DesertUSAWhat's New

January 2009

Features . . .

Snow in the desert! Take a look at the pictures our readers have been sending in, and read their comments - December storms have brought rain and snow, make us think the 2009 wildflower season might be a really good one!

Check out DesertUSA's new stories on the home page. Click here!

2008 Wildflower Retrospective2008 Wildflower Season Video Retrospective:

The 2008 Wildflower Season was the best in several years. We have made a video retrospective for each area. More...

 

DesertUSA is pleased to announce the new DESERTUSA ONLINE COMMUNITY. It is currently being beta tested, so if you would like to help with this process please visit the link below to sign up for a FREE DesertUSA profile and participate in our new online community. Let us know what your feedback is on the sign up process, provide us with any errors or feedback you have related to the sign up process and tools available. It is a work in progress so you will see some changes as we continue to prepare to launch the Community.

The purpose of the DesertUSA Community is to provide FREE profile pages and tools on the DesertUSA Web site for individuals and organizations to share information about the desert and related activities.

By signing up for a FREE profile page you will receive your own personal Web page where you can share information, photos and videos with friends, family and other individuals who have similar common interests. DesertUSA Community Members all have one thing in common . . . an interest in the desert and the many outdoor activities available in desert parks and regions.

http://www.members.desertusa.com

FYI the first question on the sign up page is "Choose Your Url" some people are confused on what this is. It is just a web page location of your new profile page. Most people just put in their first name, screen name or a nick name. Example: members.desertusa.com/lynn or members.desertusa.com/yournicknamehere.

DesertUSA Videos: We are now adding 2 to 3 videos a month to DesertUSA.com. Each video is one to two minutes long and covers an animal, plant or place to go. Now, in addition to reading and seeing pictures about a location or animal, you will be able to experience them in a video. Click here for a list of videos available now. The new Flash 9 player plug-in for browsers has greatly improved video presentations for the Internet. We intend to use it to improve your DesertUSA experience with more great sounds and video of the desert. To update your browser to the latest version of Flash click here.

New videos: The Mud Caves of Carrizo Badlands, the Anza Borrego Badlands, Are You Riding Your ATV over Gold?, and the Ocotillo Wells SVRA.

Do you have any interesting video clips of the desert? Let us know what you have. E-mail feedback.

NEWS: Get your message out - have your news item seen by thousands! If you have a press release, news item or upcoming event notice you would like to see posted on the DesertUSA News Blog, please click here to submit it. Please do not change the email subject line, or we may not receive it. Note we will not publish items copyrighted by other publications such as newspapers. Please do not expect a reply - we will use the item if it is appropriate for the news blog. Please provide your name and e-mail address with all submissions, or if it is an item originating from an organization, the organization's contact information so that we can contact you if we have a question. Generally we do not publish individual's names or email addresses on our blog, just phone numbers, websites and regular mailing information, in order to avoid exposing your email address to spam collectors. Photos should be scanned at 72 dpi and should be saved in jpg or jpeg format and sent as an email attachment (no files over 2MB please).

Desert Events Calendar - Links to what's happening this month in the deserts. Click here to view calendar.

Free DesertUSA E-mail Newsletter - Monthly updates include articles, news, the latest desert information on events, and other desert-related topics. Sign-up Now!

If you have a older dog or a dog that has arthritis or joint problems, you may be interested in a new health product for dogs. Click here.

The desert bears a promise in every sunrise - a new day, a new beauty to discover. Many vacation here year after year in Arizona timeshare. The newest trend on the market, however, is fractional ownership where instead of merely a week in a Sedona timeshare you buy a portion of the year, which can amount to several weeks. This is a great arrangement for snowbirds.

New Products . . .

Kokopelli, Hummingbird and Thunderbird Coaster Sets- Natural sandstone formed millions of years ago, beautiful and practical 4-inch coasters and 6-inch trivets.

Sonoma Lavender Products - Everything lavender form heated spa booties to sleep masks and sachets!

New Guide: Rockhounding the Wiley's Well District of California - Occupying the northeastern part of the Colorado Desert in southern California, the Wiley's Well Rockhounding District contains a number of well known rock-collecting locations. This book offers GPS users the GPS locations of the collecting sites, and every significant junction on the way to them. No maps are needed. One can find his or her way with ease and much greater accuracy than that offered by any map.

Podcasting, Video, Audio and More . . .

DesertUSA is now podcasting videos on desert animals and related desert subjects. Podcasting is the method of distributing multimedia files, such as audio or video programs, over the Internet using syndication formats. The videos can be transferred to a portable player (e.g., iPod) or played on your computer. We added 4 more podcast this month. Click here to view podcasts.

Video & Audio Files on DesertUSA - We are converting most of our media and audio/sound files to Flash, which is used by 96% of all browsers on the Internet. With Flash files you just click on a file or select it, and it will play, no checking which format your browser supports. The Macromedia Flash plugin, is "standard issue" on nearly every computer -- so you won't have to do anything special to listen and/or watch DesertUSA media files. NOTE: One exception to this may be Firefox on the PC. If you are using Firefox on the PC, or new installations of Vista. Please check your Flash plugin by using our simple test.

NOTICE TO UPDATE YOUR FLASH PLAYER: The new Flash 9 player plug-in for browsers has greatly improved video presentations for the Internet. We intend to use it to improve your DesertUSA experience with more great sounds and video of the desert. To update your browser to the latest version of Flash click here.

To check to see if you have the latest version of Flash player installed, click the button:

If you have a older dog or a dog that has arthritis or joint problems, you may be interested in a new health product for dogs. Click here.