Dennis Winn

Very Promising. Only $100. Currently limited to the Watch Now category, but has huge potential. Give me HD quality New Releases with On Demand features and I’m-all-in. Stay posted.

We launched another website today: psiseminars.com. This was a very efficient and well planned project. The launch was within the expected timeline, scope creep was managed successfully with one change order, and project budget was right on.

The company is another self-help type company who holds seminars throughout the nation and Canada for those who want to discover their inner potential. We get a lot of these types of clients since people know that we design and develop a half-dozen-or-so websites for Tony Robbins and his various companies.

We launched another website a few months back: primalchemy.com, a Long Beach caterer company. Another good looking site - one of the last designs by Mario Puig for jloop.

I’m a big fan of The Office sit-com on NBC. I can’t seem to get any of my family or friends to watch an episode, but here in the world of jloop, we’re all fans and usually talk about the week’s episode over a Chipotle burrito on Fridays. I think we’d all be fans even if Brian Baumgartner (Kevin Malone character on the show) wasn’t good friends with Jay, but it seems to make being fans even enjoyable when we hear some of the background and inside stories on how his character is becoming more-and-more like himself. Still waiting for some type of memorabilia to hang around our office though Brian. *cough* emmy.

Hands Down, the best episode of the Office last night: Goodbye Toby. They saved the best for last, and this (delayed by writers strike) season’s finale did not dissapoint. Ryan gets arrested for fraud, Toby leaves the office (I’ve heard rumors about a spin-off show?). And much more I won’t spoil in case you are waiting to watch later on your DVR.

It really gets good when Dwight introduces Kevin as the “special” employee to Toby’s new HR replacement. Btw, also Michael’s new crush. She starts paying special attention to Kevin because she thinks he is “slow”. The best is when Kevin turns to the camera and claim’s he will “hit that!”.

See the full episode here:
http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/video/episodes.shtml

Here’s the YouTube video of Ryan getting arrested:
http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/video/#mea=252007

‘Nuff said

My second-favorite vending machine ever is redbox DVD rental. You know, that red DVD vending machine you see in all the Albertsons grocery stores.

So here’s my scenario: THERE WILL BE BLOOD is released on DVD and I am stuck with two movies at home from netflix that my wife, Nicole wants to see. Darn, not only am I a week away from either her watching one of those two flicks, or to a point where she admits defeat and allows me to send them back, but it seems once I pass on a new release Tuesday from Netflix I could be seeing a ‘Long Wait’ at the top of my queue for months. So I decided to test out the touch screen on a redbox to see if this Academy Award nominated for best picture of the year flick is available through this gizmo on a first week release and YES, it’s available. SCORE! So how much is it I wonder. A buck, are you cereal? So what’s the catch? A swipe of the credit card, enter an email address and whah-lah, a DVD finds its way through a slot and the screen goes back to its default welcome screen. So where’s my receipt I wonder? A quick check of my email in the parking with my iPhone shows my rental receipt and explains other great benefits of renting DVDs from redbox.

• I can return the DVD to any redbox machine. As of now, it appears they have machines in every Albertsons grocery store, which is enough by me, but the website includes an option to search McDonalds locations only, which makes me think this could be BIG soon. This was one of my frustrations with Blockbuster - they have one on every, umm, scratch that, they had one store on every corner but yet you couldn’t return rentals from one store to another. In fact, if you every had an oversight and returned a rental to the wrong location, it would take several days to be notified and would be charged many, if not tens-of, dollars in late fees for returning a DVD to a different blockbuster. (Even though at one point there were four different stores in all directions the same distance away).
• You can check availability online. Not only that, you can rent a DVD online and go pick it up. It’s not as cool as viewing on demand, but were talking about a buck, even the scarce iTunes rentals are more expensive than that. I’m not even going to mention the very limited selection of Netflix’s Instant libray.

So, after reading through my online information because I am stoked on this concept. I see an offer for a FREE rental: enter my email address and get a free rental. Well, I already gave you my info so sure, here it is again. Sure enough, I receive an instant gratification message with a promo code of BREAKROOM to receive my next rental free.

A week rolls around and I keep hearing about how funny the newly released movie Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is. I find myself driving by an Abertsons and I remember the pending promotion I have available. (I’m not even an Albertsons regular - we shop at Trader Joes). So I go in to check it out, but wait, there is a line to this vending machine. Oh no, are other people aware of how great this thing is? Will my newest source of New Release DVDs be quickly depleted? I stand there patiently as a young lady peruses through the movies available changing screens more times than I care to watch as she makes her selections, then repeatedly has to swipe her card to complete the transaction. And another lady in front of me who is returning a movie. Thank god, a quicker process.

So, I test my promo code and it works, another score. Search for my movie of choice Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and again SCORE, its available at my favorite price, FREE! I was so pleased with my redbox experience I am spending the time to write this endorsement (that probably nobody actual reads) instead of watching my free flick.

(btw, my first-fav is Heineken beer vending machine in Amsterdam).

I started twittering a few months ago. I even have a few followers. Half the office at jloop does. But what really grabbed my attention on how powerful this tool has quickly become was reading a report on USA Today about how the Tibetan protesters utilized the latest communication technology that combines the net with cell phone text messaging to keep updated in real time as the Olympic torch route was diverted with unplanned detours.

source: USA Today

Update at 5:32 p.m. ET: Prompted by cell phones, text messages, IMs, Twitter and blogs, anti-China demonstrators are beginning to arrive along the new route. Police are now pushing back protesters as the procession begins its stroll toward the Golden Gate Bridge.

Update at 5:55 p.m. ET: One Twitter poster reports seeing a torch bearer pull out a Tibetan Flag and have the flame taken away, apparently by Olympic officials.

**************Added 4/21/08*************
Credit to my associate and long time friend, Jimmy, aka noinput who posted this on his blog: http://www.twittearth.com/

Nice find Jimmy, this shit is sick!

Today Best Buy announced they are taking care of their customers who bought HD DVD Players from them by offering a $50 gift card; a bonus birthday gift from Best Buy. Between the $50 - $70 I will receive from my eBay auction, plus the $50 gift card, my loss ($180) is quickly shrinking and I am now fine with the death of HD DVD. I don’t think I will jump on the BluRay bandwagon anytime soon however. I do enjoy watching movies in HD quality, but will have to wait til the players drop below $200 before going down that road again. And that will probably happen once BluRay technology is threatened by an instant download option.

WOW! FREE information assistance from your phone. The number is not as short and simple as the former 411: add 1-800, part of a name you cant forget these days “GOOG” along with three numbers Synonymous with information, 411, and you get free information from your phone. This service doesn’t just connect your call, you can also request to receive the information as a text message or even a map of the area you are calling about.

I’m not exactly sure when this Google service became available. I just heard about it over the weekend. 411 calls, at 50 cents an inquiry have been forbidden in my house since I was a teenager. But I will definitely give this new FREE version a try next time I need to order take out - especially for the times I’m driving and cant look up the information in Google maps on my iPhone.

check it out: http://www.google.com/goog411/

Here at JLOOP we launched two new website projects recently that I had the pleasure of working on as the role of project manager:

http://www.earthfolio.net/
A socially responsible (green) investment portfolio product - you know, do good for the planet while your Benjamin’s earn you more wealth.
It’s a pretty cool all-flash website with some awesome diorama imagery. Ask me about the cool ‘hunter’ easter egg.

http://www.hsihealth.com/
A company that provides services for air medical providers; flight center, process and accounting software solutions. It’s a html / flash hybrid website with clean design and layout, nothing too fancy here.