Kyle Slattery

Stringex and ActsAsUrl

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 01:29:00 -0500

A great Rails plugin that helps to create URLs from entry titles. My favorite part: stuff like "10% off a purchase of $100" gets changed to "10-percent-off-a-purchase-of-100-dollars". Checkout the README for more info. (via RailsTips)

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Rails 3 and Merb - Robby on Rails

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:59:00 -0500

A great entry on the issues merging Merb with Rails that might arise. Robby makes some interesting points--if "convention over configuration" is the motto of Rails right now, is it really that great of an idea to add more choices, such as what ORM to use? I have confidence in the Rails and Merb teams that they'll think hard about these things, but they definitely need to keep the entry barrier low for Rails.

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Merb merged into Rails 3

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:17:00 -0500

This is going to be awesome. The performance and modularity of Merb plus the robustness and community of Rails is just going to blow everything out of the water.

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A Review of Sennheiser HD-555 Headphones

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 22:17:00 -0500

A few months back, I got my hands on a pair of Sennheiser HD-555 headphones, and my experience so far has been overwhelmingly positive. Though they may be a little pricy for those who are used to paying $20-30 for headphones, they are more than worth it and make listening to music a joy.

I've had some past experience with Sennheiser products: my first pair were the HD 457s, which were followed by a pair of the portable yet powerful PX 100s, after which I got a pair of the HD-280s. Although I really enjoyed the HD-280s, I wanted to try out an open pair of cans (instead of closed), so I went ahead and got the HD-555s.

Closed vs. Open

One of the most important factors to consider when buying a pair of quality headphones is whether you want them to be "open" or "closed". With closed headphones, your ears are completely sealed off, whereas with open headphones, there's an opening for sound waves to propagate out from the headphones. Open headphones are generally higher quality, as the waves aren't resonating off a closed earcup. However, it's possible for people around you to hear what you're listening to, which doesn't happen with closed headphones. Also, the closed design blocks out a lot of external sound, so they're great if you want to block things out.

Sennheiser HD-555

The HD-555s are open, and I can definitely notice a difference compared to my HD-280s. Bass is punchier, and music is, in general, much crisper. The 555s are also super comfortable: I've listened to music for hours at a time without feeling any discomfort, whereas the HD-280s get uncomfortable after about an hour or so.

Some negatives: if someone's sitting near me while I'm using the HD-555s, they can definitely hear what I'm listening to. For the most part, it's not an issue, but if I'm somewhere quiet, like the library or something, I usually use different headphones so as not to annoy others. In a similar vein, outside noises are definitely more noticeable with the closed design. With the 280s, I could take them on the plane and not hear the engine at all, with my iPod only at about 50% volume. My 555s, however, require me to turn the volume almost all the way up, and even then, it can be hard to hear quieter songs.

That being said, I definitely would recommend the HD-555s to anyone looking to get a high quality pair of headphones for a reasonable price (they're right around $100). You could spend hundreds more and get some amazing headphones, but for casual listening, these are a great value.

Improve Your jQuery - 25 Excellent Tips

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:45:00 -0500

Some really great tips about improving the performance of your jQuery code, as well as some nice tips to be a more efficient coder. (via RailsTips)

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Git Community Book

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 16:40:00 -0500

A great resource for Git information. I recently converted this site to use Git instead of SVN, and so far it's been really great.

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Rails Metal: a micro-framework with the power of Rails

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:43:00 -0500

Great writeup on Rails Metal, a nifty new addition to Edge Rails. I noticed the commit earlier, but I was a bit confused about what it was. Essentially, you can create simple pages for items that don't need the Rails stack, and it's a whole lot faster.

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More Fields Plugin for WordPress

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:44:00 -0500

An impressive plugin that allows you to add more fields to the WordPress Write/Edit page. Though I still think ExpressionEngine is the better choice for complicated sites, this could be really useful for blogs that need a little more functionality.

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Fitting curves to data using Ruby and the GNU Scientific Library

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:45:00 -0500

Great tutorial about generating graphs and trend lines using Ruby.

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Wordpress 2.7 Released

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:28:00 -0500

Today, WordPress 2.7 was released, and, I have to say, it's pretty impressive. Not only did they completely overhaul the admin interface, making it more usable, but they also now include the ability to update WordPress from the admin panel. Awesome!

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µTorrent Mac Beta

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 22:54:00 -0500

µTorrent, my absolute favorite torrent client when I was using Windows, recently released a beta for Macs. I've played around with it a bit so far, and I'm really impressed, though Transmission is still an awesome choice as well.

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TextMate Productivity Tips

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:28:00 -0500

Some great TextMate power tips from Roger Johansson.

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Apple Bends to Studios, Adds Copyright Protection to MacBooks

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 12:45:00 -0500

Apparently, Apple has added HDCP to the new MacBooks, making it impossible to play videos purchased from iTunes on unauthorized external displays. This is really disappointing, to say the least. Instead of spending time locking down their content, movie companies should be looking for new avenues of distribution, like sites similar to Hulu. Make it easy to legally watch content, and people will do it! Make it difficult to watch content you paid for, and people will pirate even more.

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Defensive design: Magnetic zones on the unibody MacBook

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:24:00 -0500

Sam, of 37signals notices a great feature on the new MacBooks: when installing new RAM, there's a magnet that catches any screws you might accidentally drop. Brilliant!

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Five Physics Lessons for Obama

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:36:00 -0500

A great piece on facts regarding nuclear energy, alternative fuels, and several other topics. I'm not sure I agree with #4, that we shouldn't be sending more humans into space, but I can certainly see where the author's coming from. The nuclear energy section, however, is right on the money. (via Jason Kottke)

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Red/Redshift Demo App

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:57:00 -0500

A 30-minute video of Red/Redshift, a "compiler" for Ruby to Javascript. Essentially, you write all of your AJAX, etc. in Ruby, and Red converts it to Javascript to you. I'm not sure how I feel about the extra step, but it's definitely an intriguing idea, since it's much nicer to write Ruby than JS.

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Why I won't be buying Versions

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:20:00 -0500

Today, Versions, a Subversion app for OS X, moved to version 1.0, marking the end of its free beta period. While many people will be shelling out the €39 (~$49) for a license, I won't be doing the same. Having used Versions for a couple months now, it just isn't for me.

I don't need a fancy UI.

When I loaded Versions for the first time, I was impressed by the amount of work that went into the UI. It looked nice, and it worked pretty well too. However, I found myself working harder to accomplish simple tasks than when I used the command line. For me, it's a lot easier to cd to the directory in the Terminal and do a svn stat rather than take the time to load up Versions and do a similar command. Even though it might be nicer to look at, Versions was just never quite as quick or intuitive as the terminal commands I had grown used to. In addition, I almost always have the Terminal open, as I'm constantly running commands during development. Having to open up another app just got in the way of my workflow.

I already use TextMate.

TextMate is the center of my coding world. It is quite simply the greatest text editor I have ever used, and it's where I spend the vast majority of my time when I'm coding. Built into TextMate is a great SVN plugin that really makes Versions unnecessary. Without changing applications, I just hit CTRL+SHIFT+A and I'm greeted with a list of SVN commands. I tap 5, and I see a dialog where I can set my SVN commit message and choose exactly which items I want to commit from a list of changed files. Why would I need anything more sophisticated than that? If I wanted to go ahead and commit a few files with Versions, I'd have to fire up the application, locate the files I want, and hit commit. The worst part is, at least in the beta version I used, there's no good way to select multiple files in Versions without resorting to holding the command key and clicking each file. In TextMate, it's as simple as checking boxes.

Git is the future.

My biggest problem with spending close to $50 on a Subversion app is that I really don't want to use SVN any more. I've fallen in love with Git, a distributed version control system that puts Subversion to shame. Just about every new personal project I start will be using Git, so there's really no point in buying a program just to manage my older projects. If Versions supported Git as well, I'd definitely be considering adding it to my arsenal.

A Grain of Salt

Now, just because Versions hasn't worked its way into my routine doesn't mean it can't be part of yours. I personally know several people that really enjoy Versions, and it has really improved their workflow. It's definitely a well-made product, it just doesn't work for me.

Also, if you're in the market for an OS X client for SVN, definitely check out Cornerstone as well. While I haven't used it personally, I've heard good things about it.

The Rails Myths

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 15:34:00 -0500

A great series of posts by David Heinemeier Hansson, creator of Ruby on Rails, debunking some common Rails myths. A must read for anyone considering using Rails (or anyone that uses it already, for that matter).

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Jade Ohlhauser Compares Versions and Cornerstone, Round 2

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:44:00 -0500

In July, Jade Ohlhauser compared Versions and Cornerstone, two OS X SVN clients, and he declared Versions the winner. Now, he revisited the two, and this time Cornerstone takes the prize. I've used Versions a bit myself, and while it's pretty impressive, I still much prefer using TextMate's built in SVN support and the command line. However, after reading this review, I'll definitely have to try Cornerstone out. (via John Gruber)

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Resizing Rounded Rectangles in Photoshop

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:24:00 -0500

In the past, I've always dreaded working with rounded rectangles in Photoshop, because they're just so annoying to resize. If you try to change the object's height or width, it distorts the corners, making things look pretty bad. Today, I found a way to resize them using the direct selection tool, and it has already made my life a whole lot easier. Check out the screencast I put together to find out how.

Finding Related Entries Using Tags with Ruby on Rails

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:46:00 -0500

One of the cool features that I built into my new site is the "related" sidebar box on every entry and link. Using a not-so-sophisticated algorithm, my site automatically picks out other entries that seem to be related to the current entry, which hopefully helps readers navigate to my other content. It really wasn't too difficult to implement, so I figured I'd go through my thought process and the code that makes it happen.

The Not So Fancy Algorithm

It took me a little while to come up with a way to determine if an entry is "related" that was both accurate and relatively efficient--I could have used some complicated tool that parses the content of my entries, but instead I decided use something that's a little simpler: tags. To understand how it works, pretend I have three entries:

Entry A - Tagged with: Turkey, Roast Beef, Cheese, Bread
Entry B - Tagged with: Bread, Baking
Entry C - Tagged with: Turkey, Cheese, Bread, Lettuce

Let's say we're looking for entries related to Entry A. From just looking at B and C, it's clear that C should be closest, as they A and C both have something to do with sandwiches, whereas B only talks about bread. To rank the entriesprogramatically, I first do a query to find entries with any of the tags from Entry A. Then, once I have that list, I sort the entries by how many of Entry A's tags are used. So, in the above example, Entry C would have 3 matched tags, and Entry B would have 2. It's not a perfect system, but so far, it seems to be working pretty well.

The Code

So, here's the code that's performing all the magic:

class Post < ActiveRecord::Base
  def related(limit=5)
    @related ||=
      returning self.class.find_tagged_with(tag_list, :conditions => ['posts.id != ?', self.id], :limit => limit) do |posts|
        posts.sort_by do |p|
          matched_tags = p.tags.find_all {|t| self.tags.include?(t)}
          matched_tags.size
        end.reverse
      end
  end
end

The real meat of the method is in the returning block, so let's take a look at that:

returning self.class.find_tagged_with(tag_list, :conditions => ['posts.id != ?', self.id], :limit => limit) do |posts|
  posts.sort_by do |p|
    matched_tags = p.tags.find_all {|t| self.tags.include?(t)}
    matched_tags.size
  end.reverse
end

What's happening here is I'm first searching for any entries tagged with the current entry's tags (I'm using acts_as_taggable_on_steroids), then, with the data that's returned, I use Ruby to sort the entries by the number of "matched" tags, which then gets returned from the method. Conventional wisdom suggests moving the matched tags part into SQL, since MySQL is more efficient than Ruby at handling data. However, I'm using relatively small sets of information, and I haven't run into any performance issues yet.

Overall, this method's working pretty well for me, but I'm sure as I accumulate more posts, I'll need to refine it some. I'd really like to incorporate some sort of popularity ranking, based on number of comments and views, but that's not something I'm too worried about at the present.

Frustration-Free Packaging at Amazon

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:00:00 -0500

Amazon has released "frustration-free" packaging, which means that for certain products, you can get them in a standard cardboard box, rather than the hard-to-open plastic they're usually in. Hopefully this will catch on, and more retailers will begin shipping their products this way. Check out their FAQ page for more info. (via SvN)

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Hosting Git Repositiores, the Easy (and Secure) Way

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:23:00 -0500

Excellent tutorial on how to setup and host git repositories using Gitosis. I had this up and running on my Slicehost server in less than 15 minutes.

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Using Gmail with IMAP to Receive Emails in Rails

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 15:39:00 -0500

An awesome walk-through of how to set up Rails to receive email from Gmail.

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Opt-in For New Netflix Movie Player

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 13:13:00 -0500

Netflix finally released the ability to play "Watch Now" videos on Macs and Firefox. Just go to the opt in page to get started.

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Jeff Croft: Elegant Web Typography

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 16:31:00 -0400

A great presentation on the basics of great web typography by Jeff Croft.

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Ruby on Rails 2.2 Release Candidate 1

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 10:52:00 -0400

Ruby on Rails 2.2 RC1 has been released, and boy does it have some great new features. I'm particularly excited about thread safety, better HTTP integration, and the new Active Support features.

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Ars Technica: Brightkite iPhone Preview

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:02:00 -0400

Ars previews Brightkite's soon-to-be-released iPhone app, which, after watching the video, looks really impressive. I especially like how it figures out your location using the built in location services. Yet another reason why I really wish I weren't stuck with Verizon!

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Netflix to Release Instant Watching for Macs by End of Year

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 11:13:00 -0400

Netflix wrote a blog post yesterday announcing that they'll be rolling out Instant Watching for Macs "by the end of the year." Finally!

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Election 2008 Powered By Twitter

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 10:30:00 -0400

Twitter released a live look at the presidential election, and it's pretty darn slick. I love the way it auto-updates, and even better is the way the updates are paused when you hover over a tweet. It's unfortunate, as Andrew Smith mentioned, that it doesn't include any third party candidates, but hopefully they'll add them sometime in the near future.

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Revision3 Beta

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:16:00 -0400

Yesterday, the second phase of Revision3 Beta, Revison3's search for new shows, was released. I did pretty much all of the backend development, and it's powered by Viddler's API. There are some really great shows here, so definitely check it out. You can read Revision3's announcement on their blog.

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Reverie, Shot on the new Canon 5D

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:50:00 -0400

Reverie was shot completely on the new Canon 5D, and seriously, I am in complete awe. The quality of the video is absolutely breathtaking; I was shaking my head in amazement during most of the video. I guess I need to start saving up for one... (via John Gruber)

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Cheap, Easy Audio Transcription With Mechanical Turk

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:15:00 -0400

Andy Baio explains how he used Amazon's Mechanical Turk to have a 36-minute MP3 transcribed while he slept for only $15.40. Really great explanations, and it's pretty cool how easy Amazon has made it to outsource menial tasks.

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Thoughts on Affordable Web Hosting

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 22:55:00 -0400

I've created my share of websites, and in doing so, I've had experiences with a whole lot of web hosts, some of which I've loved, others I've really disliked. Below, I compiled a list of four of my favorite hosts, two that offer shared hosting and two VPS hosts. Being a college student, all four are affordable, and I've had a good experience with all of them.

A quick disclaimer: For Dreamhost and Slicehost, the links include my referrer code, which means that I receive a referral fee if you sign up with them. This has not affected my opinion (they are the two hosts I'm currently using), and I've also included an "Affiliate Free" link for both, in an effort to emphasize that I'm not posting this to make money, but rather to document my history with web hosts.

Dreamhost

The Basics: Super-cheap, feature-rich shared hosting.

Pricing: $9.95/mo. for 1 domain registration, 500GB disk space, 5TB bandwidth, unlimited emails and databases. If you use the code KS50 when signing up, you'll get $50 off your first year.

My Thoughts: I love Dreamhost. I hate Dreamhost. I've gone back and forth between these two emotions numerous times, but ultimately I've been really satisfied with my Dreamhost experience. It's impossible not to like all the developer friendly features, like Subversion hosting and full SSH access. However, they don't have the the greatest history of downtime, and they even accidently overcharged customers by over $7 million. All that being said, I'm still a happy customer, because, well, they're really, really cheap, and, for the most part, I haven't had any issues with them. I wouldn't host anything mission critical with them, but for the average blog or personal site, they more than suffice.

Dreamhost Plans
Sign Up Page - Use this link to enable the KS50 promo code and get $50 off your first year of hosting.
Affiliate Free Link

EngineHosting

The Basics: No frills, high quality shared and dedicated hosting, aimed mostly at ExpressionEngine users.

Pricing: $10/mo. for their cheapest plan (400MB disk space, 10GB bandwidth, 100MB database, 15 emails)

My Thoughts: If you're looking for a feature-rich host with gigabytes upon gigabytes of storage space, EngineHosting definitely isn't it. On their lowest plan, you get 400MB diskspace, 10GB bandwidth, and only 15 email addresses, which means if you compare them solely on numbers to hosts like Dreamhost, they will likely always come out on bottom. However, their customer service and quality is excellent, especially if you're building an ExpressionEngine site. I've used them for a client site for about 10 months now, and they've been absolutely stellar: the site hasn't been down once, and I haven't had to contact support once. I won't think twice about using them for any future ExpressionEngine sites.

RailsPlayground

The Basics: Affordable VPS hosting, specializing in Ruby on Rails.

Pricing: $14.95/mo. for the cheapest VPS plan (10GB diskspace, 256MB RAM, 100GB bandwidth)

My Thoughts: Although I only used RailsPlayground for a couple months, I really enjoyed their service. I had never run a VPS (virtual private server) before, and I was able to pick it up pretty quickly, thanks to their excellent support: I would come across an issue, email them, and they would respond right immediately. Even though I no longer use them, it's not due to a poor experience, but rather due to my desire to try out Slicehost. I wouldn't hesitate recommending them to anyone looking for an affordable VPS.

Slicehost

The Basics: Cost-effective VPS hosting, with an amazing community.

Pricing: $20/mo. for the cheapest plan (10GB diskspace, 256MB RAM, 100GB bandwidth)

My Thoughts: Slicehost is currently hosting this site, and I couldn't be happier. I'm no sysadmin, but following their excellent articles has helped me to build a fast, secure, and stable VPS. I was further amazed by their community when I mentioned an issue at 1AM on their IRC channel, and within 20 minutes, it was fixed. They seem to be completely focused on providing really reliable hosting, and it really shows. The result is rock-solid hosting, and I highly recommend them for anyone looking for VPS hosting.

Umbrella Today?

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:58:00 -0400

Umbrella Today? is a brilliant little weather app that just answers one question. You can even sign up to receive text message alerts when an Umbrella may be necessary. Nice! (via SimpleBits)

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Jason Fried: Things We've Learned At 37signals

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:37:00 -0400

This is a rough transcript from Jason Fried's talk at Web 2.0 Expo, and there's some really great stuff in here about project planning and development. I really like his first point about momentum and how it's a good idea to break large projects into 2 week chunks to make it more manageable. Personally, I've definitely noticed this myself: the "newer" a project feels, the more excited you are about it.

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Object Oriented PHP Memory Concerns

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:52:00 -0400

Ryan Campbell over at Particletree runs through some of the problems you can run into if you're using object oriented PHP. I was pretty surprised at how quickly it becomes a memory issue, so it's definitely a good read for anyone working on any size PHP site.

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Canon 5D Mark II Details from Thomas Hawk

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:46:00 -0400

Thomas Hawk runs down the major features of the upcoming Canon 5D Mark II. This is a really exciting camera: not only does it have great upgrades to the already awesome 5D, but it now includes a full 1080 16:9 video mode.

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