Claris Networks has been serving the Chattanooga market for several years. Chattanooga’s investment in gig fiber optic Internet connection has enabled Claris and other businesses to expand high-tech operations in the area. In the past two weeks, Claris has had the privilege of speaking on this topic with Nooga News (Nooga.com), the Chattanooga Times Free Press and WBIR in Knoxville.

The articles on Nooga.com and the Chattanooga Times Free Press outline how the Chattanooga fiber has enabled some of Claris’s recent expansion, indicative of economic expansion in the area.

Click the image for a video from WBIR that features Dan Thompson, a.k.a the “Techxpert,” on the complications and benefits of Knoxville making a similar investment in internet infrastructure.

It’s three days before Christmas. If you haven’t already sent your Christmas card to Great Aunt Bethany, odds are she’s going cardless on the 25^th. Don’t worry though; your smartphone can save your conscience the unnecessary burden and still make Great Auntie B feel like you couldn’t wait to send her your festive holiday vibes.

Below are a few holiday e-card iPhone apps that can save Christmas. From Mashable.






Christmas Cards 100+ Free Cards – Zaggle  $Free               Vintage Christmas Cards – $2.99

      


Christmas Lifecards - $0.99                                                             Red Stamp - $0.99

                   

Appygraph – Christmas and New Year eCards - $1.99                           Howdy! - $Free

       

As you probably know, Claris Networks is giving away a cloud computing contract to a Knoxville area non-profit this holiday season. These awesome organizations have all expressed significant need for IT help, and have progressed from the nomination phase held earlier this month. Below is an update on the tally of votes. They’re all very close (within 150 votes of each other), but the deciding factor is ultimately which group has the most people vote on their behalf. It’s up to you to spread the word! Pick up their cause and run with it! Tell your friends, your family, your coworkers. Heck, be “that guy” in the office and ask your team to take 30 seconds and vote. It won’t hurt anyone. The Claris Networks “Give the Cloud” giveaway is worth up to $200,000 in IT services for this non-profit. Think of how that assistance could help your group accomplish its mission.

The voting tally as of 8:00AM December 21, 2011:


1^st Place - Big Brother Big Sisters of East Tennessee 





  2^nd Place – Boys and Girls Club of the Tennessee Valley



  3^rd Place – Knoxville Christian School




  4^th Place – Emerald Youth Foundation

 

CLICK HERE TO CAST YOUR VOTE

*The contest runs through December 31, 2011 at 11:59 PM.
**Only one vote per person will be counted.
 
 

As the tablet industry’s fight for your eyeballs rages on, it’s a daunting task to decide which one is the right device to give your attention (and cash) to. Dan Thompson visited WBIR and the Fox Morning Show to highlight the most intriguing tablets on the market this holiday season: the Amazon Kindle Fire, the Barnes & Noble Nook, and of course, the iPad 2.
 
Kindle Fire versus iPad2 (Fox Morning Show)


Fire vs Nook vs iPad2 (WBIR Morning Show)

Sure, this is about 4 years too late to be novel or surprising. Sure, this is borderline slapstick and unintelligent. And sure, I might get fired for trademark infringement on Larry Bodie’s face. But geez, if you know any of the people in this video, it sure is funny.

Click Here to Watch

Starring, from left to right:

1. Aaron Sherrill
2. Dave Sagraves
3. Andy Price
4. Becky Finnegan
5. Larry Bodie