The Latest News
Bruny Island Cheese Co. Now Online
The website for Nick Haddow's Bruny Island Cheese Company was launched today. The artisan cheese maker produces some of Australia's finest boutique cheeses and their product is exported around the world. Twice nominated for Vogue / Audi Producer of the Year, the high quality cheese they produce is a reflection of Nick's extensive experience and travels across the globe. Their Bruny Island cheesery also operates as an artisan bakery and cafe. Being only 15 minutes from the ferry be sure to stop in and visit next time you visit the island. Visit the Bruny Island Cheese Co website for more information.
Bruny Island Website Launched
My latest website, the official Bruny Island website has just been launched today. This website provides information on activities, attractions, food, wine, walks and all things Bruny Island. If you haven't been to Bruny or haven't visited the island in a while, check out the site now.
I'm now Officially a Loaner
I came across kiva.org a while back and I've been wanting to donate for ages. Today, I finally bit the bullet and donated.
If you've never heard of Kiva before it's an amazing idea. Individuals from across the world loaning money to businesses in poorer countries of the world. It's sort of like sponsoring a child with a twist. The beauty of this idea is that you are helping people establish themselves and become self sufficient. The entrepreneurs post a profile on their business and what they plan to do with the money. If you like their story and want to help you can donate as little $25. Over time, your loan is actually repaid and then you can go and invest in another Kiva business.
I've chosen to donate to a family in Cambodia who sell firewood for a living and a man in Bolivia who runs a printing business. This is a really interesting way to make a difference to people less fortunate. I must admit I had a lot of trouble choosing who to loan to as there are some really touching stories. I encourage you to go and check it out - it's a really easy way to make a difference to those who need it most. Go on, be a loaner!
The Ideal Port Arthur Getaway
Any of you watching Channel 9's Getaway program may have noticed a feature story on Tasman Island Cruises. This new Port Arthur Cruise has been getting a lot of media attention lately after the official opening by Tourism Minister, The Hon. Paula Wreidt MHA. I was lucky enough to go on the trip a fortnight ago and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Visit the website for more information on the Tasman Island Cruise at Port Arthur.
The Fragile Internet
It was interesting to read that a few days ago, a ship accidentally cut off internet access to 75 million people in India, Dubai and Egypt. And it wasn't just internet that was disrupted - phones were affected too. Internet access slowed to a snails pace as traffic tried to find alternative means of routing. Businesses and home users were equally affected and the situation became so desperate that the Egyptian government urged home users to stop using the internet to allow business traffic to be able to get through. It got me thinking - how disruptive would that be to users here in Australia if it were to happen here? Recent trends show than almost all of us do not go a day without a phone call, email or jumping on to the internet.
This map is a rough guide to the under-sea cables that link the world's communication. As you can see, Australia doesn't have many links out of the country. Are we really immune? Imagine the millions of dollars lost to business for each day internet was effectively unavailable. Are governments doing enough to ensure these valuable links to the outside world are secure? It's certainly food for thought...
BrunyIsland.com now live
My latest site about Bruny Island is now live. This site contains information on accommodation and activities on Bruny Island including ferry times, weather, history, tours, walks, food and dining and accommodation bookings. Visit Bruny Island Holiday Retreats.
Zearching the Web
I was browsing the Facebook page of a friend who has started up a web business and noticed he has a new site. A few weeks ago, I was introduced to a project he had started with a small team called Ztimeline. This site is similar to Facebook, MySpace and flickr. Basically it plots your events and photos on a timeline of your life. It's definitely worth a look - ZTimeline.
But his company has just launched a new website called Zearch360 which allows you to search a number of websites including Google, flickr, Facebook, eBay, Wikipedia, Blogger, CNN, Fox Sports, Dell, hp, Download.com and many more. And it can also integrate directly into your browser's search - just click the link on the homepage. Zearch 360
Mixing it up in the Campus with Popfly and Silverlight
Today I spent the day at a free event hosted by Microsoft, 'Mix in the Campus'. This event featured presentations on a range of topics including emerging Microsoft technologies, games development for PC and XBox with XNA, Microsoft Expression Web and Web careers.
The new technologies coming from Microsoft HQ seem to have an increased focus on the "User Experience". User experience seems to be the buzzword of the past 12 months and Microsoft is certainly helping to fuel this. Office 2007 is a prime example of this, with it's new Ribbon interface. But it's not just the Office team getting there hands dirty with usability. The Expression Studio line of products has well and truly replaced the company's lagging FrontPage product. These new tools aim to bridge the gap between Designers and Developers to create more harmonious interfaces.
A new framework called Silverlight has also just been released. Silverlight's goal is to bridge the gap between the web and the desktop. Web applications are able to be accessed from anywhere in the world, but have in past lacked an interactive interface. Silverlight provides a way to easily create visually stunning and highly interactive web applications, and also create desktop applications that pull data down from the web.
Popfly is another exciting technology that's in Public Beta phase. I must confess that while I'd heard of Popfly I'd never actually tried it out. That was until Mix. I have to say I've just spent the last hour playing around with it and it is definitely something notable. In less than 10 minutes I managed to have an animated carousel of my friends from Facebook that I could quickly drop into a webpage and display for the world to see:
Bottom line - it looks impressive but took only 10 minutes to make! I think that this kind of technology is really going to take off, given the popularity of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook.
There are heaps more demo's of Popfly at http://www.popfly.ms/. All that's needed is a Live account and you can try it out for yourself.
Kingston Joinery Website updated
I just thought I'd let everyone know that the Kingston Joinery website has had its new interface updated. The website was initially launched in late August and has now had the gallery section of the website completed, and a new-look front page. The photos will make you want to phone up and order a new kitchen immediately!
Tasman Island Cruises is now sailing
I've been working on the Tasman Island Cruises for the past few months and it's now been up for two weeks. The company is an exciting new eco-tour that has just commenced operation at Port Arthur in southern Tasmania.
The site's design is based heavily on that of the Bruny Island Charters website to create a consistent branding between the tours. This truly is a stunning location in Tasmania and on your next trip, I highly recommend the tour. Just have a good look at some of the photos and see just how tall some of those cliffs are! Simply amazing. Also don't forget to check out the interactive Google Map of the tour.
