Previous month: May 1, 2005 - May 7, 2005
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Ruby on Rails

Ruby on Rails is an amazing framework for developing web apps. I don't know what it can do, but I know making a todo list app with it was mind-bogglingly simple.

While I like doing web apps, I absolutely hate doing the routine chores that are involved each and every time: handling forms, doing the very basic MySQL operations... It's always the same, and it was interesting on the first time. Ruby on Rails makes all that deceptively simple.

Unfortunately my great idea to start learning Ruby on Rails will probably die a sad death, since my ISP doesn't support even Ruby. Too bad. I can't install it myself (it's all fine until the dreaded "make install" step, which I can't perform) and I'm fairly sure they won't install it, either; of course it never hurts to ask, but they've been somewhat disinterested in installing new modules or anything.

That's sad, but perhaps I'll keep on practising on our PowerBook. I have MySQL, Ruby has a webserver (and if I want more, OS X comes with Apache), so I can do whatever I want. Perhaps I can't do anything public, but at least I can practise Ruby, as it seems to be quite an interesting language.

20.05.2005 klo 09:10 | Be the first to comment | TrackBack (0)

Neat software: Instiki

In an attempt to keep notes and organise stuff, I installed a Wiki on our laptop. I bumped into Instiki (Monday's Download of the Day at Lifehacker), which is a very neat Wiki server.

It's a very tight package, containing a web server and thus it's very easy to install. On OS X, all you need to do is download the disk image and that's it, you've got a Wiki running. On other systems it's pretty much as easy, but you probably need to get Ruby. Still, installing it should be a breeze.

So, if you're looking for a Wiki system for personal use, Instiki is the best thing I've seen so far.

What comes to Ruby, if I feel like I need to learn a new programming language, it seems to be a good choice. It's either Ruby or Python. But not now, some other day... And I know I need some good task to do, to get me working with the language. Fortunately programming languages are easier to learn than real-world languages, at least to me (I've so much wanted to learn German, but that just didn't work out and I know I'll regret that in October, when I'm going to Essen and it would be really cool to be able to understand German).

19.05.2005 klo 14:32 | Be the first to comment | TrackBack (0)

PowerBook experiences

We've been using our PowerBook for about two weeks now and it's been very nice. A computer kind of thought to be the secondary computer has made our desktop computer almost obsolete. It's just so much more fun to use!

Mac OS X is great. The user interface is quite intuitive and easy to use, we both like it immensely. There are great ideas like the Exposé - move the mouse pointer to one of the corners of the screen to see every open program at the same time so you can choose which one you'd like to see. That's very useful and natural feature, which I'm already missing in Windows.

I've also already learned to push the apple key, so when using the other computer, I keep using alt (which is where the apple key is on Mac keyboard) instead of control.

One Mac thing we didn't accept: the one-button mouse. Instead we got a Logitech MX510 with eight buttons (we have MX500 for the other computer). It's simply the best mouse I've ever used, either version. The red MX510 looks nice.

OS X isn't perfect: programs crash (especially Camino), but generally the system hasn't minded. Once Finder crashed (or didn't start properly) and we had to close the computer to get it working; at the same time (and much less use) Windows has had several fits, presenting us with the Blue Screen immediately after the Windows started.

One thing I'd recommend to anyone using a Mac is QuickSilver, which makes starting programs and accessing files very easy. It's a must for people who like using keyboard a lot, as it can eliminate lots of mouse pointing. Also some people have complained about Dock, saying it has usability problems; I wouldn't know about that, as QuickSilver has made Dock almost completely unnecessary.

We've also enjoyed the iTunes Music Store. It could have a better selection, but despite that, we've made some purchases already. It's just too easy... The AAC files can't be listened with our MP3 players, which dampened our spirits earlier, but then I figured out we can burn our purchases on cd's and then rip the cd's to get proper MP3's of them, so no problems there.

Listening to music is quite handy with Airport Express, so we can hear the music from decent speakers without having to worry about wires.

If we had the money, we would probably buy a 20-inch iMac right away and toss away the Windows machines completely.

16.05.2005 klo 14:12 | Comments 1 comment(s) | TrackBack (0)

Hide and Seek

We saw Hide and Seek Saturday. My expectations weren't high, which turned out to be a wise move. Hide and Seek is about psychological horror: a psychologist and his daughter move to countryside after his wife and her mother dies. She comes up with this imaginary friend, who turns out to be a rather nasty person.

Much horror ensues, typically in the form of sudden scares, which is always a bit boring. There's a twist, and it is a pretty good one, too, but it's not enough to rescue the movie from boring mediocrity. Robert de Niro makes a very tired lead role, while Dakota Fanning shines as the daughter.

(Edit: No comments allowed on this entry; I had to close them, because for some reason, this entry draws in spammers like nothing else.)

16.05.2005 klo 14:10 | TrackBack (0)