Access Menu

Site Navigation

Chad Bishop

New Media Producer and Independant Consultant

I've been building brands, designing for print, producing web sites, developing multimedia and providing web-centric advertising, marketing and business development consulting for over 8+ years.

I am currently available full time or per contract, and am always interested to discuss the potential of long-term opportunities and ventures.

Over the course of the last two years I've been focused on:

  • Providing sound advice
  • Producing for standards using XHTML and CSS
  • Cutting-edge web technology like RSS and RIA
  • Foundational SEO/SEM Techniques
  • The latest Information Revolution

iTunes Movies Opens For Business

[September 13th, 2006]

It’s official!

Apple has launched the much discussed, debated and speculated “Movies” section of the iTunes Music… errr… Movies… err…

Let’s just call it the iTunes Store, with Movie prices are ranging around $9.99-$12.99.

While you’re picking up your copy of Pirates of the Carribean, hop on over to the also new iPod Games Section. You know that you really need a copy of Tetris (or the slightly addictive Bejeweled) when you’re on the train juggling your morning cup of coffee.

iPods and iTunes have revolutionized digital media distribution and have made a HUGE impact by enabling consumers through technology. With the addition of feature length Films you’ll see this effect multiplied in a slightly different medium that essentially operates on the same platform and proven model.

Consider it the Rebirth of Cool.

Posted in News and Politics, Business, Web Development, Technology, Computers And Internet, Macintosh, OS X, Apple, iPod, Business News, Technology News, Hardware, Software, Gaming, Marketing, Podcast, Mobile, Entertainment | No Comments » |

Going Solo, A few good tips!

[September 8th, 2006]

Late this afternoon I linked over to a nice little post on the Freshbooks site by Stowe Boyd. Its short, sweet and hi-lites some important things to remember if you’re considering becoming an independent consultant.

Aside from “doing your work”, you have to be ready to dedicate time for:

  • Marketing and Networking
  • Running the Business Side of Things

There is a lot of good advice in this quick five minute read that should be taken “exactly” for what it is. Some crucial items and simple key concepts that you have to be aware of when striking out into the world of the independant consultant!

“I would suggest starting on the marketing a long way in advance of quitting your day job, perhaps several months or more”

A good bit of advice, if it’s within your control.

Although, if you happen to find yourself being the grand prize winner of a corporate layoff, I personally think that is a good time to play “Sink or Swim”.

If you are at all interested in going solo then invest a few minutes in reading Stowe’s post, get your gears turning, and remember that the time to start planning and making preparations is right now!

Posted in News and Politics, Business, Web Standards, CSS, Web Development, Computers And Internet, Business News, Technology News, Marketing, Stowe Boyd | No Comments » |

17″ MacBookPro

[April 25th, 2006]

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/

Need I say more?

Posted in News and Politics, Business, Web Development, Technology, Computers And Internet, Bluetooth, Macintosh, OS X, Apple, Business News, Technology News, Hardware, Marketing, Wireless, WiFi, Wi-Fi, Entertainment | No Comments » |

New T-Mobile SmartPhones Released

[February 21st, 2006]

Somewhat hot of the presses today, (for T-Mobile Users at least) are both of the fine new SmartPhones that T-Mo has been leaking news about for a few weeks now.

The T-Mobile SDA

(aka the i-Mate SP5m…aka the HTC Tornado)

The T-Mobile MDA

(aka the Qtek 9100… aka the HTC Tornado)

Both, finely reviewed phones have been on the global market quite a while now and are manufactured and re-branded by a company called HTC.

Now, some of you might be wondering why I… (an official Mac user that has carried a Nokia running the Symbian OS) would even be considering turning my head towards a Window Mobile 5.0 based phone?

To be honest, I was wondering that too. But I must have had a few minutes to burn, so I decided to do some digging. Besides, maybe there might be something that I think Microsoft makes well besides an XBOX. You never know, right?

First, for me some requirements have to be me. Most importantly it has to play nice with OS X and my Mac:

Next, they have to be cool:

  • Quad Band, World Traveler
  • GPRS and EDGE
  • Bluetooth
  • WiFi!

Well, it looks like cool is covered.

Practical should be too. I really need something that will let me take care of business. And with the built in, slide out keyboard on the MDA and the fact that T-mobile has upgraded to integrate EDGE technology into much of their wireless network, that should put me in business. I’m reading report of 150K-180k from EDGE connections. That’s pretty fast for a cell phone.

So on that note, I’ll leave it at that. I’ve got about 40mins to grab a bagel and some coffee, and then get over to my local T-mobile store where there will hopefully be a shiny new stack of MDAs waiting.

In the meantime I leave you with the link to the Official Page for the SDA on T-Mobile’s Website. This phone has been available for about a week now. $200 bucks after mail in rebate for new and many existing customers that are willing to do a 2 year renewal.

Looks like the MDA has yet to be honored on t-mobile.com, but that’s probably because it is set to be released today! It’s going for $300 after rebates. Same deal as above… new and existing customers.

Posted in News and Politics, Business, Technology, Computers And Internet, Bluetooth, Macintosh, OS X, Apple, Technology News, Hardware, Software, Marketing, Moblog, Wireless, WiFi, Wi-Fi, Mobile, Cell Phones, PDA, Windows Mobile 5.0 | » 3 Comments» |

Switching and The Best Books for OS X

[February 11th, 2006]

A good friend of mine is now the proud father os a shiny new 20″ iMac with the Intel Core Duo Chip. Nice!

What does this mean though in the bigger picture? Well, for one it means that I know someone else that is switching over to the Mac platform, is getting their feet wet with OS X and owns a PC that’ll be collecting a bit of dust in the near future.

I can’t think of any time in my life that I’ve ever seen more people using and switiching to the Macintosh platform as I have in the last 2-3 years. I’m watching Unix and Java developers flock to Powerbooks and MacBook Pros like white on rice. And, every week or so someone that’s more “business” minded seems to be mentioning how they’ve been looking at an iMac, iBook or PowerMac Tower.

I’ve yet to hear any complaints from the new switchers, but I’m often asked about the best way to get rolling with OS X. And, here it is…

My best advice from about 15+ years of Macintosh experience:

  1. The Mac OS is very friendly, just play with it and enjoy.
  2. Don’t be too worried about “messing” anything up.
  3. When you find yourself saying “Wow, this interface is so dreamy to use”, don’t be so suprised!
  4. Find a couple of good books that are fun to read.

A great book or two is key. Here’s a few that I recommend:

With 2 or 3 books, you’ll being saying “cool” for years to come and up to speed on OS X in no time flat.

Microsoft has always fallen short of copying the Mac Experience, and although you may have been trained to use Windows for years, and starting to use Mac OS X might seem a little intimidating, fear not.

Jump in and you’ll find out that everything is within reach, and often where you always have wanted it.

P.S. >> One more tip: The shortcut keys were reversed on Windows. To do things like Cut, Copy and Paste on the Mac, use the “Apple” key. It will soon become second nature to you. ;)

Posted in News and Politics, Business, Technology, Computers And Internet, Bluetooth, Macintosh, OS X, Apple, iPod, Technology News, Hardware, Software, Top Ten, Wireless | No Comments » |

The Best Resources for Switching to Web Standards, XHTML & CSS

[January 30th, 2006]

Every so often I have the opportunity to pass on some of the best resources that I’ve found for making the move from Old School Web Design with Tables to New School Web Design that’s Web Standards driven and leverages XHTML & CSS.

This time I decided to round it all up and post it here for anyone interested in getting started and moving in the right direction.

I’ll save the sales pitch. You should already know that Designing, Developing and Building with Web Standards leads to better web sites for your clients. If you need about 3 dozen more reasons check this link out:
http://www.hotdesign.com/seybold

This one is very easy reading, and from a Seybold Presentation. I can not recommend a better resource to get a solid, entertaining overview of the importance of building sites to meet web standards with XHTML/CSS.

This quick rundown is a little more brief, cut and dry… but still a great read:
456’s Web Standards Business Primer

Outstanding Books

Indispensable Sites

I plan to keep on updating this post as I find new resources that are cream of the crop, but until then you’ve got plenty here to get started.

If you’d like to share your own “must see” links, “must read” book or “must know” resources, then please post a comment below.

Posted in News and Politics, Business, Web Production, Web Standards, CSS, Web Development, Technology, Computers And Internet, Business News, Technology News, Software, Top Ten, AJAX, XHTML, People, Eric Meyer, Jeffery Zeldman, Rachel Andrew, Dave Shea, Molly Holzschlag, Dan Cederholm | »1 Comment |

The Intel Based Macs are Official

[January 10th, 2006]

Well today was The Macworld Expo and the much rumored Intel based Macs were officially announced. Including a new line of iMacs and a new line of Powerbooks.

http://www.apple.com
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro
http://www.apple.com/imac

And, they are damn sexy.

(Honestly, when was the last time that you saw a laptop with a very, very, very nice webcam built right in? I’ve been in this business for a while and can say “never.” Of course, it integrates seamlessley with with the multi-party video chat feature built into iChat.)

Apple has been building and maximizing their latest version of OS X to run on Intel chips for some time now. And, if you’ve been watching the underground, (http://osx86project.org) you know that there have been PCs in the wild running the Intel friendly OS X at blazing speeds.

Apple has also been quitely rolling out a new piece of software called Front Row. Front Row has widely been dubbed the “Windows Media Center Killer.” It gives you access to your Movies, Music, Photos and DVDs from a remote, or with something like Salling Clicker and a supported bluetooth phone. I had the chance to play it on an iMac at CompUSA the other day, and the title is well earned. It’s rumored that the next version will have Tivo like DVR features, and you can be sure that an Intel based, TV-friendly Mac Mini is right around the corner.

So if you’re one of those that are still late coming to the Apple party, now’s a good time to ask for directions.

Check out some more good coverage at:
http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0601expo2.html
http://www.macworld.com

BTW, If anyone feels giving today, I’d be more than willing to accept one as a gift. :)

Posted in News and Politics, Business, Web Production, Technology, Computers And Internet, Bluetooth, Macintosh, OS X, Apple, Business News, Technology News, Hardware, Software, Wireless, Mobile, Cell Phones, Symbian, Series 60, Nokia, Series60, Entertainment, Media Center, Announcements, Home Theater, Television | No Comments » |

Huge Rebates on LCD TVs!

[November 26th, 2005]

UPDATE: I found that Amazon has the best price on the 32″ LCD TV. $797 total after shipping! That’s about $30 less than Buy.com

Here’s a little PSA for any of you that have been looking for an awesome deal on an equally awesome Hi-Def LCD TV. But the $200, $300 and $400 rebates are ending today!!!

42″ LCD - Syntax Oleiva HDTV
$2399 Total (after $400 rebate)

37″ LCD - Syntax Oleiva HDTV
$1279 Total (after $300 rebate)

32″ LCD - Syntax Oleiva HDTV
$829 Total (after $300 rebate)

27″ LCD - Syntax Oleiva HDTV
$629 Total (after $200 rebate)

I did a ton of research on LCD TVs last year and bought this brand. The Syntax Oleiva’s have an outstanding reputation, and I can tell you from owning mine over the last year that for the price it’s almost unbelievable. The quality of the Syntax Oleivia LCDs are just under the Sharp AQUOS which is top of the line and costs about twice as much.

Most of them carry a 1200:1 Contrast Ratio, 8ms response and have plenty of High Definition options like DVI, HDMI and Component inputs. They also have a VGA Input, so you can use them as a monitor for your PC or Mac while running TV through PIP. Nice!

This year Buy.com has the best prices. Amazon also carries this line and has great prices, but read the fine print and you’ll see that they hit you with $99-$250 added on for bulk shipping.

The Syntax rebates were overlooked last year, and I haven’t seen too much press for them this year either. I’ve been 120% satisfied with mine, and I just put in an order for another one!

If you’ve been shopping for an HDTV that perform rock solid, don’t miss out on these deals!

Posted in News and Politics, Technology, Computers And Internet, Macintosh, Technology News, Hardware, Gaming, XBOX, PSP, Entertainment, Media Center, Home Theater, HDTV, LCD TV, Television | » 4 Comments» |

Hurricane Wilma has left my Hometown a Mess!

[October 25th, 2005]


Home Grown Photos → | Local Live Coverage → | Car vs. Tree →

I’m continually being suprised at the wind damage and overall messs that Hurricane Wilma has caused. One of the worst areas hit is were I grew up and my family still lives. National news coverage is covering streets and areas that I’ve been through countless times. And, I’m up here in Orlando with plans to be down there next weekend to visit and take care of some business.

There is one thing that I really don’t understand though. I was there during Andrew and the wind speed was about 20MPH higher in Fort Lauderdale. Wilma was a much, much bigger storm (considering the amount of space that it covered), but even with the lower wind speed it did far worse damage than Andrew in that area. The wind and low pressure actually blew out the windows of high-rise office buildings downtown.

This storm came over the state with the south side of the eye-wall bearing down on The Everglades. This side of the eye-wall is the most intense area of hurricanes. Seeing as The Everglades is pretty much warm swamp and brush that didn’t seem to do much to slow it down. My parents live in the Davie/Weston area, which used to be The Everglades before it was developed into residential sub-divisions. All kinds of sub divisons. Multi-million dollar homes, large acreage farms, trailer parks and typical neighborhoods. And by the way, it’s a basin. When it rains hard there, the low-lying land does a pretty good job of collecting water and it floods pretty well.

It shouldn’t take too much to figure out that Hurricane Wilma cruised straight across The Everglades and rocked that whole area. Thank God it was moving very fast and didn’t take the time to dump a ton of rain. Thank God there was this nice cold front that moved in right afterwords. And, Thank God that a lot of the community in South Florida is ready to step up when these storms roll through and pitch in to help out. Stores like Publix, Winn Dixie and Walgreens open up as quickly as they can and really bust their asses to help everyone else. That’s a good corporate policy. I’ve noticed it since I was a kid and now that I’m older they get my business all year round…. every week.

I still plan to be down there this weekend if I can get into town. Maybe my plans will just be a bit different from what I expected. Now, I might be bringing as many supplies as I can fit around me and the dog. Hopefully essentials will be back up and running down there miraculously fast.

If you’ve never been through or around an area after a hurricane has come through, it’s hard to explain the experience. You see a lot of really tough things, and people going through tough times… but you also see the very best come out in a lot of people. In a funny way that really helps to balance it all out.

My Mom has always been one to freak out every hurricane season and drive us nuts making sure there are 18 boxes of water and plenty of supplies in the garage. Thank God for that too!

Posted in News and Politics, Events, Places, South Florida, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Hurricane Wilma, Palm Beach, Weather | »1 Comment |

Orlando|Macromedia PM Panel

[August 16th, 2005]

I’m preparing to present as part of a Q&A Panel addressing the topic of “Project Management” at this months meeting of the Greater Orlando Macromedia User Group (GOMMUG).

Here’s a quick quote from their site to give you an idea of what they’ve put together:

Whether you are a project manager, freelancer or a developer working for a big company, how do you make sure projects get done on time and effectively. Come hear the experiences of our panel, ask your own questions or share your insights with project management. Some questions the panel may consider include: How do you decide whether or not to take on a project? What is your process for designing, developing, testing and implementing your projects? Do you use any tools to help you manage projects?

The GOMMUG is a great place to get togther with local professionals and get some cutting-edge support for Macromedia products. If you’re going to be in the area, stop by their site for directions and come on by a little early to spend some time networking.

Posted in Events | No Comments » |

« Previous Entries

© All Rights Reserved

RSS 2.0