If you don’t care about Windows 7 and are focused in on the new Apple update, you can now pre-order 10.6 Snow Leopard from Amazon. Snow Leopard is the refined OS X, making little quirks to the interface and speeding things up.

The upgrade is available for $29 (single license upgrade) and will be shipped sometime in September. If you purchased your Mac anytime after June 8 of this year, you can get a copy of Snow Leopard for $9.95 from Apple.

Amazon pulls no punches, choosing not to list a release date and reminding you that “only Apple OS X Leopard users are eligible for the Snow Leopard upgrade. Tiger & earlier OS users will need to purchase either versions of the upgraded Mac Box Set. Also, Snow Leopard will only run on intel-based Mac computers.”

So if you need to enjoy pre-ordering software at an affordable price (thank you Apple!), then head on over to get your copy of Snow Leopard reserved. And yes, I indulged my inner geek and pre-ordered my own copy.

__

Cheers!

Tweet Michelle @writetechnology, send her technology news at michelle[at]writetech[dot]net, visit her wine blog when you’re thirsty, and drop by her day job.

by Brian Solis (via PR 2.0)

Presented by The Society For Geek Advancement, “I AM A GEEK” brings together some of the biggest personalities and celebrities in the online space to proclaim their geek pride. “I AM A GEEK” also urges viewers and the community to “be the geek who keeps on giving”, and for the launch, has partnered with the non-profit Room To Read, building schools and libraries for children in developing countries around the world.

The video features:

Shaquille O’Neal (The Real Shaq), Steve Wozniak (Apple Co-founder), Kevin Pollak (Actor), Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation), LeVar Burton (Reading Rainbow, Star Trek: The Next Generation), Jason Calacanis (Internet Entrepreneur), Samm Levine (Actor), Felicia Day (Creator of The Guild / Actress), Kevin Rose (Co-Founder Digg, Revision3), Alex Albrecht (Co-Host Diggnation), Leo Laporte (Technology Journalist and Broadcaster), IJustine (Internet Celebrity / Lifecaster), David Karpe (Founder of Tumblr), Veronica Belmont (co-host of Revision3′s tech-centric show, Tekzilla,), Sarah Lacy (Sillicon Valley Journalist and Author), Randi Zuckerberg (Marketing Director Facebook), Pete Cashmore (Founder of Mashable), Tony Hsieh (CEO of Zappos.com), Gary Vaynerchuk (Wine Library TV), Jonathan Coulton (Famed Singer-Song Writer), Kevin Pereira (The Cable Television Darling), Tay Zonday (YouTube celebrity), Julia Allison (Internet Celebrity, Lifecaster), Julia Roy (Blogger), Marina Orlova (HotForWords, YouTube Internet Celebrity), Shira Lazar (On-air personality, blogger), and yours truly.

Get your Geek Badge.

Give.

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words and pictures by Brian Solis

During SXSW Interactive 2009, interesting, notable, and unexpected geeks as well as the Internet Famous filled the streets in and around the conference and the after hours parties.

Some of my best encounters happened simply by walking from point A to point B.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the stories…

Corvida

Drew Olanoff shows us the bid-winning @melaniemitchell tattoo

Chris Brogan, @geekmommy, Justin Levy throw up Hashtag signs

Dan Patterson of ABC

Sarah Townsend performs on a random Austin street corner

Gregarious Greg Narain vs. Corvida

Scott Beale of Laughing Squid and Brian Solis

Violet Blue, Robert Scoble, Alexia Tsotsis

Frank Gruber channeling Johnny Cash

Sun/Nokia Fogo De Chao

Francisco Dao, Lynne Johnson

Brian Solis, Jessica Berlin, Ilana Arazie, Gregarious

Please read:

The Human Network: The Social Economy is Influenced by How We Communicate Online & Offline (My philosophical analysis of what makes SXSW so special)

Which parties did you hit or miss?

Check em off at Diddit: SXSW Interactive Festival 2009 Party List

Pictures:

SXSW – The Calm Before the Storm

SXSW Day One

TechSet + Windows Mobile Rat Pack 2.0 Party

SXSW Day Two

Diggnation Party at Stubbs

We Flashmob the Driskill

AllHat @Allens Boots

Brian Solis Book Signing @SXSW

Are PR Agencies a Dying Breed: Brian Solis joins the panel

Kirtsy, AllTop Party @Allens Boots

Pool 2.0 – SocialMediaClub

SXSW Day Four

Paul Nelson Performs in the TechSet + Windows Mobile Blogger Lounge

Dell Adamo Premiers at SXSW

Power Geek Girl Tweetup in the TechSet + Windows Mobile Blogger Lounge

Rackspace + Scoble Party

Blurb + Mashable Party

SXSW Day Five

WorldSings.com

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words and pictures by Brian Solis

SXSW Interactive is powered by the one thing that binds us together, you.  It is a congregation of wisdom, artistry, and poetry and it is the foundation for why we each make this annual migration to Austin, Texas.

This year we lined up something special for SXSW and you helped it reach epic status. The TechSet Blogger Lounge sponsored by Windows Mobile was the hub for collaboration, networking, and celebration each and everyday during the conference.

The agenda was rich with activities, entertainment, tweetups, and resources, but you made it unforgettable, fun, and also productive.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story…

Miiko Mentz and Alexandra Mokh

Chris Heuer, Jen Myronuk, Stephanie Agresta

Sean McCullough, CEO and Founder of Ping.fm

Kristen Nicole and…

Tara Hunt

Loic Le Meur

Stephanie Agresta

Adam Jackson

Paige Craige

@gapingvoid’s Blue Monster on Windows Mobile

Paul Chaney

Chris Brogan and Corvida

Louis Gray

Ben Metcalfe throwing up the Hashtag sign

Scott Brave, CTO of Baynote

Wesley Faulkner of AMD

Loren Feldman

Meghan Asha

Peter Kim and Jeremiah Owyang

Ilana Arazie

Shannon Paul

Guy Kawasaki

David Karp of Tumblr

Lee Odden

Tony Hsieh of Zappos

Kevin Marks

Sarah Austin

Ziv Gillat of Eye-Fi

Zach Luye and Shira Lazar

Shira Lazar and Julia Allison

Andrew Baron of RocketBoom

Sanford Barr

Laura Fitton @pistachio wins the LOLCat

Sylvie Barak throws up the Hashtag sign

Ben Huh and Brian Solis

Krista Neher

Kurt Daradics

Sarah Townsend @theoneinpink

Paula Nelson performs

Paula Nelson

Jeffrey Kalmikoff of Threadless

Your hosts, TechSet + Microsoft Windows Mobile

Please read:

The Human Network: The Social Economy is Influenced by How We Communicate Online & Offline (My philosophical analysis of what makes SXSW so special)

Which parties did you hit or miss?

Check em off at Diddit: SXSW Interactive Festival 2009 Party List

Pictures:

SXSW – The Calm Before the Storm

SXSW Day One

TechSet + Windows Mobile Rat Pack 2.0 Party

SXSW Day Two

Diggnation Party at Stubbs

We Flashmob the Driskill

AllHat @Allens Boots

Brian Solis Book Signing @SXSW

Are PR Agencies a Dying Breed: Brian Solis joins the panel

Kirtsy, AllTop Party @Allens Boots

Pool 2.0 – SocialMediaClub

SXSW Day Four

Paul Nelson Performs in the TechSet + Windows Mobile Blogger Lounge

Dell Adamo Premiers at SXSW

Power Geek Girl Tweetup in the TechSet + Windows Mobile Blogger Lounge

Rackspace + Scoble Party

Blurb + Mashable Party

SXSW Day Five

WorldSings.com

Connect with me on:
Twitter, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Plaxo, Plurk, Identi.ca, BackType, or Facebook

by Brian Solis

MySpace Music threw an exclusive party during the Web 2.0 Summit that fused Los Angeles style with San Francisco architecture. Contrary to other reports, this party was not only one of the highlights of the Summit, but one of the more memorable parties associated with any tech conference in recent history.

Thrown at the old mint in San Francisco, MySpace invited Lionel Richie and DJ AM to entertain the anxious and excited crowd. Not only were the invigorating conversations and connections abundant throughout the entire mint, laughter and fun filled the air while the geeks also danced the night away until the early hours of the morning.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story…

Lionel Richie

DJ AM

DJ AM

Chris DeWolfe and Tom Foremski

Bryan Thatcher of Empressr and Michael Birch, Co-Founder of Bebo

iJustine – Justine Ezarik

Ellen McGirt of Fast Company

Caroline McCarthy of CNET

Gabe Rivera of Techmeme

Cathy Brooks of Seesmic and Gregarious Greg Narain of BlueWhaleLabs

Irina Slutsky of GETV and Nick O’Neill

Brady Forrest of O’Reilly

Dave McClure

Hammer, Ron Conway, Dave Morin

Tara Hunt, Jennifer Hussein Pahlka

Joseph Smarr and John McCrea of Plaxo

MC Hammer of DanceJam

Janetti Chon

Cupcakes!

Ben Metcalfe and Cathy Brooks

Brandee Barker of Facebook

Jacob Mullins & Team VentureBeat: Anthony Ha, Dean Takahashi and MG Siegler

Dean Takahashi and Brian Solis

John Furrier

Brandee Barker, Heather Harde, Mike Maser

MG Siegler and Leah Culver

Peter Pham and Mike Morin

Debbie Landa, Kristen O’Brien (Dealmaker Media) and Shay Nowick

Sarah Delman Brown and Cathy Brooks

For more pictures from the MySpace Music party, please visit my album on flickr.

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words and pictures by Brian Solis

Gnomedex is over and since we’re about to fly through several incredible events including Office 2.0, DEMOfall, and TechCrunch50, I thought it would be a good idea to commemorate my incredible experience in Seattle.

Gnomedex is by far one of my favorite stops on the networking circuit as it levels the playing field and creates a truly equal forum for sharing our experiences while learning from those of others. It’s like a TED for geeks. And, it’s not just the valuable lessons and insight that we learn in those action-packed two days, it’s the relationships that you build and carry forward with you that mean everything. If you have never attended, then block out the time and start saving for Gnomedex 2009.

I walked away with so many wonderful memories and new ideas. From Danny Sullivan’s talk on Search Life Meets Real Life and Beth Kanter’s motivating stories on Using Social Media for Good Causes to Francine Hardaway’s fantastic and lively discussion with Mark Bao on Generation Y and Kris Krug’s fun and helpful talk on photography tips (it was great to finally meet him!). The conversations that took place in the hallways as well as the even receptions were also equally significant.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Chris Pirillo at the opening reception holding one of the many HP notebooks given away

Brian Solis, Drew Olanoff of Strands, and Sarah Lacy live on GnomedexTV

Tara Hunt

Larry Halff of Ma.gnolia

Danny Sullivan

Mark Bao

Francine Hardaway

Ponzi and Chris Pirillo

Beth Kanter

Sarah Lacy, Tara Hunt, Olivia Hine, Francine Hardaway

Londa Quisling of Iterasi

Ryan Stewart

Ranvir Gujral of Bluewhale Labs

Duncan Riley

Liz Strauss

Geoff Livingston

Robert Scoble

Dave Mathews

Jeremy Wright of B5 Media

Sara Czyzewicz of DandyID

Maryam Scoble and Danielle Morrill

Marshall Kirkpatrick

Liz Strauss and Alex Williams

Brian Solis and Jeremy Wright

The crew at the Edgewater Hotel

For more pictures of Gnomedex, please visit my album on flickr.

Connect with me on:
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by Brian Solis

I <3 Los Angeles and the people who are defining the social economy and expanding the mainstream pervasiveness of the new Web.

This consequential, yet humble group of digital influencers is investing in not only their own ideas, but actively collaborating around the vision of others – literally putting the “social” in the Social Web. It’s an incredible movement that is growing in LA as well as other cities around the world, creating a network of connected beacons that unite to create a global community while defining the next tech economy.

The TechSet convened in Los Angeles at the ultra-stylish Luxe Hotel last night as part of a “mini” Internet Week that is storming Southern California and hosting the digerati every night this week.

The TechSet represented a new era of celebrity, bringing together emerging, successful and popular personalities, artists, entrepreneurs, bloggers, and connectors. The night was beautiful, warm, and more importantly, the perfect place to meet those rich in intellect and forge new relationships that serve as catalysts to future projects and engagements.

It was unpretentious and inviting and we look forward to hosting the next TechSet in Los Angeles very soon. Thank you for being part of it and for making it such a special, productive, and memorable evening.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story:

Becky Ryan and Heather Meeker

Sean Percival

Melodi Cowan and Dave Mathews

Julian Brass

Oren Michels of Mashery

TechZulu

Jennifer Fader

Jullianna Raye

Harry Gantz and Tim Street

Dave Mathews and Stephanie Agresta

Valerie Cunningham and Aaron Strout of Mzinga

Becky Ryan, Brian Solis, Heather Meeker

Todd Cohen and Ian Kilpatrick

Greg Narain and Jackie Peters

Heather Lipner

Liz Federowicz

Wm. Marc Salsbury, Melodi Cowan, Michael Pilla, Alicia Lin

Damon Alexander Young

?, Kurt Dardics, Yvonne Randolph

Michael Terpin

Seth Shapiro

Brooks Bayne and Alicia Lin

Andrew Justin, Greg Narain, Jackie Peters, and Brian Solis

THE AFTER PARTY

The view

Brian Solis

Sean Percival

For more pictures from the TechSet @Luxe party, visit my album on flickr.

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