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It's fall, the weather's turning colder, the leaves are changing and falling, my two year old has become a bundle of energy with strong opinions, and I'm feeling a bit sick from too much Halloween candy. In addition to all that, I have a few business related changes to report.

First, you may notice the refresh levelos.com received. I've been hacking away over the years at an initial design Annette Sabo created for me years ago, to the point that I had a bit of a Frankenstein on my hands. A favorite quote of mine is about how "... the cobblers kids have the worst shoes ...", and I think this is very analogous to the state of many web developers own sites. Well, I decided to do something about it. Annette again applied her amazing design skills, with the result being a huge improvement while retaining key aesthetic elements. I used this as a chance to try out the 960 grid system, which I found simple to use and very effective. Please let me know if you notice any problems or have some suggestions.

I'm very pleased to announce that Level OS has officially become an Acquia Silver Partner.  Acquia is a fairly new commercial company started by Drupal founder Dries Buytaert and Jay Batson.  It aims to expand the reach of Drupal by providing a fully supported distribution of Drupal made up of the latest versions of the core platform along with select contributed modules.  It does this via the Acquia Network, an operations portal to deliver technical support and site monitoring services to maintain trouble-free Acquia Drupal websites.

For anyone familiar with RedHat in the Linux space, this is an analogous concept.  One of the main barriers to the adoption of open source software in the enterprise space is a lack of support; who do you call at 2 am when your mission critical application is experiencing trouble?  Well, if you're using Drupal, Acquia provides an answer to that question.  Acquia doens't aim to provide consulting and development services, which is where their partner network comes in.  It's a mutually beneficial relationship, where Acquia provides qualified leads along with training and access to support and reference materials to its partners.  In exchange, they encourage their clients to use Acquia Drupal and enroll in the Acquia Network when applicable.  I am honored to be accepted into this program and look forward to the exciting opportunities it will bring.

Beginning this Saturday, Level OS global headquarters will move to TenPod, a collecive space in the new Rocket Building on E Burnside and Sandy.  The building itself is stunning LEED certified project by Portland architect Kevin Cavenaugh.  With a striking bright red exterior, unique exterior art panels, and a wide open airy space, it will be a great place to settle into on a daily basis.

The collective nature of TenPod is another way this is not your typical office space.  The 12 desk space has no walls separating the businesses, just a collection of spacious built in desks.  So there are plenty of chances to get to know, and potentially collaborate with, your neighbors.  There is also a shared deck, conference room, and kitchen.

While I will miss my current downtown home, and appreciate the tremendous hospitality Mark and the Vision Site team have shown me the past few years, I am very excited about this change.  Please come on by for a visit starting next week!

My new address:
1111 E Burnside, #306
Portland, OR 97214