Graffiti App created for City of San Antonio

Posted on February 18, 2011 by - Uncategorized

Below is a press release sent out today describing the new app created on Android to allow for real-time and geo-specific reporting of graffiti sites in and around San Antonio. I just downloaded it for my HTC Incredible and will be testing it out very soon around Southtown. Together we can all help eliminate graffiti. (The iPhone app will be out in about six weeks.)

Release Date: February 18, 2011
City of San Antonio Communications Office: 207-7234
Now reporting graffiti is just an app away

Reporting graffiti in San Antonio just got a touch easier. The City’s Graffiti Abatement Program has teamed up with App-Order.com to create “mySanAntonioTX” smart phone application that will allow residents with Android phones to send real time graffiti information and photos to the department.

Android users can download the “mySanAntonioTX” application for free from the Android Market. Once installed, users simply open the application and follow the prompts to take a picture of the graffiti and then submit the information. Using a built-in global positioning system the application will attach a location to the picture and send the information to the Graffiti Abatement Program. The electronic submissions will then be routed to the appropriate City staff or outside agency. Residents can also choose to receive updates on the status of their request.

“This program will give many residents a new and more efficient way to inform the City about graffiti issues,” said David D. Garza, director, Code Enforcement Services Department. “By making the complaint identification process more convenient, we will be able to rid our neighborhoods of the blight even faster.”

The “mySanAntonioTX” application was created at no cost to the City. App-Order.com develops Smartphone apps with web interfaces for government and private industry customers throughout the United States.

Residents with iPhones are expected to be able to obtain the “mySanAntonioTX” within the next six weeks. For more information on this new program, call Lisa McKenzie, graffiti abatement coordinator, Code Enforcement Services Department at 207-5430.

A Tip for Better Google Searching

Posted on February 8, 2011 by - Uncategorized

I read this recently on a blog I follow by Scott Levitt of Oakley Signs & Graphics.

Use This Magic Word When Googling for Tech Support

Adding one word to your Google searches will help find solutions faster.
The next time you’re pulling your hair out over a technical support issue, you might want to try this simple trick to help you find real answers to the problem you’re experiencing:
Add “solved” to your search query. Rather than just describe your problem, i.e. “Outlook won’t sync to my Droid smartphone,” try adding +SOLVED to the end of the search. Many tech support message boards use “[SOLVED]” to close threads on technical support issues.
One other trick is to use ~solved instead of +solved. Using the “~” (the tilde) tells Google to not only look for “solved,” but also synonyms for solved, such as “fixed,” “resolved,” etc.
Getting great results from Google is usually a matter of writing better queries.

Here’s a helpful article on ways to improve your search skills, straight from Google:
http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?answer=136861

Austin Modern Home Tour – This weekend!

Posted on February 2, 2011 by - Uncategorized

I’m so excited to be attending my first Austin Modern Home Tour this Saturday. I’m hoping the temperatures warm up for it!
They’ve set up a great website with a preview of all the homes on the tour.

http://www.modernhometouraustin.com/

I’ll be sure to take lots of photos and post them up later.

Let me know if anyone wants to ride up with me on Saturday.