Toluu

Softies On Rails

What Did You Learn In 2008?January 1

I learned a lot of new things in 2008. Here are a few highlights I can think of:

• The REST concepts became crystal clear in early 2008. Later I wrote the REST 101 series which became one of our more popular series we’ve done on this blog, and then taught a workshop on it down in Austin, TX. (The next one is in Chicago, so sign up now to be notified when registration opens.)

• I hated, then learned, then loved Git.

• Learned how to write a book.

• I hated, then learned, then loved setting up my own VPS on Slicehost.

• Learned how to setup nginx with a Thin cluster to host Rails applications.

• Learned how to write my own DSLs in Ruby. Awesome. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. People will look back at 2008 and remember it as the Year of the DSL, when DSLs finally started to get the attention they deserve.

• Learned a bit about functional programming. I don’t completely get it yet, but I find it fascinating.

• Learned to play chess better. But

Hear us talk about Rails, .NET, and more on the Alt.net PodcastDecember 30 2008

Photo credit

A little while back, Brian and I were glad to be asked to appear along with James Avery on the ALT.NET Podcast.

We mostly focus on issues that are of interest to those who are straddling that line between day-job .NET and night-time Rails, but we also touch on other topics as well.

So give a kick and a listen to our episode about Rails and let us know what you think of it.

Microblogging on TwitterDecember 17 2008

Earlier this year, I started using twitter. I was not at all convinced it would be worth my time. I didn’t really understand why I would want to tell people “what I’m doing right now.”

While some people literally tweet what they’re doing every five minutes, I discovered that many people don’t. And so now, I “get it”. I’ve found the key is not follow a lot of people – I currently follow about 70 – otherwise it’s a firehose.

What I get out of twitter is access to conversations that those that I’m interested in are having. It helps me keep up with the news a bit more than reading blogs, although anything important always shows up on a blog at some point anyway. Also, many heated conversations on twitter originate from a blog post.

So I think blogging is here to stay for a while, despite what some may think.

However, it occurred to me that I’ve blogged a lot less in the past couple months, because it’s much more convenient for me to tweet a link or an idea, than it is to write up a blog post. So while both Brian and I will continue to blog here, you should follow us on twitter:

Jeff on twitter

Brian on twitter

Anytime we have something to announce, teach, entertain, or waste your time with that fits int

Rails for .NET Developers As A WordleDecember 9 2008

The title of this post says it all. Click for a larger view:

Get the pdf or just paper.

Can Software Updates Be Made Simpler?November 21 2008

Generally speaking, I like Apple’s Software Update mechanism more than I liked Microsoft’s Windows Update. It generally seems less intrusive, runs faster, and has a simpler UI (disclaimer: I’m more familiar with WinXP than Vista; if the Vista experience has made it a lot better, be sure to comment to this post).

However, it still takes a lot more clicks than it should, especially for iTunes updates. iTunes seems to update itself more often than any other piece of software I own, and every time there’s an update I have to click once or twice to get past the License Agreement nonsense in addition to the clicks needed to just get the update installed. For minor “point” releases, I wish it wouldn’t ask me about the license agreement every single time:

Agreeing to the terms and conditions of, say, version 8.0.0, should imply that I agree for 8.1 through 8.9. Or heck, through 125.2. Does anybody read these things anymore anyway? Just give me a way to view the license agreement from the Help menu or something if I’m really worried about it.

Software updates should be, ideally, invisible; and when they can’t be, they should be simple to apply. I think Apple has done a good job with making them simple to apply. But many of them could be invisib