I did some work on the look of the website.  I think it was just time to clean it up.  So, a lot of the old pages have been purged and we only have a couple important pages… the front page, a link to kris’ flickr page, and a webcam page.

I also imported a little widget type thing on the side that is a feed of kris’ most recent images.  I thought it was fun.  I hope you enjoy!

-wil

I know you’ve all been dying to hear about this… and i’m sure i’ve told most of you about it already, but a while back (about a month) kris and i got a new computer.

This isn’t just any computer, though. It is probably the most powerful and interesting computer i have ever used.

It is a Dell XPS M1210 It is super portable, and super powerful.

Kris and i sold our other laptops because i knew i wanted to get a new one, (mine was an apple and i just didn’t want to use it anymore… no offense to apple or anything, it’s just not for me.) Kris wasn’t using hers much anymore since she doesn’t have a lot going on with school. I would’ve just upgraded her laptop to vista and used it, but it wasn’t powerful enough, and i didn’t want to deal with upgrading a processor in a gateway… =/ So, we decided to sell both and invest in a new one that would last us a good 4 years or so. I did a lot of research, ultimately deciding that i wanted something with a 12 inch screen or so that weighed around 5lbs. (ultra portable).

The M1210 was expensive, but quite powerful.  We decided to do some extra saving, so we could just pay cash for it.  I was patient and diligent, keeping most of the saved money in an envelope next to the computer; i taped a picture of the laptop on the wall, so i could always see it and dream of the day… alright, that is a bit cheesy.

I remember ordering it, and figuring out what day it would come.  I requested that day off work, so i could just play with the laptop…. it was sweet!

The computer has:

• 12.1 inch widescreen display
• intel core2 duo 2.0GHz processer
• 2Gb ram
• windows vista premium (i love this OS, by the way)
• integrated webcam (more to come)
• 120 GB Hard Drive
• Dvd burner
• 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Video Card
• Bluetooth enabled

Of course, this all could’ve been more powerful, but this was all that i wanted/needed.  It is about as powerful as the middle MacBookPro (which is pretty darn good!)

Some of my favorite features:

The operating system.  Windows Vista is pretty cool, and while there are some things that i don’t like about it (the fact that it uses lots of ram, and that there are still some bugs to work out), it is definately a step in the right direction for Microsoft.  They are working towards a more usable, more integrated (within itself) product.  It is very pretty and has some neat features.

I love the integrated webcam!  I can take pictures wherever i am using the computer with the click of a button.  I have also set up the webcam to work with my web server, so that whenever i take a picture, it is loaded onto the notebook cam page.  Sweet!

I also like that Microsoft has fixed the ‘sleep’ capabilities of computers.  On my old inspiron, i could never get it to sleep just right, and it would always mess the computer up.  But now, i can just close the lid, or press the button and it’s snooze fest in compy land! <-(this is one thing i always liked about my mac)

So, overall, the computer is freakin’ awesome!  I am really happy with the purchase, and i’m sure kris is as well.

-wil

i’ve got two orders of business here….

1. The gracie cam has been decommissioned until further notice. The software i was using to run it expired and i haven’t found a new piece that i like yet. Cheer up, though because once some new, free software can be found to suit… the gracie cam will be back in action!

2. Many of you know that kris and i bought a new computer, (much more to come on that soon!). This computer has a built in webcam that i have enjoyed using so far… and since i am taking so many pictures with it, I thought it would be fun to automatically export all those photos onto our website. So… under the webcams page, you can click on ‘notebook cam.’ This is a pretty simple photo gallery that displays the most recent photos taken by my webcam on my laptop. Whenever I take a new one, it will automatically upload and be displayed on that page. So, be sure to check back to see the latest images!

Have a nice day!

-wil

pretty cool!

update: gracie is a hit! she’s become a celebrity- her popularity has spread to my science class, the girls at work, wil’s entire starbucks, and all of you back at home! her fame hasn’t quite gotten to her head though…it think she’s a bit oblivious that she’s the new truman show.

wil and i have had fun watching her all day (although she sleeps for about 85% of the time) but also being spotted on the cam ourselves once in a while- it’s fun to know you guys can see us when we talk to you online or on the phone. now i just need to keep reminding myself that i can’t walk around the office in my underwear…the world wide web doesn’t need to see that much of me!

-wil

-wil

*Update:

We’ve got a new layout with a few different features.  I’ve opened up some space on the right sidebar to make it look more clean… i’ve also implemented some ads which are a bit annoying to look at, but they will generate some revenue for bandwidth and such.  Don’t pay attention to them for the most part, but if you see something you are interested in, go ahead and give it a click if you please.

One feature I like is the ‘shelf’ on the top of the page.  Click on the ‘navigate’ icon and it will pop down; you can click on different categories and months to search for past posts.  I plan to implement a calendar in the future if i can find some missing code for it.

Also, there are now some little icons at the top of each post for aesthetic appeal.

If you’ve got any ideas of things you’d like to see, let me know and i’ll see what i can do.  I hope you all like it and thanks for being such dedicated readers!

-wil

-wil

p.s. click here to see the site i set up for my friend and bask in the beauty of my creation… =D

Update: The new look probably won’t take place until after christmas… you know how the season goes …

it’s been a while since i’ve been on to post… well, here i am.

I’ve actually been getting myself into some pretty interesting things lately.  Besides becoming more and more involved with work every day, i am doing things online and spiffing out my computer.

I’ve been testing some new deployment at work lately (the way we delegate tasks and where we put which people to provide top efficiency… i don’t know if you’ve ever met me, but i am quite efficient).  After some testing i talked with my team at Starbucks and we are all trying it out and it seems to be working!  We have become quicker in the mornings which is easing up on everybody’s stress level.  We are a happier group and are more capable to serve our customers.  It feels good to add something that people seem to be taking in a positive way.  wahoo!

My aunt contacted me and the rest of my family about creating a website for us to use as a communication medium.  I’ve been working on that a lot but have come across some issues when creating the tutorials.  For some reason, i can’t get my microphone to pick up my voice very well… so the sound is very quiet.  If people get involved, it could be a great way for us to all communicate and comment to each other… simple and accessible everywhere.  I hope to get it fully up and running by the end of next week.  high hopes!

And lastly… i’ve been working on my computer (for the last two days straight…including about 12 hours today) to install a new operating system.

Apple OS X is fine and some people really like it… but that is not me.  I watched many people around me getting new mac books and macbook pros and i would react with enthusiasm.. that was mainly for the hardware… i couldn’t really care less about the operating system.  I just don’t really like looking at and using it.  …so i switched.

I am now fully functioning on ubuntu (oo-boon-too).  Ubuntu is a linux operating system. which means it is totally free (including every program ever created for this type of operating system) and completely modifiable (including every program ever created for this type of operating system).  It is clean and totally unbloated like windows… and much prettier and compatible with things than apple.  so, i installed it and wouldn’t you know it, this operating system has trouble communicating with the type of wireless card in my powerbook (broadcom).  so i spent all day looking, researching, testing and restarting trying to solve this problem.. and i did.  i am surfing the web using my wireless card as i type!!  the second problem i came across were for the drivers for my touchpad… but a bit of editing of the configuration file was all it took and i am proud to say that i fixed a couple of minor problems and have a smooth running and beautiful operating system here.  Here is a screenshot of how clean and simplistic it is:

Here’s to happy computing!!

(bill… i know how disappointed you probably are… we’ll talk later)

-wil

*update*

i’ve got the glitch under control right now.  and it should stay that way unless i decide to ‘tamper’ with it some more.  i don’t have comments under the ‘coffee requests’ page anymore.  instead of commenting, just email me… that way you can post your mailing address privately.

-simple