Introducing Fresh Blocks

john — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:28:11 +0000

It’s Official

I’ve started a web and mobile design/development company called Fresh Blocks. The focus is on creating either website design and web apps or iPhone and Android apps. I’ve been working under the name since earlier this year, and the the small site launched for the company.

The idea of Fresh Blocks came around during a moment of “Designer’s Block.” Where I was looking for fresh ideas to work with. Hence the name of the company being born. A lot of work went into making sure the name was viable as a brand. ThinkVitamin has a great article about choosing a name: What’s in a Name? What we’re trying to do is help individuals and businesses grow their online presence through the web and mobile web.

Here’s to new beginnings! Head on over and say hello to Fresh Blocks. Alternatively follow Fresh Blocks on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Further Education

I’ve also registered as a Special Status Student at Hawaii Pacific University for the Mobile Application Development course. This course will be focusing on teaching both iPhone and Android Application Development. I’m looking forward to enhancing my knowledge of both the iPhone and Android SDK.

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Amazon Kindle 2 and The Personal MBA

john — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:09:07 +0000

First of all, let’s get the disclaimer out. I am in not saying in any way shape or form that The Personal MBA is a replacement for an accredited MBA University program. Ok. Now with that out of the way, I pre-ordered the Amazon Kindle 2 shortly after it was announced on February 9th. I did receive it on February 24th and was able to queue up books to be delivered on first activation of the Kindle. I’m not going to review the Kindle 2 itself. For that you can read Engadget’s review or Gizmodo’s review.

The Personal MBA

The Personal MBA has a list of 77 recommended books. And that’s what I am going to go through. As a freelancer and entrepreneur, Business Management is something of extreme value to me. And going to Business School for an MBA right now is not an option. Even so, I am one of those people who like to consistently be learning something new. And with the Personal MBA, I am learning how to better run my Freelance business.

A Kindle?

I originally wanted to get the Kindle for a few other reasons. These reasons are:

Being “green” or “environmentally friendly”
Ability to carry multiple books without the added weight.
Taking notes and wireless downloading

When researching if the Kindle would be a good fit for the Personal MBA, the main concept was the availability of the 77 Books in Kindle format. After going through the list, I found that 39 of the 77 books are available in Kindle format. Which means that 38 books are not. That’s 1 book over half. 2 if you count that one of the books is 37 Signals’ Getting Real, which is available for free reading online.

Cost

The cost of the Kindle vesrion of the books are not considerably cheaper than the paperback versions. If you are looking at hardcover books though, then it is a pretty penny. While, the cost is a pretty big deal for me as a freelancer, space was more of an issue. I have a fairly small office and having 77 books in addition to Web Design and Development books can get a bit out of control. It is important to remember that the Kindle itself costs $359 alone.

Conclusion

Overall, I am very happy to see that a large portion of the Personal MBA’s recommended books are available in Kindle format and have found reading on the Kindle to be very comfortable and easy use. I have also managed to convert a few PDF books to Kindle format and will discuss those in a future entry related to using the Kindle 2 as a Web Designer and Developer’s research tool.

What are your thoughts on the Kindle as a Freelance tool?