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Web414: First Meeting Report

The first official Web414 meeting was last night, and it went well. It was the first time at the IT Fusion Business Center. (One thing we learned was that you can probably park on the street right out front, the meters are free after 6PM.) Justin said we can probably meet in this location until June. Jeramey said we could also use the MSOE Kern Center if needed.

Justin borrowed a projector, but long-term it would be nice to have a projector for the group, or at least a list of folks we could borrow one from. Chad was able to plug in his Airport Base Station and give us all a wifi connection.

We discussed the new group, and talked about how it would work (no specific leader, group effort, ad-hoc and BarCamp-like.) The site is running Drupal, and we would like to modify it (through modules) to match the features Meetup.com provided.

For the January 2007 meeting (and all future meetings) we’re hoping to have a presentation on a specific topic. John mentioned talking about how he makes a living publishing information on his web site. It would also be nice to see guest speakers in the future as well.

(This is cross-posted from my Web414 blog…)



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Web414 Begins…

Back in May I attended a Milwaukee Web Design Meetup, and found out there was a small but dedicated group of people in the Milwaukee area interested in getting together and discussing the building of the web.

Then in October we had BarCampMilwaukee and came to realize that maybe there are more people out there interested in web design & development. I think a lot of us wanted to see the BarCamp spirit carry on to other things, and I think that’s one of the basic ideas behind Web414.

Web414 will be replacing the Milwaukee Web Design Meetup group in 2007. We’re hoping all members make the move with us, but we are also hoping to expand and welcome new people. Freelancers, designers, developers, usability folks, anyone interested in the future of the web and making it happen.

The site at Web414.com is still in it’s early stages, but you can sign up now to follow what we are doing. (And if you’re more of a traditional designer, there’s always Design414.)

So if you’re interested, join us December 14th, 2006 to discuss the future of the group.

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Udell to Microsoft?

Yeah, I guess Jon Udell is going to Microsoft.

I’ve always respected the work Jon has done, he’s an insightful guy with a lot of interesting ideas. Microsoft on the other hand, I’ve never been a fan of.

I wish Jon the best in the future, and hope he gets to the do work he wants to do… but I still think it’s weird. I mean, I guess it’s a “whole new” Microsoft, but the names Ward Cunningham and Niall Kennedy come to mind. Two people who, upon hearing they were going to Microsoft, my response was “Huh? Are you sure?” (They both left Microsoft.) Jon just doesn’t seem like a Microsoft guy. Of course, Ray Ozzie is there… who knows?

My pespective on Microsoft is this: As person who uses Mac OS X on the desktop, and Linux on the server, and believes in the power of the web, what has Microsoft ever done for me? I mean, I can’t think of any technology I use that came directly from Microsoft that I somehow would be worse off for it if never existed. The only real thing Microsoft does for me, from my perspective, is create competition for Apple, which is (sometimes) a good thing.

I’m not saying Microsoft is useless, I just have no use for them. Plenty of people do, and that’s fine, even if it was monopolistic actions that got them where they are now.


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The Tools You Need

I’ve always been a strong believer in providing people the tools they need to get their job done, but then again, I’ve always managed to somehow get the tools I needed to get the job done, even if that meant providing them myself in order to make sure the job gets done right.

So I’m not sure which I’m more disappointed in, an employer that doesn’t provide the tools that the employees need, or employees that don’t request or somehow try their darndest to get the tools they need.

Of course I also often find myself amazed that people don’t want to do the best possible work they can. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised by this anymore…

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Vultures or Saviors?

I think I’m split on my opinion of people who buy things just to put them on ebay and make a hefty profit.

I mean, that’s what ebay is for, right? Is it all just “supply and demand” at work? Are they providing a valuable service? Should they be making as much as they do on some items?

I’ve been thinking about this due to the fact that it’s nearly Xmas, and an item I’d really like to get has been backordered in stores for months now, and seems only available via ebay if I’m willing to pay more than twice the original store price. Which I really can’t afford to do.

Damn vultures…