Dear WebEX,

We’ve been testing out a few conference systems and first went with WebEX as several of our clients/partners seem to use it, but after a few calls, it seemed like a lot of moaning and groaning on our end about having to navigate their UI.

We’ve since settled on GoToMeeting as their tools/interface feel much easier to interact with.

So, today… I went through your cancellation process, which required me to call and wait on hold for 20 minutes, talk with one of your agents, explain why we wanted to cancel, turn down their offer for free training of using their tool, and eventually wait for my confirmation email. I’ve gone ahead and provided it for you.

I’ll give you some credit though. When I first compared WebEX vs GoToMeeting, I found your marketing/sales pitch to be more compelling, so pulled my credit card out for you first. However, once you gave me access to my new account, It was nothing but headaches and annoyances for the team. Very difficult tools to interact with… the epitome of a web tool designed by technical people who lack much empathy for the end-user. I worry that you’re losing a lot of customers for similar reasons… and would encourage you to have some of your usability experts focus on your online scheduling/planning tools as it was too painful for us to work with.

Sincerely,
$FIRST_NAME

We had Andy Sanders from Contiki visit with us for a few days this week. This morning, Gary and I took him for a hike in the Columbia Gorge and stopped by Multnomah Falls.

Thanks for visiting Andy, we look forward to seeing you again soon!

I’ve been wanting one in our studio for years…

While in the UK last week, Joshua and I took a day trip to Brighton.

Noticed our poster made it up on our client’s wall in London. #MakeItHappen

update It’s now available on our shop!

Hello!

Joshua and I are en route to London to visit with clients.

We’ll be around until April 20th, so if you’re looking for an opportunity to meet with us to discuss your project, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Sometimes they feel like this… as opposed to this.

Finally got our new poster framed. :-)

Jack and Brian figuring out shit for one of our new mobile projects.

While I have fond memories of the days when we’d be getting several hosting orders each day for new customers, I don’t miss the days when servers would crash. We’re thankful to be able to partner with companies like Blue Box for most of our client hosting needs these days.

Days since I was last in a colo facility: 97. (when we pulled all of our remaining servers out of our cabinet on Dec. 31, 2011)

Planet Argon Shop

We love our Planet Argon shirts, and now they’re available for everyone! Show that you love Portland just as much as us. Shirts, coasters, and more to come soon.

Annie, Eric, and myself recently flew down to Mountain View, CA to meet with one of our new clients, TCI who is a K-12 education publishing company. While visiting, I couldn’t help taking a few photos of them in the studio classroom.

Stay tuned as we’ll have a lot to share about the work we’re doing with them.

This is the Planet Argon site viewed using Firefox’s new 3D inspector tool for developers.

Stop treating the development community like it’s a fucking boys club.

It’s okay to have a little fun from time to time.

Found on the UXMad call for proposal form.

Gary will occasionally bring his dogs to the studio. We put this sign on the door to warn visitors.

Some of the folks opted to be Gary for his birthday. Can you spot the real one?

Kate, one of our friends at Contiki, showing off her new t-shirt. Photo taken in London at The Breakfast Club

I’ve been trying to push Movember onto the gentlemen of Planet Argon, with no success. So in an attempt to persuade, I fashioned them with the most stylish mustaches, mustachios, and handlebars I could find. Not so bad, right?

One of our other new t-shirt designs… we played around with the logo a little bit.