06
Feb 09

Cheap Vinyl Cutting

Running multiple businesses and being friends with similar people we all know how expensive it is to have any sort of signs made. We’re very much do-it-yourself kind of people, so we bought a vinyl cutter.

First off, this thing was cheap. We shopped around and found a cutter from US Cutters on eBay (don’t buy from their website). After negotiating my own shipping the end price door to door was around $505. Not too shabby for a 36″ vinyl cutting monster.

The cutter itself is about 50″ long and it comes with a stand. Along with the tiny little cutting blades there is a pen plotting attachment that you can use to draw with.

We’ve cut a few things already, mostly stuff for Rob’s farm as you will see in the pictures.

Applying vinyl is pretty straight forward as long as you think things through in advance. It’s really sticky and once it’s on whatever surface you are using it’s not really coming off without being destroyed.

Anyway, with the amount we spent it’ll save us a fortune in sign making costs. Since cutting a few yards of vinyl ourselves will cost about $4/yard and having a shop do it would cost 10 times that.


02
Feb 09

Here, Take My Personal Info, PLEASE!

Many people, and a lot of my friends, complain about their “private data” being made known to large companies. Facebook, Rogers, and other huge companies constantly get flak for collecting personal information about their clients. But they do this to make advertising and your overall user experience MORE RELEVANT. Sears however, sucks at this:

searsfail1

This is a prime example of why I don’t care if a company has my demographic information. It’s not even that personal. Hell, there needs to be some sort of “OpenCookie” standard where I can plant a cookie in my browser that says I’m 23, male, and from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada so that the next time I search for coffee equipment I’m not being hit with bra advertisements that are completely irrelevant to me.


02
Feb 09

CSS Frameworks

I’m going to start developing sites using a CSS framework. I’ve read lots of arguments for and against and I feel like I won’t be delving into super complicated content anytime soon and therefore a prebuilt framework should speed things up a lot.

That’s really the goal that myself and Rob and going for, speed. We’re aiming to create inexpensive, customized, and well designed websites for small businesses and organizations. In order to keep prices down and profits up that means we need to be fast. I think that using a CSS framework will help me out.

I watched Yahoo’s YUI introduction video by Nate Koechley and it taught me a lot. Yes I have to submit to their div names and whatnot but I think it’ll speed things up.


27
Jan 09

Robert Munsch

I just finished watching The Hour, Canada’s great pop culture news show on CBC. Tonight they interview Robert Munsch, one of my favourite authors from childhood. On the show they are giving away a signed copy of Love You Forever, also one of my favourite and first books my mom would read to me. Here’s hoping I get it!

The Hour


24
Jan 09

Free Community WiFi Routers Available!

wifilogoI put up the PayPal page for our Free WiFi Project. Now anyone is able to easily order a router from us.

I made the “executive” decision to start calling each device a Community Router. Alternatively you could say Community HotSpot or Community Node, just throw Community in there because that’s what it’s all about ;)

Whether you want to help out at home or work you can order a community router on our website for $60. We’ll send you a box in the mail with instructions and everything you need to get started.

Tell your friends and let’s get Edmonton connected!


Edmonton Computer Repair