So what's up?
Well lot's actually.
We've got a few projects on the go and all of them very exciting. There's the WeatherStation http://weather.postcarbon.org , the new phone system using Asterisk http://www.asterisk.org/ and of course all the cool features coming soon to our web sites.
The WeatherStation is built using low cost recycled computers, free open source software http://www.wviewweather.com/ and the Davis Instruments Vantage Pro2 http://www.davisnet.com/productpics/H-Res%20JPEGs/6162_parts.jpg. Pretty cool stuff for the Energy Farms. The Weather station will allow us to measure ambient conditions against energy costs and come up with some useful statistics. We still have some minor configuration to complete but it's looking good and I'm pretty psyched about the tech. This is a prototype for us in that we're using Fedora 6 (Linux) with VMWare http://www.vmware.com/virtualization/ running a virtualized installation of Windows2000. This allows us to configure some of the niggly bits in Windows and then run a web server with the data on the same machine. The installation had several glitches but we managed to overcome them with patience and determination. Our next install will go much smoother.
On another front, we've been exploring a better office communication system than we have now. We currently use a rather outdated, cumbersome, and expensive system for managing our phone calls. It's been very frustrating because programming our existing PBX requires access to an elusive manual or hiring someone to program it. In any case it's time for a change to a more flexible solution. Asterisk is another free open source software that allows us to used recycled hardware, using adapters or Ethernet connections to replace expense proprietery (PBX) phone systems. I'll keep you posted on our progress.

We'll also be seeing some new features for making our site friendlier and more useful. I'm sure Mack and Zoe have something to share so keep your eyes open for their updates/blogs.

Cheers,