Non-profit technologies

Hello! Are there any readers out there who have had experience volunteering with a non-profit org? More specifically creating for them a web-presence (web site, social networking, donation portal) and providing computer support (hardware, software). Any insight would be appreciated! -Dave

HTML 5

Hello All! It has been quite a while since I have posted. I have been learning a little something called Java as well as taking some classes and have not had the opportunity to post. Anyhow, I came across some cool info about HTML 5. Canvas, video, Cache, Web Worker....some pretty cool stuff. You can check out some demos here but you will need an HTML 5 compliant browser. (such as Google Chrome). All the demos are done using client side html...no applets, flash or silverlight shenanigans. Enjoy the future of web development! -Dave Reference

the vast pool of knowledge

I read an article entitled "21st Century Mindset" recently and caught glimpse of this quote, and thought it would be appropriate to share.

Networking has changed our relationship with knowledge, making it accessible anytime, any place, on any device. Too little knowledge is no longer the challenge; sifting through the vast pool of knowledge, analyzing it, and collaborating to solve problems is the new dilemma.

I have had my fair share of information overload on the internet, and I never feel at a loss for not being able to find information. However, I do admit that there is difficulty in being able to "sift through the vast pool of knowledge" and come to a conclusion. Just a thought...

Developers Bill of Rights

I like to have a nice machine to do my development work. Do you? Here is a new proposed "Developers Bill of Rights" from CodingHorror.com

Link

Developer Ramp Up Time

Cool article on how to reduce the ramp-up time for new developers/consultants.

Link

CSS Color Scheme generator for the color-blind

Recently while building a sample site with Windows Azure, I found myself trying to determine the color scheme for my site. I determined that my lack of color coordination was stopping any real progress, so I went to Color Hunter to develop a color scheme for use on my site.

There are two key features that I found helpful

1. You can choose from other popular color schemes
2. You can upload your own picture and Color Hunter will extract the colors from the image and give you the matching colors.

If you have a minute, check it out. It is really cool and helped me sail through my CSS design phase.

Link to Color Hunter

Windows Azure PDC developer videos

I have watched a few of the PDC sessions that were really helpful for me to get started with development of Azure SDK. Here is a quick listing of some of them:

• Watch Steve Marx write a simple app with Azure.
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• Brad Calder goes a little bit more in-depth with Azure storage.
  link
• See how NSoftware and FullArmor have utilized the Azure cloud services
  link