Again, we had six demos:

1. Boris Djordjevic from Frontier Solutions
2. Jack Newton from Clio
3. Bruce Johnson and Scott Montgomerie from Zigtag
4. Scott Winder from Boreal Systems
5. Toby Spendiff from nForm
6. Patrick Lor showed us a.viary.com

Frontier makes a product called SiteGears that helps companies bring products to market by integrating with businesses at all levels of the product lifecycle. Clio is a practice management service targeted at small law firms. Zigtag is in the social bookmarking space, and see themselves as the “future of search” in the long-run. Boreal Systems make an operations management application for companies in the energy industry. nForm makes a SharePoint add-on called Midori that helps small teams manage projects. And last but not least, a.viary is bringing the power of Photoshop to the web.

My “demo of the night” goes to Clio, with honorable mentions to both Boreal Systems and nForm. Clio’s app is very slick looking, and you can tell they’ve done their homework. They’re focusing on lawyers right now (Jack said that roughly half of the 1.2 million law firms in North America need something like Clio) but it’s easy to see how the app could be applied to other types of practices (like accounting). What I liked about Boreal was that although their app didn’t feel very modern at all, they had good reasons for doing everything they did (such as keeping the concept of a whiteboard schedule). And finally, nForm actually changed data live. They showed Midori actually working…that rocked!

Here’s more on DemoCampEdmonton2 and the participating companies:

• My initial headcount was 61, but I suspect the final number was closer to 75 as people continued to trickle in all evening long.
• Two demos used Windows XP, two used Windows Vista, and two used Mac OS X.
• Clio, Zigtag, and a.viary are all hosted/SaaS solutions. Boreal Systems and Midori are both traditional host-it-yourself solutions. SiteGears is a combination of both.
• SiteGears is primarily Java, Clio is Ruby on Rails, Zigtag is primarily Java, Boreal is almost finished migrating from PHP to Ruby, Midori is ASP.NET, and a.viary is Flash and Flex.
• Again, we had a very diverse crowd. John Bristowe and Patrick Lor made it up from Calgary. James Matsuba, who won the Student Business Plan competition at this year’s VenturePrize, was in the crowd. Investors included Spencer Ord and Ken Gordon. Was great to see lots of new and familiar faces alike!

As I mentioned, the vibe was a bit different than the first DemoCamp which was held at the U of A. Choosing a bar as the venue makes for a more comfortable evening (with food and drinks) but it was a little harder to hear the presenters and questions. Another downside was the lack of free wifi, which kept me from liveblogging the event on Twitter.

One of the highlights of the evening was when Patrick Lor got up to present. Cam shared with everyone that Patrick was the driving force behind DemoCamp in both Calgary and Edmonton, so it was good for him to receive a round of applause as thanks from the Edmonton crowd.

Speaking of Calgary, Patrick mentioned that BarCampCalgary is happening on June 14th, so mark your calendars!

Thanks to everyone who came out tonight - see you at DemoCampEdmonton3! You can see some more photos of the event here. This post also appears at Techvibes.

UPDATE: For a more descriptive recap of the demos, check out Eric’s post.

In an interview ahead of the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit, Chris Capossela, who manages Microsoft’s Office products, said the company will see more and more companies abandon their own in-house computer systems and shift to “cloud computing,” a less expensive alternative.

“In five years, 50 percent of our Exchange mailboxes will be Exchange Online,” said Capossela, who expects a portion of Exchange Online customers to come from customers switching from International Business Machines’ (IBM.N) Lotus Domino system.

When you run your own Exchange server, there’s a lot of things you need to worry about. You need to ensure it is patched with the latest updates, that the junk mail filters are configured correctly, that data is being backed up properly, etc. It would be much better if Microsoft just did all of that for me.

I know there are already companies that do this sort of thing, but there’s something about having Microsoft behind the service that appeals to me. They should be the experts on their own software, after all. And I’m sure they’ll eventually offer a suite of these services that’ll just be a no-brainer for small businesses.

Why buy, install, and support an increasingly expensive Small Business Server, when you can just pay Microsoft a monthly fee to do it all for you? That’s where cloud computing will have the biggest impact on businesses.

Read: Yahoo! News

• Today was the first of many blog upgrades that I’m doing for friends and family. I finally convinced Sharon to move from Blogger to WordPress, and with her own domain too! Starting today, she’ll be blogging at Only Here for the Food. Go check it out.
• I also upgraded my blog to WordPress 2.5.1. and my Dad’s blogs (which run WordPress MU) to 1.5.1. Looks like everything worked okay, but let me know if you notice any problems.
• This is a funny video: When Facebook Meets Real Life.
• It’s quite remarkable what you can learn in an airport. Check out this voicemail that Rick Klau overheard at Dulles (text, not audio).
• Unsurprisingly, officials in Canada’s north are not happy about the recent U.S. decision to put polar bears on the threatened species list.
• I started using Pidgin as my IM client for Google Talk this week. Pidgin a muli-protocol instant messaging client, which means you can login to GTalk, AIM, ICQ, and a whole bunch others all at the same time. I’m really happy with it so far! If you use it with Twitter over GTalk, you should definitely get this plugin.
• It seems that the earthquake in China has prompted the government to ease up on Internet filtering and restrictions. I hope it’s a sign of things to come (less government filtering, not more disasters).
• Want to buy yourself a gift, but not sure what to buy? Check out SomethingStore.com. For $10, they’ll ship you something chosen at random from their inventory.

Apocalypse has thirty kick-ass looking computers for gaming, as well as a dedicated Xbox 360 Rock Band stage with two overhead flat screen televisions. They’ve also got a couple retro coin-op arcade machines. The decor is reminiscent of a restaurant like Moxie’s, with hardwood floors, black leather couches and exposed brick walls. You can see the full list of available games on their website.

They are open Sunday through Thursday from 10am to midnight, and Friday and Saturday from 10am to 2am. Rates are $6.50 per hour ($30 per day) for non-members, and $4.50 per hour if you decide to pay the $40 per year membership fee. There were no gamers in the lounge early this afternoon, but I suspect their clientele are more night owls than early risers. Here are some photos I took of Apocalypse.

Internet cafes are nothing new of course (a great one in Edmonton is 3rd on Whyte), but I haven’t seen many gaming lounges. I wonder if this is part of a growing trend? Are gaming lounges sprouting up in other cities? I think the concept is great, especially with games like Rock Band, but I wonder how feasible the business is. Apocalypse has 108 members in their Facebook Group though, so maybe there’s more demand than I thought.

The biggest challenge facing the show is the exodus of cast members. Lionel Luthor was killed off earlier this season, which means that John Glover won’t be back. Michael Rosenbaum announced earlier this month that he won’t be back as Lex Luthor. And Kristin Kreuk is only scheduled to appear in a handful of episodes as Lana Lang. Fortunately, Allison Mack will be returning as Chloe Sullivan, despite some difficult contract negotiations.

Two new characters are apparently joining the regular cast next season. The first is a woman known as “Tess” who is supposed to fill the gap left by Rosenbaum. That is, she’ll be looking after Lex’s interests. No word on how his disappearance will be explained. The second is the villain Doomsday, best known in the comic world for being the only character to have killed Superman (Doomsday died too).

The finale on Thursday could have been so much better. Series producers/creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar won’t be back next season, and I think they were forced to leave the door open in order for the show to continue. I am glad the writers and producers tried to close some story arcs this year, but I am left wanting more. I really don’t like the way Lex’s storyline in Smallville was concluded (assuming Rosenbaum doesn’t return for a guest spot or two next season). The final scene with Clark and Lex deserved so much more screen time than it received. It could have been epic, but instead felt rushed. I wonder how the story will progress next season, and I fear that it won’t at all.

I’m hopeful that season eight will be enjoyable, but I also think that the time has come for Clark Kent to leave the farm in Smallville behind.

He didn’t score a goal, but he was awarded an assist. The Galaxy ended up losing 2-1, but it could have been far worse if not for their keeper. Vancouver was clearly the stronger team tonight. For more on the game, check out CBC.

Every time Beckham touched the ball, the crowd would cheer! It was kind of funny and kind of annoying all at the same time. At one point everyone started doing the wave. Megan and I couldn’t help but think, “this isn’t a hockey game!” For the most part though everyone seemed to be having a good time (despite the intermittent rain), and very few left after Beckham was replaced in the 75th minute.

While walking to the LRT station after the game, we ran into the crowd of people waiting to catch a glimpse of Beckham getting on the bus to leave the stadium. We hung around for a while and eventually saw him emerge, but the photos didn’t turn out so well. He signed a few autographs, but disappeared rather quickly.

In the end, I’d say that soccer is more enjoyable on television (keeping in mind that I’ve never been to a game in say, Europe). I eagerly await the World Cup, for instance! Bringing the exhibition game to Edmonton probably had the desired effect though - to capitalize on Beckham’s popularity as a way to introduce more people to MLS.

Here are my pictures from the game.

The Edmonton event takes place on Friday night at 9pm at The Artery, which Sharon tells me is an up and coming venue in our city. Here’s the map of the location.

I love the band name - The Wicked Awesomes! Never heard of them before though. They are five local guys, apparently influenced by devo. Take from that, what you will.

• Went to see Iron Man last night and quite enjoyed it! The critics pretty much unanimously agreed that Robert Downey Jr. made the film and was an excellent choice for Tony Stark. Couldn’t agree more! I look forward to the sequels.
• I’ll admit it - I often scan things online rather then reading them closely. Research suggests the practice is common.
• Here are some statistics about GTA IV sales thus far. Pretty amazing how well the game is selling.
• Tonight marks the final episode of Sue Johanson’s “Talk Sex” call-in show. She’s calling it quits after 32 years of being on TV. I think it’s amazing she’s been doing it for so long…I mean, she’s 77 years old!
• Sharon and I went to check out the new Urban Fresh Sobey’s on Jasper Avenue and 104th street yesterday after the Tweetup. The store is really nice inside, but it was extremely busy and there’s not a lot of room to move around. I’m not sure you’d want to buy all your groceries there, but the prepackaged meals and ready-to-eat food make it perfect for downtowners.
• Can’t remember where I found this, but here’s 50 ways to help the planet.
• I’m slowly but surely getting settled in the new apartment. Still missing a few things, but for the most part, we’re good to go.

Some of us took photos, Greg took some video, and Ian even did a podcast! You can find links to everything on the wiki (please add to the list).

We didn’t have a formal agenda, but that didn’t matter much. As I suspected, everyone found things to chat about. Connections were made and everyone seemed to be having a good time! There was some Twitter-related talk, mainly around apps and how people use Twitter. I talked about the “track” feature and also hashtags. It seems that most people have really gotten into Twitter in just the last few months.

Three Bananas was a great venue, very bright with reliable wifi. Today was a lovely day too, which made it even better.

I think we’ll probably have another tweetup, I’m just not sure when. You can help us plan it by contributing to the wiki page for EdmontonTweetup2.

Thanks to everyone who came - it was great to meet you! And to everyone who wanted to come but couldn’t, we’ll see you at the next one!

The estimated number of volunteers required by Edmonton’s festivals is about 5,000 people! Our festivals are a source of community pride and an important element in the quality of life for Edmontonians in the summer - and beyond!

To help attract new volunteers, Volunteer Edmonton is co-hosting a Festival Volunteer Fair next week:

This recruitment event will showcase multiple festivals and will provide members of the community with a “one stop festival volunteer shopping experience”.  We have confirmed that 15 diverse and exciting festivals will be on site, highlighting the volunteer opportunities they have to offer.

I think there are actually over 20 festivals now participating, including the Edmonton International Fringe Festival, A Taste of Edmonton, The Works Art & Design Festival, and the International Street Performers Festival.

The recruitment event takes place on Wednesday, May 14th from 3pm to 7pm at the TransAlta Arts Barns. Here’s a map of the location, and for more information you can call 211 or visit the Volunteer Edmonton site.

Check it out and pass it on!

Brightkite started as a TechStars startup, and they recently closed a round of funding. CNET posted a decent writeup on the company today which includes some good background information, so check that out if you want to learn more about them.

To get started with Brightkite, you need to “check in” at a location. You can do this by specifying an address, business, or a “placemark”. Placemarks are like saved locations, so you could create a placemark called “Home” with your home address. In my testing thus far, searching for addresses is excellent but searching for businesses never returns anything.

Once you’ve checked in, Brightkite will show you people who are near you, and you can look at people who have visited that location in the past. You can also post notes (like a status update) and photos at your location. In case you’re wondering, Brightkite actually has really excellent privacy control options, so you can choose who can see your location and to what level of detail.

Like Twitter, I think Brightkite is something you need to use to truly grok. Here are my favorite things about the service thus far:

• I think they’ve nailed the basic concepts. Placemarks make sense, and checking in at a location isn’t as cumbersome as you might think.
• They use Twitter and Satisfaction for customer service. They’re also bloggers.
• Just yesterday they launched a wicked iPhone interface. I love it!
• I find the main web interface friendly and easy-to-use.

Of course, Brightkite is far from perfect. Some things I’d love to see improved:

• The SMS interface doesn’t work in Canada. Brightkite would be a million times more useful if I could update via text message.
• You can update via email, but it’s really picky about not having signatures and other content in the body.
• Brightkite will show you the places you’ve visited and how many times you’ve visited them, but I think what would be really useful is the ability to see your routes on a map.

Another huge item for me is an API, and the only reason I left it out of the list above is that I know they’re actively working on it. I think Brightkite usage could explode if they do the API right, a la Twitter.

Of course, a social network is really only useful if there are people on it and that’s definitely one thing that is keeping me from truly experiencing Brighkite. There are a few Edmonton people on the service, but not enough that I’ve been close to anyone yet! I have four invites left if you’d like to join

I am eager to see how Brightkite improves and grows. With a few more features and some tweaking, it could become extremely useful for me. There are a bunch of location-based services out there, but so far Brightkite is the first one I’ve really liked.

WHO: Twitter users in Edmonton!
WHAT: An event to meet one another in meatspace.
WHERE: Three Banana’s Cafe in Churchill Square (map)
WHEN: Saturday, May 10th, at 12pm noon
WHY: To chat about all things Twitter with like-minded folks!

You can see the above details as well as a partial list of attendees on our wiki page for the event. Feel free to add yourself to the list. There are also Facebook and Upcoming events if that’s more your style. You may also want to follow edmontontweetup or myself on Twitter for updates.

I’m really looking forward to meeting everyone - hope to see you there!

• At Ikea on Friday while moving a heavy box into the van, I managed to mangle my middle finger (skin ripped off, etc). It was pretty painful, though it is healing well. This is the first time since then that I’ve really used a keyboard, and it hurts.
• Grandma made a nice dinner tonight and we had a full house with me, Sharon, Kim, Tom, and Bry. Last night we went to Sherlock Holmes downtown for drinks, with Megan and a few others joining us. Good times!
• This article about Grand Theft Auto IV potentially harming Iron Man’s opening box office made a lot of sense to me, but it didn’t pan out. Iron Man had the second-best premiere ever for a non-sequel, taking in $104.2 million.
• The StartupIndex.ca is a new site to catalogue companies and investors in Canada.
• I haven’t really had a chance to read this yet, but it seems that Microsoft has walked away from the Yahoo deal. It’ll be interesting to see how badly Yahoo is punished by the markets tomorrow morning. Tons of commentary on Techmeme.

Pecha Kucha Night, devised by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham, was conceived in 2003 as a place for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.

Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show.

Pecha Kucha (which is Japanese for the sound of conversation) has tapped into a demand for a forum in which creative work can be easily and informally shown, without having to rent a gallery or chat up a magazine editor.

To me it’s sort of like the design world equivalent of DemoCamp, though that may be simplifying things a bit.

Tonight’s event featured thirteen presenters with a range of interests, from urban planning and design to humanities visualization research. A twenty minute break split the presentations, and offered me a chance to go from sitting to standing. I think standing was better - easier to see, harder to get bored.

Yes, some of the presentations were a bit dry. If only they all contained the energy and humor and enthusiasm that Myron Belej’s presentation on urban color did. Essentially what Myron did was take photos of our city, and then added color to the buildings. It was really interesting, and his style of presentation was great for an event like this. Everyone was paying attention to Myron. His “21st slide” is a colored Rexall Place, and you can see it at his website.

The current plan is to have four Pecha Kucha Night’s per year here in Edmonton. Apparently some larger cities like San Francisco do one every month! I think it’s great that our city has an event like this, and I expect the presentations and attendance will only get better.

For more information, check out the official Pecha Kucha website or Wikipedia. You might also want to sign up for the Edmonton Next Gen newsletter, to find out when the next one in our city will be held! I snapped a few photos too, which you can see here.

The grand prize winner for 2008 was DataGardens, a company that hopes to help companies manage their IT infrastructure more effectively. At first glance, they strike me as somewhat similar to one of last year’s finalists, Nirix. I wrote a bit more about the event (and the new TEC VenturePrize branding) at Techvibes, so check that out if you’re interested.

The event was once again hosted by Citytv’s Paul Mennier, and he did a great job. The guest speaker was Jim Carroll, a futurist and trends & innovation expert. He’s a great speaker and kept my attention throughout his presentation, but I have to say I didn’t enjoy him as much as Leonard Brody last year. Jim also got a few things wrong - he described Guitar Hero as a Nintendo innovation, and he claimed that we’re insulated from the rising energy prices here in Alberta. The latter remark was made off-the-cuff (”Hey, I’m in Alberta, let’s make it relevant”), and I think he probably feels pretty embarrassed about it now.

Lunch was similar to last year, though I don’t think I enjoyed it as much this time around. We started with Romaine Lettuce and Spinach Leaves with Grapefruit Dressing. The main course was Seared Thai Chicken Breast served with Tomato-Chili Jam, Coconut Rice, and Seasonal Vegetables. Dessert was Lime Meringue Pie with Fresh Berries and Raspberry Coulis.

The competitor videos this year all rocked, in my opinion, so kudos to whichever company helped to put those together. The music they played as the winners were announced was just a bit odd, though. Something to improve upon for next year!

Thanks again Chris & Don!