WorkSpace - WorkSpace Community

Meet the MINI Yaletown Maniac

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 12:25:18 -0800

In our promotional video "Do you love your MINI?" we were searching for the MINI Yaletown Maniac. This all started about 10 weeks ago when we went to work with MINI Yaletown , the local MINI Cooper dealer, to create a video for their site. We brought up the idea of having a testimonial video from a MINI owner since we know that MINI Cooper drivers are VERY proud of their cars. So we created the MINI Yaletown Maniac contest where candidates would write in why they deserved the title of MINI Yaletown Maniac.

Am I Crazy: Chronicles of an Entrepreneur Part 8

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:00:28 -0700

What a crazy few months. I have been wearing a lot of hats lately. I redesigned the new website (www.kelvintools.com) which was quite a chore learning the whole process. I even added online shopping. In the end I can say that I got close, but there is a reason people are experts at this stuff.

Jesus saved me...literally. Jesus is a friend of mine from Argentina that does web design, and he took the mess I created and made it work.

New look for affordable online video productions in Vancouver

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:17:12 -0700

Biz Pod Interactive appears with a new look on the web and integrates its look and feel with the recently produced print brochure. The revisited website is easy to navigate and features an interesting showcase, showing three different forms of how to incorporate online videos within your organization.

Your chances to grab your customers, investors or staffs attention with a short online movie clip is much higher than other traditional forms of communicating.

I believe that watching online short videos on a computer is only the start. The trend to receive and watch short video clips on your iphone, blackberry or G1 will continue and grow rapidly. Higher bandwidths, better displays and fixed download amounts included in your subscription from you mobile provider will help this development.

With more and more people using smart phones and other portable video playing devices these videos are a very efficient way to reach your audience anytime and any where.

"The trend will continue", said one of the key decision makers from the biggest mobile provider in Switzerland, that I talked to while being here. "To carry the iphone", he said, "is a must have, something that our customer want and we just have to offer!"

And yes! I witnessed this with my own eyes in Switzerland: The usually very calm Swiss people lining up in front of the stores, trying to get one of these fancy devices and going nuts playing with their new toy.

Web resource: http://www.biz-pod.net

WorkSpace Launches New Workshop Series in October

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 03:13:13 -0700

Announcing the WorkSpace B3 series designed to help you Build a Better Business -- Presented by WorkSpace Cafe and MindHeap Technology. This October we present the first sessions in both our business and technology tracks hosted at the WorkSpace Cafe on the Gastown waterfront in Vancouver, BC.

Visit EventBrite to see all WorkSpace B3 Events or to purchase tickets for this event.

From the WorkSpace B3 October Technical Track:

WorkSpace B3 Scalability Workshop

October 21, 2008 - 9:00AM to 4:30PM

Many companies tackle scalability and performance when it is already too late to avoid embarrassingly bad performance or damaging downtime. Both should instead be part of your process from day one.

The Globe and Mail Tackles Co-Working

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 08:27:12 -0700

In Wednesday's two-page spread about the concept of co-working, The Globe and Mail Travel Section turned to WorkSpace General Manager Dane Brown for advice and comment on the topic. After all, Dane was one of the first brave pioneers of co-working and the caretaker of Vancouver's premier open work environment.

If you can't find the full print copy, or wrangle a copy from Dane, see the shorter online version on the Globe and Mail website.

Global carbon market gets interactive

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:36:52 -0700

Biz Pod Interactive was contracted by the British High Commission to film and produce a session on the global carbon market at the Globe 2008 conference in Vancouver, BC.

Experts from North America and Europe came together at the Globe 2008 to explain the implications of emissions trading in Canada and, more importantly, how companies can prepare for the inevitable pricing of carbon. This session was hosted and moderated by the British High Commission.

Vancouver Ruby/Rails Meetup at WorkSpace Tonight (Sept. 8, 2008)

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:04:06 -0700

The Vancouver Ruby/Rails Meetup is being held tonight at WorkSpace from 7PM until 9PM.

Topic:
New Ruby Patterns: Tools to improve your code. Reduce code clutter. Increase readability.

Description:
Sunny Hirai, founder and CEO of MeZine Inc., a successful and profitable Internet company, will be presenting several Ruby patterns, many of which you've never seen before. These patterns will make your Ruby code cleaner, easier to read and more powerful. If you like discovering new ways to make your code better, you will enjoy this in depth discussion.

Presentation includes free handouts of the patterns and how to use them.

Why am I here, not there, for a bit

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:34:57 -0700

I decided to go to Vancouver. Since I knew I would not be able to part from work, due to both external and internal pressures, I decided on a workation. How long this goes on depends on how well it works out. I'll try to explain the potential benefit of nomadic work.

This is cross-posted from prototype

Working from a new place

Some people find meaning in religion, others in children, I tend to find meaning in meeting people. I find it so wonderful to, even for just a couple hours, talk to a new person and see how similar our concerns and passions are. I feel in this instance that I am not so alone, possibly not so much myself either. Better than just meeting is working. Working with new people is probably the most meaningful thing I could do. To build a working relationship and have a tangible outcome is a thrill. Working cuts small talk to the cracks of conversation and focuses my mind, and other people on a shared concern or task.

BC Hydro Power Outage in Gastown

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:50:36 -0700

There is currently a power outage affecting Gastown and WorkSpace. The BC Hydro website shows an ETA of 10AM for repairing the outage and the status of the outage can be viewed on their website.

Looking for Senior Java Developer contractor

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:18:33 -0700

Open position for a short-term contract (2-4 months) for a Senior Java Developer. The work is mostly back-end data processing and pipeline development using the following technologies:

PostgreSQL
ActiveMQ / Camel / JMS
Spring
Solr / Lucene

You must have experience working with larger data sets and a proven track record.

Work will be performed from WorkSpace in Gastown.

Please reply with resume, hourly rate expectation, code samples, and any other interesting details. References will be required.

See the posting on TechVibes at http://www.techvibes.com/job/senior-java-developer-contract

New free chequing account - esp. good for travellers

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 09:36:49 -0700

An fyi if anyone's reviewing their banking options -
I won't pimp my bank often here (it's my awesome day job) but this is genuinely a kick-ass deal:

Free chequing account avail Sept 16
Unlimited point of sale
Unlimited online banking (bill payments etc)
Free cheques
no minimum balance
And
if you travel, the bank eats the int'l ATM charges (on our end. the other bank may still charge.)

Plus, the bank is carbon neutral, adheres to ethical policy, micro-credit lending term deposits, parent company is vancity etc. so a 'feel good' kinda bank.

It's an online bank: Citizens Bank of Canada
so you need to be comfortable with online banking (I'm guessing Workspace folks are!!).

Do you love your MINI?

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:57:29 -0700

Watch the video trailer at: www.minimaniac.ca

Biz Pod teamed up with MINI Yaletown for a local campaign for the fast and spunky 145.6cm long and 66.3cm high love on wheels of a hundreds of enthusiastic owners in and around Vancouver.

Many owners love their cars personality and character, call it passion in red and white and say it makes them feel like smiling every time they drive it! MINI Yaletown in Vancouver is looking for those passionate MINI drivers who want to share their story. Attractive prizes such as free gas, a detail package and MINI swag should encourage MINI lovers to share their passion with MINI Yaletown.

Biz Pod Inspires!

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:37:09 -0700

Along with InspireCanada! for new corporate videos

We teamed up with Inspire Canada! for a video project for BC Hydro. The videos, which were for internal distribution, featured BC Hydro employees depicting their own Power Smart ideas.

For this key project a short video element was needed that had a memorable impact and kept reminding the participants of that event.

We had to be flexible to create this video project with a different target in mind and tailor that production so it would perfectly fit that specific audience.

It is great to see that affordable video productions combined with our video downloading society, companies are now seeing how our services can connect them to their audiences like never before.

Meet the WorkSpace Staff and New Owners

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:38:25 -0700

Come meet the staff and new owners of WorkSpace and enjoy an evening of wine, snacks, conversation, Q&A and tours of WorkSpace. All rolled into one evening at WorkSpace in Gastown: August 14, 2008 from 5:30PM until 8:00PM.

WorkSpace is a shared work environment in downtown Vancouver. Our Gastown loft has meeting rooms, a lounge & a café surrounding a beautiful open concept work environment. We provide memberships (not leases) to independent professionals and small firms looking for a better place to work.

WorkSpace Wireless Network Revamp

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:56:37 -0700

Today we revamped part of the wireless network in WorkSpace to stabilize the wireless network. We introduced two main wireless access points that are part of the overall main network that also includes any hard-wired plugs. These new access points are:

"workspace-front" which is positioned near the coffee bar while "workspace-back" is near the back open area of WorkSpace. Both are on the same network and both can access the printer.