Abouthttp://pingv.com/taxonomy/term/7/atom/feed2006-08-28T15:57:17-05:00 Our partners, resources and affiliationshttp://pingv.com/our-partners-resources-and-affiliations2008-06-25T11:26:03-05:002008-08-25T14:45:15-05:00John FialaWe are big proponents of the open source revolution that is sweeping the globe. This is about self-empowerment.
We design and build many of our websites using Drupal, which we've found to be an elegant, powerful and very flexible CMS. As beneficiaries of the hard work done there, we actively participate in the Drupal community.
Sponsor of DrupalCon Szeged 2008
Although we are not attending DrupalCon Szeged 2008, we support the Drupal community and the Drupal Association.
Platinum Sponsor of DrupalCon Boston 2008
We were proud and delighted to be Platinum Sponsors of DrupalCon Boston 2008.
We are proud to have been a featured sponsor of BlogHer 2006. Our involvement with BlogHer began in 2005, when we provided the official chatroom for BlogHer Conference '05. In 2006, we developed a new community website for the BlogHer Network, using Drupal.
As we grow, we hope to contribute more to these development efforts. ]]>Press Areahttp://pingv.com/about/press2008-06-13T15:23:35-05:002008-07-03T12:22:49-05:00jcfialapingVision in the Media
]]>About Ushttp://pingv.com/about2008-06-12T15:06:49-05:002008-09-12T11:07:42-05:00LauraThe most important asset any organization has is its people. It is their energy, enthusiasm, and light that gives an organization its life. Starting as a two-person firm in January 2006, pingVision’s ever-growing staff now stands at 15 16 professionals with diverse experience in programming, interactive design, software engineering, user experience design, 3D animation, video editing and compositing, DVD authoring, systems administration and website management.
Our growth is a reflection of our satisfied clients. The pingVision team thanks them all.
]]>pingVision wins design awardshttp://pingv.com/blog/laura/200705/pingvision-wins-design-awards2007-05-01T18:31:46-05:002007-07-13T00:17:12-05:00LauraToday we received word that two of our designs were award winners in the Horizon Interactive Awards.
The BlogHer community website, which we developed over a year ago, is a Gold Winner in the 2007 Blog category.
BlogHer was developed on Drupal 4.6. (We launched just before 4.7 was ready.)
The Horizon Interactive Awards press release states:
The 2007 competition saw nearly 1000 entries from 24 countries around world including: Australia, Canada, Chech Republic, Columbia, Croatia, Germany, Egypt, Spain, France, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, Taiwan and nearly all 50 of the United States. An international panel of judges, consisting of industry professionals with diverse backgrounds, evaluated 19 different categories ranging from online advertising to video games. The 2007 winning entries showcase the best developed interactive media solutions including web sites, CDs and DVDs, online ads, video and more.
“The 2007 competition was a fantastic display of creativity and effective communication blended with technical excellence,” said Mike Sauce, founder of the Horizon Interactive Awards. “Every year, it is amazing to see how designers and developers continue to innovate new and exciting ways for people to experience products, services, and ideas through interactive media.“...
...In its 6th year, the Horizon Interactive Awards was created to recognize excellence in interactive media production worldwide. Since 2001, the competition has received thousands of entries from 26 different countries and nearly all 50 US States. Each year, those entries are narrowed down to the best of the best to be recognized and promoted on and international stage for their excellence. For more information, visit http://www.horizoninteractiveawards.com.
We're delighted and honored to receive this recognition. Thank you, Horizon Interactive Awards!
]]>Why we support Net Neutralityhttp://pingv.com/blog/laura/200704/why-we-support-net-neutrality2007-04-26T17:23:48-05:002007-04-26T17:26:10-05:00LaurapingVision supports Net Neutrality.
We do so because, frankly, our business depends upon it. Our business model is all about designing and developing dynamic websites to help businesses, organizations, educational institutions, communities, individuals and governments to open up lines of communication, promote their wares, share their knowledge, exchange their views and engage in conversations. Anybody can have a website. Websites are valuable ... but only if they are accessible.<!--break-->
When we log onto the Internet, we take lots of things for granted. We assume that we'll be able to access whatever Web site we want, whenever we want to go there. We assume that we can use any feature we like -- watching online video, listening to podcasts, searching, emailing, and instant messaging -- anytime we choose. We assume that we can attach devices like wireless routers, game controllers, or extra hard drives to make our online experience better.
What makes all these assumptions possible is "Network Neutrality," the guiding principle that ensures the Internet remains free and unrestricted. Net Neutrality prevents the companies that control the wires bringing you the Internet from discriminating against content based on its ownership or source. But that could all change.
The biggest cable and telephone companies would like to charge money for smooth access to Web sites, speed to run applications, and permission to plug in devices. These network giants believe they should be able to charge Web site operators, application providers, and device manufacturers for the right to use the network. Those who don't make a deal and pay up will experience discrimination: Their sites won't load as quickly, their applications and devices won't work as well. Without legal protection, consumers could find that a network operator has blocked the Web site of a competitor, or slowed it down so much that it's unusable....
...What does that mean? It means we could be heading toward a pay-per-view Internet where Web sites have fees. It means we may have to pay a network tax to run voice-over-the-Internet phones, use an advanced search engine, or chat via Instant Messenger. The next generation of magical new inventions will be shut out of the top-tier service level.
Such developments away from Net Neutrality would stifle the very creativity that makes the internet the interesting, exciting and informative communications medium it is today. Whether we want the internet to become like television, with a limited amount of "channels," with a limited variety of content, is not a question I'd like to have to confront. We've done alright with the internet like it is so far. It's not by any means perfect, but at least it's free (as in freedom).
For more information, SaveTheInternet links to this video that explains Net Neutrality:
We'd really like to stay in business. We believe strongly in what we do. In developing websites using free open source software (Drupal), we feel we're helping to bring about a new vitality to the world of economics, communications, culture, politics and business. If our clients' websites are blocked or hindered by internet gatekeepers, then I don't think we'd be developing websites much longer. So yes, we support Net Neutrality ... for First Amendment reasons and for our own selfish business interests.
And we're not alone:
]]>A month of anniversarieshttp://pingv.com/blog/laura/200701/a-month-of-anniversaries2007-01-31T17:34:16-06:002008-01-05T11:23:17-06:00Laura
The thought of our past years in me doth breed
Perpetual benedictions.
-William Wordsworth, Intimations of Immortality
Two years ago
Wow. Two years ago we launched this pingVision site. Actually, as I write this, it was about two years and nineteen or so hours ago. I had been working with Drupal for several months at that point, helping people when I could and eventually parlaying that activity into some freelance work.
pingVision was the beginning of a formalization of that -- a shingle for a business partnership with my friend and colleague, Katherine Lawrence, as we contemplated a business plan incorporating Drupal web development, DVD authoring and other interactive media notions not yet ready for public discussion, into a coherent plan for world domination ... or at least a means to make a decent living.
Happy birthday, pingVision!
A year ago last week
We forged pingVision into a limited liability company a year ago last Wednesday. Alas, we had no birthday cake on hand -- too busy -- so we at the office just enjoyed memories of the seven-layer fudge cake we had for Drupal's fifth birthday the previous week.
Since that time a year ago, we've become a company of over ten people, which just boggles my mind. I had never dreamed of that a year ago. I'm humbled and thrilled, especially when I consider the caliber of people we have in our pingVision family.
Happy birthday, pingVision, LLC!
A year ago
A year ago, BlogHer launched. Time has flown by since then, and yet it seems like developing the BlogHer site happened a lifetime ago. Back then, I was the sole designer and the sole developer we had pingVision, and the experience drove home to me the importance of building a team. I really enjoy collaboration more than just sitting alone in front of the computer until the wee hours. And yet, while it was very hard to build that site pro bono while trying to find and complete paying client work, it was a project I delighted in working on. Today the BlogHer community is a wild success because of the energetic and insightful work of its founders and the bevy of outstanding Contributing Editors (of which [full disclosure] I am one, though I make no claim at being "outstanding").
Happy birthday, Blogher!
]]>In new officeshttp://pingv.com/blog/laura/2006/in-new-offices2006-12-04T16:47:23-06:002008-06-20T16:22:56-05:00LauraWe reached a new little milestone in our company today by moving into our new offices in downtown Boulder, Colorado. We took over 2/3 of the first floor of this building ... which doesn't seem like all that much space, now that we're here.
It's a vast improvement over the virtual office life, where work is always there, just a few steps from the kitchen and bedroom and television. For some, I suppose, working at home would provide too much temptation to goof off.
For me, it was just the opposite: I couldn't just stop working. The workday never ended. I'd be up at midnight, browsing through the latest module updates on Drupal.org or blogging or debugging some project in development -- usually with bleary eyes. It's not a healthy way to work. It's also not very sustainable.
No, having an office where you can work work work, and then close the door and go home and have a life away from work is a much better way to go.
Today, Katherine, Greg and I went out to lunch at the Rio Grande restaurant. It was a beautiful walk down the Pearl Street Mall on a gorgeous, sunny day.
The weather can change in a hurry. This past weekend we were moving in 3?F. weather, but just a few days ago, we had mid-60s sunshine and the office looked like this.
Gotta love Colorado.
]]>Boulder officehttp://pingv.com/image/about/boulder-office2006-11-22T10:29:15-06:002006-11-22T10:29:15-06:00LauraWe have a new office. We just signed the lease today.
]]>pingVision brings aboard Greg Knaddisonhttp://pingv.com/blog/laura/2006/pingvision-brings-aboard-greg-knaddison2006-08-29T01:03:51-05:002008-08-24T23:50:21-05:00LauraLast week pingVision brought on board Greg Knaddison as web developer and programmer, and we could not be more delighted.
Greg, an almost-"local" (currently based in Denver), has been contributing to Open Source projects since 1999. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School with a degree in Information Systems, Greg’s technology experience spans the gamut from profitability models built with Excel macros to web-based decision engines built on top of Oracle. He has worked for large firms, including Arthur Andersen and Price Waterhouse Coopers, as well as for Azure Solutions and Charter Communications.
After years of building web applications inside the intranets of the world’s telecommunications companies, Greg now creates interactive websites enabling easy publishing and community interaction. Greg (who is known on Drupal.org as "greggles") is an expert in Drupal, Linux, PHP, Python/Jython and MySQL.
Greg's personal interests include public policy, economics, travel, and outdoor adventures making Colorado a perfect home for global interests and exploration. When he's not typing away, Greg frequently heads to the mountains for skiing, mountain biking, and hiking. We hope that occasionally he'll drop by the office.
We are just thrilled to have such exceptional developers as Greg and Rich joining our family.
]]>Missing Little Sunshinehttp://pingv.com/blog/katherine/200608/missing-little-sunshine2006-08-28T15:20:23-05:002006-08-28T15:57:17-05:00katherineSo many Design Houses are are in Northern California or New York or Southern California. And these are great areas. We've all heard their nicknames - Silicon Valley (Northern California), Silicon Beach (Southern California, especially San Diego), Silicon Forest (Pacific Northwewst/Seattle), Silicon Desert (Utah), as well as I-128 (Boston), Research Triangle (North Carolina), and Silicon Mountain (Colorado). There are others, but the point is that the today there are opportunities for high technology to thrive in a multitude of locales.
pingVision chose Boulder, Colorado, as its home. There is something about the altitude and the climate; where 330 days of sunlight and blue skies that invites a kind of creativity that we find appealing. Then there is the University of Colorado at Boulder with its student population and environment of learning that makes Boulder an ideal place for our work.
Being so close to nature and recreation helps us recharge our psychic batteries through hiking, skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing, parasailing, mountain biking & road cycling, or just taking in so many mountains.
But it is the natural light that streams through the windows that adds brilliance to colors and details to textures.
As we grow, we will add other locations to serve our Clients, but Boulder will always hold a special place ... at least for me.
We are big proponents of the open source revolution that is sweeping the globe. This is about self-empowerment.
We are proud to have been a featured sponsor of BlogHer 2006. Our involvement with BlogHer began in 2005, when we provided the official chatroom for BlogHer Conference '05. In 2006, we developed a new community website for the BlogHer Network, using Drupal.
Wow. Two years ago we launched 
