Our Latest Launch - Almond Board of California Health Professional Toolkit

This week we launched a simple and sweet mobile app for The Almond Board of California. The Health Professional Toolkit was built to provide and easy way for nutritionists to provide basic diet and tracking information to their patients. Using jQuery Mobile we created an adaptive web design that looks good and scales well regardless of your browser and screen size. Once you load the app, size the screen in any direction, and the app looks great. Don't take my word for it. Check it out!

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SquareUp: Runaway Success or Soon to be Has Been?

In a fit of late night careerdom I became enamored with a really cool personal payment tool called SquareUp. It's a card reader that's about 1"x1" that you plug into your mobile device. Using the free SquareUp app, you can now accept credit card payments for a low, low, 2.75% service fee per transaction. The best part? The car reader is FREE! I may never take a personal credit card payment ever, but just knowing that I can is pretty damn cool. If you owe me money, watch out! I now take Visa, MasterCard, and Amex.

At first I was completely blown away by SquareUp. I ordered one immediately, of course. I've since reconsidered. Once NFC becomes mainstream, SquareUp better be well poised to be the PayPal of mobile personal payments or they'll easily be passed over by integrated hardware services. Maybe not. Either way, pay up suckers!

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Our Latest Launch - Tervis Smart Cup

Recently we launched a unique and engaging campaign for Tervis Tumblers, everybody's favorite double walled insulated cup. The campaign brought to life both the Tervis lifestyle and the functional benefits of the Tervis Tumbler. Using the 3D panoramic platform KRpano, we built a series of immersive environments that really encouraged the consumer to engage and explore. Don't take my word for it, check it out!

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Our Latest Launch - Children's Hospital Colorado Heart Institute

Today we launched the first in a series of updates to the Children's Hospital Colorado Service Lines web site. This marked the launch of the new site for the Heart Institute. Sporting an overhaul of navigation, architecture, and look and feel, this is a huge step forward for CHC. Don't take my word for it! Check it out!

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Google Image Search Virus Leads to AV Showdown

The last few months we have seen a huge spike in viruses coming from Google Image Search. Our current solution just was not cutting it, so I took a day to test out some of the better known anti-virus programs. Here are the results:

- Microsoft Security Essentials: doesn’t block any virus sites, lets installer install and infects computers. Doesn’t catch virus if it’s in a USB. System down – Boo.

- Kaspersky: blocks about 20% of the viruses sites, allows installer to run and infect computer. Doesn’t catch virus if it’s in a USB either. System down – Boo.

- ESET NOD32: blocks all sites and infected downloads. Scans USB sticks for virus, but takes a little bit. If it has a virus on the stick, it will delete it. I can force the virus install if I really try, but it actively removes parts of the virus that send data, etc. during install. No real system downtime, but still need to manually remove a file so it doesn’t give an error at start-up – Very good, but a little room for improvement.

- Symantec Endpoint Protection: not only blocks sites with infected viruses, but actually bans the IP from their computer as well for one day (can be adjusted). Blocks infected downloads and bans IP from that as well. It doesn’t remove infected files from USB sticks, but at the same time it won’t allow the install at all like NOD32 did. No effect on the system at all – Very good and less room for improvement than NOD32!

Of course the above was just testing against the Google Image Search virus that is running rampant. If we take into account all aspects (computer resources used, track record for stopping viruses, as little user interaction as possible) there was one clear winner: ESET NOD32.

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Our Latest Launch - Calmacryingbaby.org

Today we launched an important informational site for Children's Hospital Colorado. Calmacryingbaby.org addresses the issue of  Shaken Baby Syndrome, serving as a prevention resource for parents and caregivers giving them the tools they need to stay cool and calm a crying baby without resorting to shaking. Shaken Baby Syndrome is a real problem, and this site aims to solve it. Click here to learn more.

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Favorite iPad App

One of the most common questions I get is "Matt, what are your favorite iPad apps?" This is a very difficult question to answer for a few reasons. The primary reason is the personal nature of the iPad. It's really meant to be a one man device. Unlike most modern day operating systems, the iOS was really not built for multi-user support. There is no way to setup multiple users that can access the device via unique logins which access unique profiles. The other reason is the personal nature of the apps I use. I tend to favor nerdier apps, apps that allow me to do my job, source code managers, remote desktop apps, file management apps, which most of the people who ask me would find no use for. That said, I think I can point to a single app that any iPad user will fund useful. AppStart for iPad is kind of like a guided tour of not only the iPad, but the world of tablet computing. It includes a ton of app recommendations for all sorts of purposes. It also explains how to do everything from printing to shopping to file management. All of the content is packaged in a very clean, user friendly, tablet-centric, touch interface. It even recommends The AppAdvice App if you seek more iPad app knowledge. Check it out!

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