ShareThis

You may or may not have already noticed the latest update I've made to this blog's template. As I stated earlier, I've grown so tired of the crappy articles that make Digg's front page that I decided to remove the "Digg It" widget from my blog (the one on the right of this post is just an image.)

However, I have not sworn off Social Bookmarking altogether, and I want it make it easy for you social bookmarkers out there to tell people about my blog! So, I've added a new feature, the ShareThis icon you see at the bottom of every post. From here you can not only add the article you're reading to Digg, but to Reddit, Facebook, del.icio.us, Technorati and about 20 other social bookmarking sites as well as post it to Blogger, Wordpress, Twitter, etc. or email/txt it to a friend. Enjoy and USE PROFUSELY!

Where have we been?

Well we have made a discovery. Did you know that if you are bent over and sneeze that it is possible to throw your back out? It is possible and it happened to me last Monday. I spent 2 days laying in bed unable to work. My chiropractor has me straightened out and I am finally caught up with the rest of me life. So back to posting I go. You will see our daily posts today and forever more.

April

Grinn Blog Turns 100!

I just realized that the Daily Link Roundup from January 21st was our 100th post! Yay for us! And yay for you! Yay for blogs! I think I'll have a celebratory beer.

Top 5 Articles of 2007

2007 has been a great year for the Grinn Blog. We've had some great feedback from all of you, and launched two new series articles, This Weekends Tech Deals, and Historic Tech from Today. But the articles that keep you guys coming back are exactly the ones we wanted this blog to be all about: The articles that help you be more productive with your tech, and keep the tech from keeping you down! With that I bring you a review of the top 5 most popular articles of 2005:

1. Incorporate Google Calendar Into Outlook
Published way back in April of 2006, this still remains our most popular article. It is a detailed how-to for syncing your Google Calendar with Microsoft Outlook using a program called Remote Calendars.

2. Add to Google Calendar by Talking Into Your Cell
You guys sure like your Google Calendars. This article introduces our Jott2GCal application that allows you to add (and now retrieve) Google Calendar events using the popular Jott service. Since then Jott has released their own Google Calendar implementation, but you guys seem to like ours, so we'll keep developing it!

3. Your Connection to the Server Has Been Lost
We had a problem and had a heck of a time finding the solution. So, when we did resolve the issue, we posted about it to share that solution with you. This article serves to correct the infamous "Your connection to the server has been lost" issue with Battlefield 2142, and apparently it serves it's purpose well because it claims the #3 spot on our list.

4. How to Fix the Azureus Disk Read Error
Yet another case of us sharing in an issue. We found a compatibility issue between the popular P2P application Azureus and Google Desktop. Here, we tell you the simple measures you can take to resolve this issue.







5. 10 REALLY Weird Instructables
If you have yet to visit "The world's biggest show-and-tell", instructables.com, you should start with our list of the wierdest. Does anyone else find a list making the list of our 5 most popular articles a little ironic?

Minor Redesign

If you're a regular subscriber to the Grinn Productions Projects Blog, you've probably noticed the recent changes to the site. These were designed to make it easier to read, to help popularize the blog, and to make our ads more appealing. Here's what we've done:

• Increased the width of the contents of the blog by about 40%.
• Rearranged our advertisements to more readily accessible positions.
• Changed the color scheme of our ads to be more noticeable (but hopefully not a nuisance.)
• Added Digg buttons to the top of each post.
• Added the "Subscribe to this blog" link to the right of the post.
• Added an "Email this Post" link to the footer of each blog entry.

There are a few more minor changes scheduled for later this week, including subscribe buttons for Google Reader, Bloglines, netvibes, and subscribing via email.

What tricks have you used to help promote your blog and increase your ad clicks?

Welcome to the Fam!

We've recently hired several new developers which we just realized we never announced!

Greg Bean - An uncageable intellect, Mr. Bean got into programming at a young age because his dad was a programmer, so Greg has been programming custom sockets since his youth. When I went in for our initial interview at the local coffee shop, I passed Greg reading on the stairs and thought to myself, "Man, wouldn't it be cool to work with that guy? There's no way he's a programmer, though." Greg doesn't just think out of the box, he lives outside of it: The perfect addition to the Grinn Productions team.

Brett Kirkland - Although we were initially concerned about Brett being able to give our projects ample attention while working as the Senior System Developer for a certain well-known soft drink manufacturer and tending to his wife and four kids -- Brett has proved himself by hitting the ground running. His code is wonderfully crafted with artful precision. We thank you for being here, Brett!

Dallas Moore - The newest addition to our team, Dallas been programming since before most .NET developers graduated from High School. Being "in the game" for such a long period of time has given Dallas an honest, no-nonsense view of software development as a whole. We're sure there are invaluable lessons for all of us to learn from you, Dallas.

Hiring... Again

We're a small software development firm out of Atlanta, GA specializing in web-based applications. We're currently looking for another .Net developer to work on contract with us, from home.

We work on a lot of seriously cool apps and are always looking for developers who like to think out of the box and who understand the importance of doing the job right.

We can give you from 20 to 40 hours a week of work. Please, only inquiries within the US and preferably local to Atlanta. If you're an Atlanta local, please specify so in your email. Also, you must speak fluent English and have at least 4 years experience with the following:

- ASP.Net (in VB) developing web applications
- Advanced JavaScript
- MS SQL (Including Stored Procedures and Functions)

...And some experience with the following:

- VB.Net in Web Forms for Smart Client development
- C# development of libraries and controls
- Cooking (just kidding.)


If you consider programming an art form, please drop us a line.

Now Hiring!

We're currently looking for a new .Net developer to work on contract with us. They must be flexible with the number of hours they can give us as it may vary from 40 hours a week to four hours a month. In most cases you'd be able to work from home. Please, only apply if you live in the Atlanta area. If anyone out there is looking for such work, you can contact us using the link on our main page. Here's the official posting:

I'm looking for someone in the Atlanta area to outsource some work to; Mostly web apps and on the .Net Framework.
Please only contact me if you can be flexible with the amount of time you can give me, and have extensive experience with the following:

• ASP.Net (in VB) to develop web applications
• Advanced JavaScript
• MS SQL (Including Stored Procedures and Functions)

...And some experience with the following:

• VB.Net in Web Forms for Smart Client development
• C# development of libraries and controls
• Working in a closed time-table

The work's pay will vary dependant on your experience, but should be somewhere around $30/hr. If things work out a permanent position may be available.