bill.cava.us » ektron

ektron WROX Book

bill — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:46:12 +0000

Since it has been announced publicly, I can finally say– I’m writing a book! It’s titled The Ektron Users Guide: Building an Ektron Powered Website and I’m writing it along with Aniel Sud. It’ll be published by WROX Press later this year, so sign up on Amazon for alerts about the book and information about it as it becomes available. Here’s a early draft of the description:

In the Ektron User Guide, developers work through detailed steps as if building a comprehensive site for an fictional software company. Upon completion, developers will have a complete website for use as a template for other projects. Each technical section implements a specific facet of the site using the Ektron Framework and includes an in-depth explanation of the technology. The content requires no prior knowledge of the Ektron platform, however, developers already familiar with Ektron can use the book as a reference guide. Topics of interest include:

* The Ektron Architecture

* Installing the framework, software dependencies, and samples sites

* Creating the home page and main navigation

* Engaging the community and delivering content to multiple channels

* Implementing a social network

* Constructing a Storefront with eCommerce

* Launching and maintaining your site

New Job

bill — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:31:02 +0000

I just announced over on the DevCenter blog something that’s been cooking for the past couple– I have taken on a new role at Ektron as Chief Evangelist! What’s an evangelist? Glad you asked …

The State of Web Dev: An Exciting Time

bill — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 13:09:59 +0000

Over at ektron, we worked withÂ SitePointÂ on a survey of 5,000 web developers titledÂ The State of the Web Development 2006/2007Â (25-page free preview). The goal was to conduct the most comprehensive study to date of the web developer community. The results are available and show not only the state of the industry, but also some interesting trends. A number of bloggers are already commenting and extrapolating.

My personal favorite:Â Â

Ryan StewardÂ at ZDNet: “We’re in the middle of an exciting time. People are getting very creative about their content – how they want it, where they want it, and what they want to do with it. The technologies are finally here to turn some of those thoughts into tangible solutions.”

Helen Greiner’s Robots

bill — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 14:40:38 +0000

Last night I was at the 2006 New Hampshire High Tech Entrepreneur of the Year of the Awards Banquet. Bill Rogers (my boss) was one of five finalists for the award. The highlight of the evening was a presentation given by Helen Greiner, the co-founder of iRobot (of Roomba fame). She stressed something I agree with, the importance for technology companies to facilitate open developer ecosystems around products. She pointed to a number of interesting things coming from their Roomba API, like Roomba Cockfights, Frogger, and pointed to work by NASA JPL. She also played a hilarious Saturday Night Live clip I hadnâ€™t seen before, featuring a product called the Woomba (a little robot that cleans your lady parts).

One of her robots navigated the room autonomously, managing to climb stairs and steering clear of people. It handed a bag containing the award to New Hampshire Governor John Lynch, who seemed amused and a little unsure of it as he took the award before announcing the winners.