ActsAsFlinn

1. Developers
2. Developers
3. Developers
4. Developers
5. Developers…

So you may have heard that IE8 Beta 2 Shipped. It’s awesome…relative to any other previous release of IE. It’s like the Windows XP of Internet Explorers.

I’ve been developing web apps for a long time… which means I obligatorily hate IE. I still do hate it but I’m surprised at how good a release Microsoft has shipped. The look and feel is less bubble gum and a little more crisp. There is even a developer tool that’s almost as good as Firebug… no really. In addition to the dom browser there’s actually a javascript debugger in IE! I’m really amazed. They did manage to sneak in some hook ups to MSN’s crappy services but hey what do you expect?

I actually think there is something to the developer tools in IE8. Microsoft is actually listening to the biggest criticisms coming from the web development community about how difficult it is to develop for IE. I work on some fairly high profile sites along with some pretty large teams for names you’ve heard of (Time, Sports Illustrated, Turner, etc.) and I’m seeing the vast majority of web developers using Macs with Firefox (and Firebug of course). Microsoft really used to cater to developers but the web has always been one of the hardest markets for Microsoft to capture developer market share in. Why? Because Microsoft has made the web suck and our jobs a lot harder. But I think they are starting to get it.

So will IE8 rule over Firefox…not for me but I’m sure it will for the countless masses still using IE. The side benefit for all of us web slaves is an easier to use and program for version of IE. Now please Microsoft just phase out IE6!

Sorry had to put that there ;-)

1. Rails: So Easy A Caveman Can Do It!

I’m doing Rails over three years now, right around the time all the bullshit PHP clones started cropping up. I switched to Ruby on Rails from PHP because Rails is brilliant. ActiveRecord makes dealing with the database a so easy a caveman can do it. I’m 100% certain Rails’ uptake can be attributed to AR. That’s awesome and all but Rails has seriously gotten bloated in it’s chase to be enterprisey. ActiveResource, Timezones, mass-assignment, i18n… next bloat will be full text search mark my words.

2. You Miss PHP Don’t You?

The niceties of Rails are great but don’t you miss the simplicity and control of PHP? I certainly don’t miss the PHP because it sucks. I came for the Rails and stayed for the Ruby – writing non-Rails Ruby apps for a while now and loving Ruby. I’m crushing on Merb and Halcyon lately. I love Merb because I can screw with it!

3. I hacked Merb

In 20m I hacked the caching system to use memcached (the gem). In 10 minutes I dropped in a custom JSON-P rack handler. 30 minutes with Merb and I’ve boosted API performance 250%! All while dropping a shitload of bloat I don’t need and tightening my own code.

4. Merb Is A Sexy

It gives me the feeling I have control again and whats sexier than dominating Merb? Merb started out as a hack – just a few lines of Ruby on top of Mongrel… OK it’s not assembly – close enough.

5. Merb for Job Security

When the bubble 2.0 bursts you’re going to be fighting for a job with thousands of “Rails developers” that have read the Agile book and think they know Rails. I’ve interviewed probably a dozen candidates that “have Rails experience” but have nothing to show than internal app used by 20 people (if that). Writing Web apps is much more than CRUD. Get over it already.