Where: Ann Arbor District Library, 343 South Fifth Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104 (map). Parking is available in the library parking lot. We’re meeting in the conference room on the third floor. At the third floor stairs lobby, go through the double doors, turn right, and look for the first door on the right to enter the conference room.
When: Wednesday, April 23, 2008 6:30PM-8PM
Join us for demo night on April 23, 2008 at the Ann Arbor Public Library, as meeting participants will demo their latest websites, designs, applications, tools, and products. Each person has five minutes to present and answer questions.
Demo night is a great opportunity to share your work, see what others have been working on, and get feedback on works in progress.
Interested in demoing your work? RSVP by commenting below with your name and application/design/tool/product, so we have an idea of how many people will be presenting.
As of April 15, 2008, the following people are planning to present their work:
- Julie Van De Water
- Nick DeNardis
- Vince Chmielewski
- Kevin Dangoor
- Noel Jackson
- John Paul Narowski
- Brian Kerr
- Christina Wallace
Comments (7)
March 19, 2008 - Refreshing SnagIt: A Case Study for Focusing on the User Experience
February 29, 2008
Where: Ann Arbor District Library, 343 South Fifth Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104 (map). Parking is available in the library parking lot. We’re meeting in the conference room on the third floor. At the third floor stairs lobby, go through the double doors, turn right, and look for the first door on the right to enter the conference room.
When: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 6:30PM-8PM
Speaker: Barb Hernandez, User Experience Manager at TechSmith, Lansing, Michigan
Abstract
What can you do when conversion rate is flat? TechSmith is a trialware company by nature, so measuring how many people download, try and actually purchase our software is the best measure of conversion and success.
We know that the thousands – dare I say millions of users who own SnagIt can’t live without it and tell us how it has changed the way they communicate with people. So what were we missing, why were we not getting the conversion rate we wanted? Learn about how we focused on the user experience, what we did, and how the changes impacted the conversion rate.
Barb Hernandez Biography
Ms. Hernandez specializes in using User Centered Design techniques to drive the user experience for technology products. She has led the user centered design efforts for cross-functional teams and has been involved in all stages of product development, including investigation and analysis, defining detailed requirements, creating prototypes, running usability tests and conducting usability evaluations.
She has worked on the design and usability testing of graphical user interfaces, content Web sites, Web-based applications, and interfaces for hand-held devices including cells phones and PDAs. At TechSmith, Barb focuses on helping teams make design decisions grounded in user intelligence.
Where: The Ann Arbor Public Library, in downtown Ann Arbor. We will be meeting in the library’s free space, located on the third floor.
When: Wednesday, February 27th 2008, 6:30 - 8:00
Speaker: Brian Reindel, Software Engineer at Niche Retail.
Abstract
The advent and popularity of JavaScript libraries has caused front-end programming paradigms to change drastically. Design patterns are emerging, object-oriented concepts are common place, and the line between client-side scripting and server-side scripting is beginning to blur.
Brian will be reviewing some of the techniques inherent to these libraries so that you can better understand how to build custom functionality of your own, while taking into account best practices. Some of the sub-topics to be included will be namespacing, anonymous function execution, the dollar sign selector, variable arguments, callback functions and shorthand.
Brian Reindel’s Biography
Brian Reindel is a software engineer, currently employed with Niche Retail, LLC, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He graduated from Oakland University in 1999 with a BA, Journalism, and has been toying professionally with Web development technologies for almost a decade.
Brian’s language of choice is Java, but he gets dirty on occasion with Ruby on Rails and LAMP as a solution stack. The majority of his career, however, has been spent on the front-end, developing Web pages with XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Although he still dreams of writing full-time in the future, Brian is immersed in the world of software development, and enjoys the challenge of learning new technologies.
January 30th Refresh Detroit in Livonia
January 10, 2008
For our first meeting of 2008 Refresh Detroit will be partnering with the Michigan Usability Professionals and speaker/usability expert Dave Mitropoulos-Rundus.
Subject:
Live Website Usability Evaluations:
Branding, Messsage, Content, and Usability.
Commercial web sites wither or thrive based on their usability, upon
the translation of brand image to the web site, and the clarity of
their marketing message. But what about web sites for non-profit
organizations? Whether organizing volunteers, educating people, or
gathering donations… for the non-profit web site, usability,
branding, message, and content matter!
Come and experience Dave Mitropoulos-Rundus conducting evaluations on
a number of non-profit web sites that have been submitted by
attendees. This session provides you with a rare opportunity to see it
live, experience the interactions with the stakeholders and designers,
and, time and bandwidth permitting, discuss YOUR site directly with
Dave.
Time, Date, Location:
This meeting will be on January 30th, 2008, from 6-8:30 pm at the
Perficient office in Livonia.
Please RSVP to events@miupa.org. Also, if you are interesting in
submitting your non-profit website, please send a separate message to
events@miupa.org.
Price
Because we are teaming up with MIUPA there will be a fee, but it will be worth it!
$5 Students, $10 STC, Refresh Detroit and UPA members, $15 all others.
For more information visit MI UPA or Refresh Detroit
More details for tomorrow’s meeting
November 27, 2007
The meeting tomorrow will be held on the third floor of the downtown Ann Arbor district library, this is their designated “free space” that we have reserved. There is parking adjacent to the library on 5th street but it is not free, so plan on bringing some change if you don’t want to hunt for a free spot.
There is also a lot a few blocks down on Williams between 5th and Main St.
We are not allowed to bring food, but if people are interested I would love to grab food from a delicious downtown restuarant after the meeting.
See everyone tomorrow,
November 28th - CSS Frameworks + Boilerplates
November 11, 2007
CSS Frameworks by Dan Shields
November 28th, 6:30 - 8:00
Ann Arbor District Library (downtown)
Free for all
Refresh Detroit’s is hosting “CSS Frameworks and Boilerplates”, presented by Dan Shields of Niche Retail.
The presentation will cover the pro’s and con’s of using CSS frameworks, does the decrease in development time outweigh the increase in file footprint?
Presentation will be hosted at the Ann Arbor District Library in downtown Ann Arbor, meeting room to be disclosed later.
Location: 343 South Fifth Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
October 24, 2007 Meeting: Creating ASP.NET Code that is accessible, compliant and scalable
October 8, 2007
Where: Niche Retail, 912 N. Main Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan (next to Main Street Motors, on the northeast corner of Main Street and Depot Street) map. Parking is available for 10-15 cars in the back; parking is also available on Depot Street. The entrance is in the back of the building; it’s not the main entrance in the front of the building.
When: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 6:30PM-8PM
Speaker: Jeff McWherter, Director of Software Development at A.J. Boggs and Company
Abstract
So, you’ve created a slick ASP.NET web application, but the performance isn’t what you were expecting, and the government agency you created the site for is complaining that is does not meet Section 508 compliance.
In this session, Jeff McWherter will demonstrate tools inside of Visual Studio and Windows to help resolve accessibility and scalability issues.
Jeff McWherter Biography
Jeff McWherter is the Director of Software Development at A.J. Boggs and Company in Okemos, Michigan. He graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Telecommunications and Computer Science, and has twelve years of professional experience in software development.
He is a founding member and current Program Director for the Greater Lansing Users for .NET (GLUG.net). He enjoys profiling code, applying design patterns, finding obscure namespaces, and long walks in the park.
His lifelong interest in programming began with a Home Computing Magazine in 1983, which included an article about writing a game called Boa Alley in BASIC.
August 22nd Refresh Detroit in Ann Arbor
August 5, 2007
Refresh Detroit for August will take place on the 22nd in Ann Arbor at Ann Arbor Spark. Chris Lee of 3.7 Designs and Holy Molee Photography will be presenting on JavaScript libraries, why they are useful, and some information on why you might want to choose one over the others.
Event starts a 6:30PM and goes till 8:00, though some choose to stay afterwards and network.
Ann Arbor Spark is located at 330 East Liberty Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. Event is free, and most likely will include a meal for those interested.
A special thanks to member Phill Tran for donating the hosting for us.
Event sponsored by
Next Meeting, Wednesday June 20th - Canton Michigan
June 5, 2007
Our next meeting will be Wednesday June 20th at 6:30, in Canton Michigan. Catherine Hayes of Inner Circle Media will be presenting on Ruby on Rails. We will also be discussing growing the Refresh Detroit community, how we can help each other learn and prosper, and some exciting event collaboration that could be on the horizon. A meeting not to miss!
Meeting will be at Panera Bread at 41950 Ford Rd. Canton, MI 48187.
Meetup - Tuesday, May 15
May 2, 2007
Save the date! The next Refresh Detroit meetup will be Tuesday, May 15, 2007 at 6:30PM at 3.7 Designs in downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan. Ross Johnson of 3.7 Designs will discuss podcasting, and highlight the Web Axe accessibility podcast he and fellow Refresh Detroit member Dennis Lembree publish.
This is a not-miss meeting, not only for the presentation, but also to bid farewell to Refresh Detroit co-founder Dennis Lembree who is leaving Michigan for a great opportunity in California.
3.7 Designs
320 South Main, Suite B
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104 (Google map)
734-274-2396
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