to be able to power [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Of course I&#8217;ll reserve a feet first bandwagon jump on the emerging device called <a href="http://www.bloomenergy.com/">The Bloom box</a> at this point but I am curious to see where it goes. The box &#8211; about the size of a kid&#8217;s shoe box &#8211; is a fuel-cell driven, mini-power plant that is touted to be able to power your house. Wirelessly, at that. The current client list is impressive and the technology wows me but the long-term effects are yet to be determined. Can it run for more than three years? Is it a brain tumor waiting to happen?</p>
<p>I&#8217;ll be watching how this one progresses as well as waiting to see who will be the first to try and either buy them out or destroy it. And if somehow they get it down to $3k for a personal use box, I&#8217;ll be the first in line.</p>
<p><embed src='http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/player-dest.swf' FlashVars='linkUrl=http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6228923n&#038;releaseURL=http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/player-dest.swf&#038;videoId=50083943&#038;partner=news&#038;vert=News&#038;si=254&#038;autoPlayVid=false&#038;name=cbsPlayer&#038;allowScriptAccess=always&#038;wmode=transparent&#038;embedded=y&#038;scale=noscale&#038;rv=n&#038;salign=tl' allowFullScreen='true' width='470' height='358' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer'></embed></p>
<p>60 Minutes coverage ~ 14 minutes<br />
<small>(RSS readers click through to watch it)</small></p>
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		<item>
		<title>Dear Vimeo, I love you</title>
		<link>http://www.christianross.net/dear-vimeo-i-love-you/</link>
		<comments>http://www.christianross.net/dear-vimeo-i-love-you/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:08:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christian</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Awesomeness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[1080p]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HD]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vimeo]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.christianross.net/?p=2211</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
If you&#8217;re not using Vimeo for your video hosting needs, you&#8217;re existence on this planet should be questioned. Not only did they just launch the ability to view videos in full-screen 1080p HD but they have also just made my life eight-hundred times easier by allowing me to upload the files directly from my camera [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.christianross.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Picture-1.png"><img src="http://www.christianross.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Picture-1-470x87.png" alt="Vimeo, I love you" title="Vimeo, I love you" width="470" height="87" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-2212" /></a></p>
<p>If you&#8217;re not using <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a> for your video hosting needs, you&#8217;re existence on this planet should be questioned. Not only did they just launch the ability to view videos in full-screen 1080p HD but they have also just made my life eight-hundred times easier by allowing me to upload the files directly from my camera to the site. This will save hours of time.</p>
<p>Vimeo, you can have my $70 every year.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Unify</title>
		<link>http://www.christianross.net/unify/</link>
		<comments>http://www.christianross.net/unify/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Aug 2009 03:49:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christian</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CMS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Perch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unify]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.christianross.net/?p=1326</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Unit Interactive out of Plano just launched a pretty nifty tool today called Unify that offers the ability for me to take your static HTML website and give you some functionality into editing it down the road. For the cost of some tacos plus my hourly rate to install, you could be rocking the updates [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://unitinteractive.com">Unit Interactive</a> out of Plano just launched a pretty nifty tool today called <a href="http://unify.unitinteractive.com/">Unify</a> that offers the ability for me to take your static HTML website and give you some functionality into editing it down the road. For the cost of some tacos plus my hourly rate to install, you could be rocking the updates on your own site in no time at all.</p>
<p>This isn&#8217;t the <a href="http://grabaperch.com/" title="Perch CMS">first system to market</a> in this light CMS category but it certainly easier for me to translate than having to figure out how much 35 Euros would cost me.</p>
<p>At first this seems like it could put a hurt in my business but really after studying them a little more, they are just what they say, a lightweight inline editor. It still doesn&#8217;t give you full control over your site like a <a href="http://wordpress.org">WordPress</a> or <a href="http://completesite.com">CompleteSite</a> can but in a pinch and a very small budget it might do the trick. </p>
<p>Congrats and thanks to Andy and the Unit crew on the launch of a nice little tool to add to the arsenal.</p>
<p>Clients? <a href="/contact/" title="Contact me">Ready to step up</a>?</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Which browser is best for you?</title>
		<link>http://www.christianross.net/which-browser-is-best-for-you/</link>
		<comments>http://www.christianross.net/which-browser-is-best-for-you/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 22 Aug 2009 05:10:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christian</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[browser]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Firefox]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.christianross.net/?p=1311</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sometimes I make things up just to see if you&#8217;ll believe me. In some circles it&#8217;s called lying but I like to think of it as a little game between us. 
When it comes to browser usage, I don&#8217;t make things up. Unless I have to.
According to my latest stats, too many of you still [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sometimes I make things up just to see if you&#8217;ll believe me. In some circles it&#8217;s called lying but I like to think of it as a little game between us. </p>
<p>When it comes to browser usage, I don&#8217;t make things up. Unless I have to.</p>
<p>According to my latest stats, too many of you still use IE. Corporate restrictions aside, maybe this infographic will help remind you that you should be <a href="http://firefox.com">browsing happier</a>.<span id="more-1311"></span></p>
<p><img src="http://www.christianross.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/which-browser-is-best.png" alt="" title="Which browser is best?" width="597" height="814" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1312" /></p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>How SEOs Spend Their Time</title>
		<link>http://www.christianross.net/how-seos-spend-their-time/</link>
		<comments>http://www.christianross.net/how-seos-spend-their-time/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:00:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christian</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.christianross.net/?p=1260</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In many ways, I view Search Engine Optimization and its &#8220;experts&#8221; as modern day snake oil and snake oil salesman, respectively. There are far too many people out there that express that they are experts that end up duping gullible clients into thinking that they will score the world for them. 
Clients should know that [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In many ways, I view Search Engine Optimization and its &#8220;experts&#8221; as modern day snake oil and snake oil salesman, respectively. There are far too many people out there that express that they are experts that end up duping gullible clients into thinking that they will score the world for them. </p>
<p>Clients should know that there are practical steps that can be taken to potentially help their site rank better but there aren&#8217;t any guarantees and should never be signed up for if guarantees are offered. There are practical things that can be done to make your site look its best for search engines and users alike but they aren&#8217;t anything that a client couldn&#8217;t research and/or do themselves. I offer my clients the service of SEO but never at a price that many &#8220;experts&#8221; claim to get and never any guarantees of positioning. </p>
<p>My services include: helping to draft quality content, searching and targeting good keywords, educating the client on the positive aspects of quality inbound/outbound links and helping them to understand how to use social media for positive results and not just wasting time or spamming potential clients.</p>
<p>Other than that, there&#8217;s not too much more that Google or any other search engine cares to see. There as open about it as they can be without giving too much away for people to figure out ways to scam them into high rankings.</p>
<p>Which leads me to this, a nice little infographic from SEOmoz today portraying most of what I already thought and outlined above. This SEO oil is a cure all.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.christianross.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/how-seos-spend-time.gif" alt="" title="how-seos-spend-time" width="466" height="522" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1261" /></p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Importance of HTML Headings for Accessibility</title>
		<link>http://www.christianross.net/importance-of-html-headings-for-accessibility/</link>
		<comments>http://www.christianross.net/importance-of-html-headings-for-accessibility/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 21 May 2009 02:45:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christian</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Accessibility]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Disability]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.christianross.net/?p=894</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I can admit that I still have a lot to learn about what I do. One of the areas I need to improve my knowledge in is accessibility of my sites for those with disabilities. The following is an impressive 9 minute video demonstration by Aaron Cannon who among other things is blind since birth. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I can admit that I still have a lot to learn about what I do. One of the areas I need to improve my knowledge in is accessibility of my sites for those with disabilities. The following is an impressive 9 minute video demonstration by Aaron Cannon who among other things is blind since birth. </p>
<p>Aaron takes the time to walk a user through how he &#8220;sees&#8221; a website. Through the use of a screen reader, he can navigate the web and surprisingly to me, do so very quickly.</p>
<p>For my non-developer readers, the H1 tags that he mentions are the most heavily weighted section of a web page in terms of code. By using semantically sound coding practices, I can benefit my clients in how their web pages are displayed, in how their pages are index by search engines, and in how those who visit the site unconventionally (ie. Aaron, mobile users, RSS Readers) can be accommodated. <span id="more-894"></span></p>
<p>One of the first and easiest things that could be implemented right away is getting information like this to my clients and how they handle their page <em>titles</em> and <em>subtitles</em>. While using &#8216;About Us&#8217; for a page heading is somewhat helpful, a person entering a website from a side door (instead of the home page) would probably find it more useful if the heading was something more like &#8216;About Company X.&#8217; As an added bonus it would help their visibility to search engines as well.</p>
<p>Feel free to learn from Aaron on your own.</p>
<p><object width="500" height="401"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AmUPhEVWu_E&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1&#038;rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AmUPhEVWu_E&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1&#038;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="401"></embed></object></p>
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		<item>
		<title>Netflix, behind the scenes</title>
		<link>http://www.christianross.net/netflix-behind-the-scenes/</link>
		<comments>http://www.christianross.net/netflix-behind-the-scenes/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Apr 2009 20:05:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christian</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Netflix]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.christianross.net/?p=776</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We have been Netflix customers for a while now and have no complaints about the service whatsoever. The wife and I have discussed it before noting that package design and the timeliness of each order must be due to the fact that they are automated in some way or another. Boy was I off.
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/08/23/netflix/

46 warehouses [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We have been Netflix customers for a while now and have no complaints about the service whatsoever. <a href="http://melanieross.net">The wife</a> and I have discussed it before noting that package design and the timeliness of each order must be due to the fact that they are automated in some way or another. Boy was I off.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/08/23/netflix/">http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/08/23/netflix/<br />
</a><br />
46 warehouses with approximately 50 employees in each. At an average of 700 DVD&#8217;s an hour the sum total of DVD&#8217;s sorted and delivered daily is about 1.6 million. Wow. I&#8217;m not all for cutting those jobs but surely someone could help them with a better system.</p>
<p>Slightly related:</p>
<p>The Netflix DVD sorter/re-packager job reminds me slightly of a story my buddy <a href="http://robshiflet.wordpress.com/">Rob</a> told me a while ago.</p>
<p>When he was a kid, he moved to a small Texas town and attempted to make friends. On one occasion he asked a local boy what his father did and the response was something along the following&#8230;</p>
<p><strong>Rob</strong>: What does your dad do?<br />
<strong>Kid</strong>: You know how some nails are silver?<br />
<strong>Rob</strong>: Yeah<br />
<strong>Kid</strong>: Well, you know how some nails are gold?<br />
<strong>Rob</strong>: Yeah<br />
<strong>Kid</strong>: My dad paints the silver ones gold</p>
<p>Umm, as much as I hate having students loans still, I am slightly thankful for them just in the fact that I&#8217;m not painting nails for a living.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>IE8 to be officially released today</title>
		<link>http://www.christianross.net/ie8-to-be-officially-released-today/</link>
		<comments>http://www.christianross.net/ie8-to-be-officially-released-today/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:08:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christian</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.christianross.net/?p=731</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Thought it won&#8217;t be pushed to auto updates right away, you can get your copy from Microsoft&#8217;s site around Noon EST.
Here&#8217;s to hoping I get the opportunity to bad-mouth it far less than I have for their last two versions.
It is now time for IE6 to go away forever. Hear that corporate America? That&#8217;s death [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Thought it won&#8217;t be pushed to auto updates right away, you can get your copy from <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer">Microsoft&#8217;s site</a> around Noon EST.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s to hoping I get the opportunity to bad-mouth it far less than I have for their last two versions.</p>
<p>It is now time for IE6 to go away forever. Hear that corporate America? That&#8217;s death knocking on your technological door.</p>
<p>Even with all the hoopla of a new browser, I can confirm that you will always browse happier running a certain <a href="http://firefox.com">open-source web viewer</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>At last.</title>
		<link>http://www.christianross.net/at-last/</link>
		<comments>http://www.christianross.net/at-last/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:35:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christian</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Awesomeness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPhone]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.christianross.net/?p=726</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The iPhone OS 3.0 event is going on right now and is being live-blogged all over. I&#8217;ve been checking in here: http://live.gdgt.com/2009/03/17/live-iphone-os-3-0-event-coverage/
Greatest announcements so far?

Copy/Paste
Push email
Search
MMS

It&#8217;s about time. And for fun: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=copy+paste
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The iPhone OS 3.0 event is going on right now and is being live-blogged all over. I&#8217;ve been checking in here: http://live.gdgt.com/2009/03/17/live-iphone-os-3-0-event-coverage/</p>
<p>Greatest announcements so far?</p>
<ul>
<li>Copy/Paste</li>
<li>Push email</li>
<li>Search</li>
<li>MMS</li>
</ul>
<p>It&#8217;s about time. And for fun: <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=copy+paste">http://search.twitter.com/search?q=copy+paste</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>GE Augments Reality</title>
		<link>http://www.christianross.net/ge-augments-reality/</link>
		<comments>http://www.christianross.net/ge-augments-reality/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:42:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christian</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Awesomeness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.christianross.net/?p=677</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Have a webcam? Prepare to be amazed.

Watch and the give it a test at plugintotheSmartGrid.com from GE. Unreal.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Have a webcam? Prepare to be amazed.</p>
<p><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DkqtklABgGQ&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DkqtklABgGQ&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></p>
<p>Watch and the give it a test at <a href="http://plugintotheSmartGrid.com">plugintotheSmartGrid.com</a> from GE. Unreal.</p>
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