The New Organizing Institute

Check out this seminar I am attending on Monday (July 28th). I think it might be a step towards my forthcoming education blog.  I love Catchin Feelings, but I want to focus attention to issues important to society, especially education. The New Organizing Institute (NOI) is a great example of civic engagement in action.

Their blog will also be added to my blogroll: neworganizing.com/blog (haha I am lovin this lingo)

Their advisory board – Check out the various org’s on a search engine and let me know if there is anything interesting

NOI on Facebook and Myspace (as a 28 year old female?!)

Why isn't the 'Buckeye State' in their logo?

Xeritown: Maximum Sustainability

We live in a world in which human populations impact the environment more and more with each passing year. Thinking outside the box means that we need to approach the entire scope of ”living” in revolutionized ways. Case in point: Xeritown, Dubai. The 60-acre town is built by Dubai based architecture firm X-Architects & SMAQ, and in desert climate is designed to use a minimal amount of water. The town’s goal is sustainability, by re-using water as much as possible, constructing buildings to direct cool breezes and deflect hot desert wind, and providing clean energy from abundant sun via photovoltaic cells (PVC) panels.

Notice the solar panals also provide shade

A great step in the right direction for urban design, and media attention to promote awareness about energy efficient living. I hope that other firms, companies and government take notice and attempt to develop ways to implement this philosophy in existing communities.

Google Phone and Android… Worth the Wait

Rumored design of an Android phone

As the $199 3G iPhone is set to debut this week, we enter yet another phase of cell phone technology. With the iPhone and Blackberry (RIM) owning the majority share of the smart phone market, Mac takes the first step into the next generation. The Blackberry 9000 Bold 3G is not going to be far behind with an expected late July or early August launch date. These phone are sure to be the hottest selling smart phones for the duration of the summer and beyond.

However, lets not forget about a little thing called the Google Phone, which is set to debut the Open Handset Alliance Project, aka Android. Rumors appear to be swirling that would still suggest a late 3rd quarter launch despite reports that cite delays. Whenever the launch, the Google based phones are sure to set the mobile market on fire. Sprint is already working with Google developers and others on the 4G network and the next phase in cell phone technology is sure to come before the end of 2009.

Google plans to invade the mobile phone market like none other. Entering China, the U.S. and Europe are easier said than done, but it should be worth the wait. While Google did not succeed as they had expected in this years FCC 700 Mhz Auction one thing seems for sure, Google Phone service (due to its open nature) will be significantly less expensive than iPhones or Blackberries. With seamless Google applications, along with unprecedented mobile phone designs, I think I will wait for the iPhone/Blackberry 3G craze to die down before I dive into the smartphone arena.

Android developer challenge. (Check out the round 1 slideshow)

3G iPhone

3G Blackberry Bold 9000

Pictures and Ringtones

Ever wonder how I got those cool photos of LeBron dunkin on my cell phone? How about that new Weezy track as my ringtone before the album even dropped? Myxertones.com is where its at, just sign up for an account and you can browse files from your computer to send directly to your cell.

File Sharing (for macs)

The days of Napster are gone.  Well, I guess you could pay for it now, but free music downloads via Napster are something my generation grew up with.  The truth is, music can still be downloaded for free but most people have problems doing so.  Either the program implants a virus on your computer or the spyware slows it down to a crawl.  To help with your music download troubles, here is a great link for mac users outlining all of the available file sharing programs.  I use Aquisition and Azureus, but there is a flavor out there for everyone.  I hope this is helpful!

Mac Orchard – File Sharing