Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Now If It Could Just Help Me Find My Keys...

Sometimes designing for technology isn't about more buttons and features. Sometimes it's not about touchscreens, wireless access or voice-activated whatever.

Sometimes it's just about convenience ... make my life a little easier, let me enjoy the view, give me a place to put my new TV, help me get a little more organized.

That's why I love this wall-mountable charging station from KangaRoom Storage. It's a simple idea ... here's the description from their site:

We're all proud of having the latest (and smallest) electronic gadgets to organize our lives. But what good are they if we can't find them or the uncharged battery dies right in the middle of a conversation? With our Charging Station you can say good-bye to multiple chargers and their unsightly electrical cords snaking all over your desk. You can corral up to three items and neatly tuck a 10" power strip ... out of sight behind the sliding door. You can also mount it to the wall as easily as a clock...

Place a power outlet on the wall in the kitchen or near the front door, hang this charging station over the outlet, connect a power strip and ShamWow!, you have yourself an apartment that's ready for all of your residents' mobile devices.

Life is instantly a little less cluttered and a bit more organized. The stations come three different colors -- pick them up for $40 a piece here.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Top Technology Trends for 2009

Want to know the technology trends that will have the greatest impact on the multifamily industry this year? Yeah ... me, too.

That's why I'm glad I got to interview Richard Holtz of InfiniSys and Steve Sadler of Post Properties today as part of our first Multifamily Technology webinar. (I'll post the full recording soon.)

Both of these guys are experts in their field, and it was interesting to get the different perspectives from the consultant (Richard) and the property developer/owner (Steve). They talked about everything from fiber optic cabling to fitness equipment.

Lastly, I can't say thank you enough to the people who dialed into the call ... you all rock. There were so many great questions, I think it will definitely warrant similar events in the future. If you have any feedback, additional questions or ideas for future events (including format), feel free to contact me anytime or speak your mind in the comments.

Until I can get the full recording posted, here is the slide presentation these guys ran through today:


Know a great speaker/expert with knowledge about multifamily technology that just blows you away? Give me a call (386.236.1530) ... we're looking for folks to participate in our future events.