The piece started as a digital and I found the idea of a physical hand manipulating directly suited the concept better so I started with the oil pastels. It currently has two layers of oil pastel with workable fixative between each layer.  I have also had my wife help on it, setting some ground rules of course…neither of us could critique the others contributions, neither of us could get upset if our contribution was modified without consent, etc.

It should be interesting to see how the piece ends up when finished.

While “browsing” (yes, some of us still browse the internet) I came across some interesting trends. I use a wonderful Firefox plugin called Morning Coffee which allows you to add various pages to the plugin, set what days you can actually open them and then open them together with the click of a button. It allows me to stay up on my news, television, and more every morning I choose easily.

So anyway, I have Mashable, ReadWriteWeb, CMSWire, and some others on my Morning Coffee. This morning I came across 11 article related titles just on two home pages. That isn’t counting other sites, other recent articles not appearing on the home page and I’m sure tons more.

If you think social media isn’t for you and your business, think again. With this much exposure on just one social network, “social” is alive and well…even if the web is dead.

Last year saw the likes of Drupal, WordPress, Plone and ImpressCMS in the winner’s circle and this year promises to be even better. New categories and new names are sure to impress surprise and hopefully delight.

Nominations begin today, August 9, 2010 for the Open Source Awards.

Some New, Some Old Open Source Categories

• Open Source CMS
• Hall of Fame CMS
• Most Promising Open Source Project
• Open Source E-Commerce Applications
• Open Source JavaScript Libraries
• Open Source Graphics Software

Look for big things from the “Most Promising Open Source Project,” this could spell future trends in the industry. Don’t overlook the other new categories such as Open Source E-Commerce Applications and Graphics Software, though, which simply add to an already prestigious award.

Predictions

Look for Drupal, Joomla and WordPress to dominate much of the Open Source CMS portion of the awards, but others such as ImpressCMS, Plone, and possibly even Magnolia may show their worth as well (much the same as last year).

Magento and ZenCart are likely to be mentioned at least in the E-Commerce category, while Gimp is sure to show up in the Graphics Software category.

Whether any of these predictions are correct will have to wait to be seen. One thing is for certain though, this year promises to be the biggest and hopefully the best Open Source Awards from PacktPublishing to date. Stay tuned to see if predictions are accurate and if your favorite Open Source project makes the list.

Timeline of the Awards

• August 9 | Nominations Open
• September 17 | Nominations Close
• September 27 | Voting Begins
• November 5 | Voting Ends
• November 15 | Winners Announced

Check out PacktPub for more information on rules and prizes.

Check out details here.

Aside from the aforementioned items, the WordPress admin interface received yet another makeover.  With a cleaner, prettier interface navigating the admin side won’t seem so tiresome and distracting.

Additional improvements include API extensions for custom backgrounds, headers, menus, shortened links, and more.

Check out the video for more information!

TextFlow already offers the ability to compile, organize, and manage input from others on a particular document, set of documents, etc.  With the recent release of TextFlow for Google Apps, Nordic River has also increased functionality and productivity with the direct integration into Google Docs, Google Wave and more.  But that only scratches the surface of where this Sweden-based company plans on taking TextFlow.

TextFlow’s Origins

The burning question in my mind in the evolution of TextFlow, following the release of it on Google Apps, was…Where does TextFlow fit in to the growing mobile device world? With the changes, rumors, suppositions, and more regarding the iPad and other mobile technology, software and SaaS companies need to consider how to change with the technology.

When asked, Tomer stated it was interesting I should ask that question.  In the early development of TextFlow much of the theoretical beginnings started with an idea originating with Jef Raskin, the early creator of the Mac.  Raskin talks about the idea of a “verbless interface.”  Currently we work (particularly in word processing) in a manner involving a text selection followed by a verb selection (ie: we highlight a portion of text, then choose a verb to apply to it such as bold, underline, etc.)  The idea of the verbless interface removes one step from that process.  This is also a basis for mobile, touchscreen technology like the iPhone.

Now take that and apply it to TextFlow.  TextFlow was designed from the start with the idea of a verbless interface.  Think about the iPhone and the simplicity with which you can navigate, be productive, be social, and much more through the use of the touchscreen and the ideas and concepts which it was designed around.  Now consider TextFlow’s interface and how it functions.  The two almost seem made for each other.

If you haven’t seen TextFlow in action, check out the video here.

What all this means is that Nordic River is already one step ahead of the competition when it comes to being ready for going mobile with something like TextFlow because it was developed with the concepts touchscreen technology and interfacing in mind.  Now it’s just a matter of time before TextFlow is offered as a mobile app.

More to come from Nordic River and TextFlow

Aside from already being in the race for a mobile app, Nordic River has a list of plans for the future of TextFlow (which Tomer has kept us abreast of) that make it easy to see why, in just a short time, they have already taken global notice.

• Additional functionality and compatibility with MS Word and Google Docs such as notes, footnotes, numbered lists, and fields
• New document navigation widgets
• The ability to work within tables fully whereas now there is limited ability to work with tables
  Additional “Whiteboard” functionality in the form of personal notes, suggestions, etc. making TextFlow a veritable digital brainstorming tool as well
• A stand-alone desktop version with seamless integration with the same services offered through the app version as well as the ability to access the app version as well through your browser when mobile or directly through the stand-alone.
• Additional Word integration and functionality including one-click to start Word and a Word plug-in
  The ability to compare and create PDF’s

Considering the recent release on Google Apps, the guys at Nordic River are certainly not sitting on their hands awaiting the next big thing.  They are developing the next big thing.

Additional functionality, extended integration, and the core design structure to move directly into mobile apps without the need for a total overhaul are what is making TextFlow a standard of operation for many companies from the enterprise level on down.  Let’s hope they can keep up the momentum.

A quick thank you to Tomer Shalit of Nordic River for providing the above information on the future of TextFlow and to Adair Ahlers and Brooke McKinney of BlastMedia for facilitating.

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• Nordic River Partners with Box.net to Offer Input Management for Shared Documents (eon.businesswire.com)

According to Scott McMullan, Google Apps Partner Lead for Google Enterprise, “With TextFlow, Nordic River adds a unique tool to the rapidly growing number of innovative solutions available in the Google Apps Marketplace.  Through the Google Apps Marketplace, solutions such as TextFlow are helping us to build a rich ecosystem of integrated apps that work seamlessly with each other. TextFlow is a great example of how users who require professional document review can leverage the benefits of cloud computing and meet more of their business needs. We are happy to offer TextFlow to the millions of Google Apps users who have embraced the cloud.”

Not only does Scott’s statement hold true with the productivity possibilities of TextFlow, it barely scratches the surface.  Nordic River has added some additional functionality to TextFlow using the Google Apps platform.

Features of TextFlow for Google Apps

• Direct Integration with Google Docs – Leverage not only your documents but your collaboration through an easy to use, web-based interface that you are potentially already using in part.
• Still Adobe AIR Based – TextFlow is still AIR based and will run the same way it did before, but will allow for increased productivity with Google Docs integration, no need to email documents (you can share them directly now), and more…all housed in one convenient, lightweight location.

Aside from the above changes, Nordic River previously had also addressed the issues of TextFlow only being able to handle limited length files as well as some issues with Microsoft Word compatibility since its original release in 2009.

It seems that Nordic River is pushing the envelope on document collaboration as well as the concepts behind cloud computing and business productivity.  By creating a SaaS based collaboration tool and then working with Google to make it available through Google Apps and thereby utilize other productivity options already in place, they have set the stage for the future of collaborating.

Check out the video to see TextFlow for Google Apps in action.