The Keeping Up with Technology workshop series will present a session on using the popular online pinboard Pinterest at The Poulsbo Public Library on Nov. 13.
The free event runs from 6:30-8 p.m. at the library, 700 Northeast Lincoln Road. The workshop is sponsored by Poulsbo Friends of the Library.
Pinterest is a relatively new social media site, popular with both hobbyists and businesses. It is a virtual pinboard where users can organize and share all the things they find on the web. People use pinboards to promote their businesses, plan weddings, and decorate their homes.
In this workshop, participants will learn how to get started with Pinterest; Pinterest etiquette and good practices; how Pinterest can drive traffic to your blog; who is using Pinterest successfully; how to make your images stand out. read more »
Pacific Northwest energy experts said that the energy market hit a major milestone on Oct. 16 — for the first time, wind energy production has surpassed energy generated by hydropower. Due to new wind-power infrastructure in the region and strong morning winds, 85 percent of that day’s power usage was provided by wind generation.
Wind has long been viewed as a renewable resource that can provide an alternative to hydro or nuclear power. But one of the major challenges is being able to integrate renewable energy with demand — wind, for example, frequently happens at night, when the demand for electricity is low. Wind energy cannot be stored, so it is wasted if not used when it’s produced. The industry has been trying to find ways to harness the wind more effectively. read more »
The middle-of-the-night, “ah-ha!” moment came two years ago on a trip to Palm Springs, Calif.
That’s when an idea came into focus for Rick Flaherty about how to incorporate energy-efficient LED technology into replacement bulbs for high-intensity discharge (HID) lights — the kind used to illuminate spacious areas such as warehouses, gymnasiums and parking lots. read more »
When star musicians or comedians need a new website, one go-to designer is Bremerton-based SuperStar Media. The 11-year-old company, located downtown, has created websites, custom social media platforms and various digital content for the likes of Neil Diamond, Chris Rock, REO Speedwagon, Pitbull and George Winston — the list goes on. read more »
Robert Solomon is used to getting the attention of tech geeks — his former company, Datadesk Technologies, developed and produced the MAC-101 keyboard, one of the biggest-selling Macintosh accessories. But even he was surprised at the media attention his newest invention has received months before even going into full-fledged production mode.
Solomon and his son, Cody, two of the three principals at Bainbridge Island-based SoloMatrix read more »
Anyone who owns a smartphone or tablet is likely to have a favorite free app worth raving about. And with more than half a million apps each in the Android marketplace and Apple’s iTunes, people’s love for apps (free or otherwise) is only going to grow.
One issue the average consumers may not consider is how exactly they are paying for those freebies. They may not be handing over their credit card but they are paying in other ways — whether it’s privacy, security or device efficiency.
A large portion of the free apps — such as the uberpopular game Angry Birds and other games — are supported by advertising. A recent study by Purdue University found that as much as 75 percent of energy required to run a free app is spent on modules for advertisement delivery (Angry Birds and the popular free chess Android app, fchess, for example, spend less than 20 percent of their energy use on the core gaming module). read more »
The Consumer Electronics Association forecasted earlier this year that 90 percent of consumers own a cell phone or mobile device (including smartphones), and almost 40 percent of those people engage in m-commerce (mobile commerce). With smartphones continuing to saturate the market, it’s easy to see where the trends are going.
National retailers are paying attention — Lowe’s, Staples, Wal-Mart and others have come up with various ways to capture that market, which CEA estimated at $124 billion a year. App developers, too, are trying to capitalize on it, as was the example with Shopmox, which developed an app that is supposed to simulate the mall shopping experience, only on an iPad. read more »
Microsoft may have been the first to bring the idea of cloud computing to the general masses a couple years ago — who didn’t see the television commercial about a couple stuck at the airport victoriously proclaiming “to the cloud?” And while Amazon.com offered cloud-based services to customers as far back as 2006 and many businesses began switching from company servers to cloud-based storage about three years ago, individual consumers and smaller businesses have been slower to embrace the idea.
What exactly is the cloud? Definitions vary and are often challenging to wrap one’s arms around — much like the clouds in the sky.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, after years of work and 15 drafts, provided this definition read more »
Last year, shortly before Black Friday, two malls announced plans to track shoppers’ physical locations via their mobile phones. The malls — Promenade Temecula in California and Short Pump Town Center in Virginia — put up small signs notifying people of this plan and telling shoppers that they only way to avoid the tracking was to turn off their cell phones.
The malls intended to track people until the end of the year, but once news of the initiative got out, a backlash forced the shopping centers to retreat.
At the time, observers suspected that most consumers wouldn’t be fond of this type of surveillance. read more »
