Big Bangers: CERN, Facebook, Clouds and SaaS

Big Bang: Whatever this is, it must be important? Playing advanced physics is the CERN Project.

As we move closer to f8, let us revisit how the much ballyhooed platform has performed after being touted as the next big thing. Oh and if anybody is into Ruby on Rails and would want to put web apps on it, you should definitely check this out. Morph Appspace

Print and Publish, Web-Style. Lulu and Scribd. That means easy.

Cloud Computing.

Computing the cost. Will we ever come to a standard rate?

The Invisible Infostructure. Sound good.

SaaS creates cloud computing alternatives. Like proprietary platforms? Why can't we see more open source ones. I know, it's complicated.

Does this SaaS app sound like 'Terminator' or something wickedly cool? Don't ask me as I also don't have any idea what it is. Registro!

Post-POSS

Highlights from the 2nd Day from sessions I attended at the POSS.

SugarCRM. I was able to catch a brief talk about this open source CRM and seeing how lightweight it is as an application is quite SaaS-sy. Will be testing it more on the next couple of days as I was able to get a demo cd.

Open Source in the Academe, Gov't and NGOs.
Take-aways.

1. IBM Phils. bullish on RP IT sector. Partnering on their SSME programs with a lot of colleges and universities.

2. DCI - Official IT company that handles and manages all Philippine government agencies IT needs still into proprietary software under the pretense of being unbiased and "pro-choice". Uh-oh. How about pro-cost-effective? I hope I misread that.

Had the temerity to stand up and speak about the SaaS option in general but I don't think I got my message right in this room of execs and officials. They thought I was doing a marketing pitch. Nooooo.

3. Mark Buenconsejo on Ruby on Rails for Pinoy IT. Hope he does encourage some more RoR guys. Pity that I did not win the Rails book he was giving away.

Then, a smooth segue to SaaS and PaaS as discussed by our main man, David Abramowski. What can I say? Just proud to be there listening to a great explanation as usual. Will post some pics later so you'll see what I mean.

E -seuss

Looking at my Google Reader, Netnewswire and even Delicious account, it is quite easy to surmise that what interests me the most pertains to Tech issues that relate to the Morph Application Platform and updates particularly Ruby, Rails and Social Media in general. Sure, I do because it's not just work but it's really pretty interesting, a sub-culture of puppet masters of the economy and the radical future. Yet, I honestly admit that I still get easily drawn to issues close to my heart like personal stories of human inspiration and yes, human struggle which simply can't quite exist without the other.

Sure, I continue to seek out and carefully read blogs by programmers and developers. What's surprising is that more than a few of them are putting time writing about these human issues and personal things, too. So, without much ado, I'm going to fire away about things not typically Educe/E-juice.

Tibet and (sporting) glory
The Beijing Olympics is about to start its Olympic torch relay and what a real bummer for them. For years, Tibet, under the Dalai Lama's strict non-confrontational stance even in exile, quietly protested to no avail. But a change in strategy is sure to happen especially when younger Tibetans, who have not been as strongly exposed to the Dalai Lama's teachings nor guidance (compared to ideas about freedom, rights and internet), take to the fore.

Questions:
1. Are the Olympics really insulated against politics? Each gold necklace represents a noose for Tibetans. Glory to the Games? And so what about the training and date with destiny? Who stands to lose more if there is a boycott? Athletes, China or even companies...
Ready...set...go/fire!!!

2. What are the sentiments of typical Chinese people to the Tibetan occupation? Do they really believe Tibet is worth the trouble, a historical Chinese claim/right or a show of might? Oh, geography...

3. Is the Dalai Lama advocating that Tibet be like Hong Kong? Autonomous and partly-free? Do Hong Kong residents really feel free? Or is it just about commerce and being powerless?

TED is more than a name
The site for me. Go visit and marvel at true... uhmm, universality of resonant ideas. And presentations of remarkable people, as well.

Mac, not your average Joe
Yes, I use a Macbook and I'm way too cool to be cleaning the toilet and/or washing the dishes (but I do as a form of meditation). Uh uh. Better still, I'm into raising my daughter, Zaki to be the village bully as well as the classiest nose picker among 3-year olds. But don't take my word for it, read this. And how about the Ruby and Rails guys? Control-Alt-Delete

Who what...
Horton, that's who. From the ever creative Dr. Seuss - "Seuss" which was supposed to rhyme with voice than with juice. Now that would have been eedious.

Stalled and installed: Disclosures 2

Stalled: New Posts

It had been a whirl of a 2 weeks and a half, most of which was due to this:



This is my very first screencast, crappy voice and all. It is actually version 3 already and really spent a lot of restless days and nights trying to make it presentable. But overall, it's been a rewarding experience and gasp, I look forward to doing a lot more - but this time with a better mic and a sound-proof room (as if it was possible).

Installed:

Yep, I wanted to do more blog posts but wasn't expecting something like officially writing for Morph as one of its bloggers for Asia. Anyway, expect to see some of my posts there while I ponder on how to keep up writing here. Any suggestions on how to do it will be most appreciated.

Disclosures 2.

I've now been officially part of Morph Labs, Inc (actually started early February). This means I may have to do more writing about company products and sharing them with you over at the company blog. Good thing is, hearing from our guys again this week, the Morph Application Platform really is something. I am as wide-eyed as a kid learning about space as I was upon attending product briefing on its cool set of features. Technology and innovation truly is something.

Still expect to get more news and views on SaaS happenings and Asia Ruby on Rails updates here along with a few occasional rants and personal advocacies in the world of tech. Maybe we could also put in some profiles of interesting persons and places I now meet along the way.

Surreal.

Morph Make Rails Deployment Seem Too Easy

It was just a couple of hours ago that I got the video of how quick rails apps deployment is in the Morph Application Platform. But apparently, there's somebody quicker ...

Rails up to Speed

The world sure is an oyster for Ruby on Rails developers these days.... , spoken with every bit of jealousy

Rails on the Orient Express: Next Stop - Hong Kong Part 2

Many of you probably have heard about this guy. But in case not, here's Leon Ho as Top 4 Businessweek Asian Entrepreneur for 2007. Great!

Good thing we got his replies, too.

1. Personally, what makes Rails special?

Probably the defined conventions. It unifies the design and implementation from developers across the team. The language, Ruby also makes Rails special.

2. Are there barriers towards a broader Rails adoption?

People usually have to see success story before going to adoption,similar to people buying books based on a review. The problem is that there aren't many big scale (with high complexity) apps yet

3. What are the things you would like to see happening as a member of the Rails
community in Hong Kong?
First thing to build a community really is engagement. Probably have more activities and chats in mailing list is a good start.

Rails on the Orient Express: Next Stop - Hong Kong

Let me just say that combing the web does bring out some pretty good info, all things considered. It led me to David Wong from Tripleplay Communications Ltd. in HK. Here is what David posted in google groups in December 2007,

" I am a Ruby user for 3 years and a Rail users for 2 years. A year ago, our company became a full Ruby/Rails shop and also created what we call rubykingdom to group together. But back then activities were rare and we are all split around the Globe, and didn't organized enough meetings in HK."

He further adds,

"I have a mailing list of around 10 members. I have created a basecamp and a wiki. Would love to add you guys to list if you wish. My goal is to group together as much Ruby communities as possible, so we can do some good sharing, war stories on Real Development cases and trends that really impact our lives as Ruby/Rails users."

Naturally, I just had to contact him. Thankfully, he replied.

1.Personally, what makes Rails special?

I started picking up Ruby first, and later naturally evolved with Rails as it is a killer app for Ruby. On Ruby, its one of the best language I have used since it closely resembles SmallTalk, an advance language at its time, but too difficult to master for mass usage. With Ruby, its one of the most economically simple language I have used so far, and it kept things simple, plus its double byte based due to his inventor Matsu, should suit Asians much more than anything else.
On Rails, I wont' say too much as its obvious set off a new trend on MVC framework where copycat sprung up just to mimic it functionalities, but most people miss the boat as the core was the Ruby Language that make its unique.

2. Are there barriers towards a broader Rails adoption? If so, any ideas on how to overcome it?

Asians are afraid of being at (the) bleeding edge, they are more kind of followers rather than innovators. They do not like to be on a bleeding edge, but once they confirm that - they are.

3. Any other things you wish to see happening as a member of the Rails community in Hong Kong?

1. We should create a proper community to collect thoughts and share resource, after
2. We should create some good reputation of the local community, both by providing seminars and contribution to the Ruby/Rails community.
3. Working with Industry Computer and Academic associations to spread the power of Ruby/Rail, and share with others how we succeed with the languages.

More Hong Kong Ruby on Rails stuff on the coming post. Thanks, David!

Rails on the Orient Express: Detour - Down Under 2

While we're already exploring Australia, I'd like to present to you another good chap who has agreed to participate in our mini- Rails survey. He is Tim Lucas. Not only does he do coding in Rails but he says he is a bit of a celebrity, too as he hosts a TV game show there. So on with the show ...

1. Personally, what makes Rails special?

For me firstly it's that it does things the right way whilst still keeping the architecture simple and clean, and secondly the community.

Every experience I'd had with best-practice web app architectures pre-Rails involved a lot of repetition for adding simple things like database fields and a lot of scaffolding for problems which I'd yet to need to solve. I work with small teams who need to hand-craft everything from the URL structure, user interface and the data models, and Rails provided a nice balance of best-practice, flexibility and productivity without forcing too much of a particular structure on the final result. I've found with Rails (that) it's quite often easier to do things the right way than to do things the quick or hacky way.

The community was probably what I saw as being most special about Rails. Here was a bunch of people rethinking assumptions by building tools to demonstrate how they thought web apps could and possibly should be built. No doubt we will and are rethinking all the assumptions used to build Rails applications and Rails itself, but for now it still seems to be the boiling pot of innovative tools, techniques and ideas.

2. Are there barriers towards a broader Rails adoption? If so, how (can they be overcome)?

I think one of the biggest barriers is gaining the critical mass to form a development community. Once a community is formed you get local champions who blog, organise events, share knowledge and speak at conferences which would no doubt encourages take up through marketing and education. Online activity no doubt has a great effect, and the large number of Rails bloggers in the US, and the feedback effect of blogging encouraging blogging, has no doubt helped their growth.

3. Any other things you would like to see happening as a member of the Rails community in Australia?

I'd love to see the other cities ramp up their communities. Sydney and Melbourne have quite large communities but the other cities are still gaining critical mass. Events such as Railscamp[2] attract people from all over Australia and are probably key to building a wider community.

Rails sure sounds easy, while community is difficult. Online activity? I promise to do my share even whilst I begin to bust my wits to learn some RoR fundamentals. Any patient Ruby developer out there willing to take me on, as a student that is? Please.

Rails on the Orient Express: Detour - Down Under

If we are going to push for more Ruby on Rails adoption in the East, it might be good to look for models to help us achieve our goals. We can look to Japan, home of the great Matz and where sensibly RoR would invariably be in greater use. But that is easier said than done owing to barriers in language. (But worth trying as soon as I exhaust my contributors).

Which leaves us with Australia. They have a vibrant Rails group over there and has even organized a Rails Camp last year. One of those who are quite active in the group is Pat Allan - (Definitely no bad ego. Positive). Following is his take about Rails adoption (emphasis were mine).

1. Personally, what makes Rails special?

It provides a structure which pushes you towards good practices for web development (particularly MVC), and it's written in Ruby, which is such a nice language to work with.

The community is also a massive influence - having a great bunch of people to bounce ideas off and get support from really helps.

2. Are there barriers towards a broader Rails adoption? If so, how (can they be overcome)?

Some people may argue that getting Rails into the enterprise market is something important - personally, I'm not so fussed. Also, my (admittedly small) amount of experience with large corporations makes me think they won't appreciate Rails to the full extent, nor will they use it appropriately (ie: in an agile workflow, instead of one filled with bureaucracy).

Some people are suspicious of Rails - perhaps because of the hype that has accompanied it, and the fanatical approach some advocates have. I'm not sure how we can get around that, beyond keeping an open and considerate mindset.

3. Any other things you would like to see happening as a member of the Rails community in Australia?

I feel that, at least in the Melbourne and Sydney groups, things are progressing well - there's a growing sense of community, and increasing interaction with groups in the other states. The RailsCamps have been fantastic, and the relaxed atmosphere at monthly meetings is great.

So I've no big targets that we should aim for - but we do need to make sure we don't lose the vibe we currently have, and ensure that the groups are welcoming to new people. It shouldn't seem like an exclusive club to outsiders.

An open and considerate mindset, a community that has to shed perceived image of exclusivity. Makes sense, not just for RoR but any endeavor. Asians can do that. Or can we?

Rails on the Orient Express: First Stop - Singapore

Rails developers are quite a busy bunch but fortunately I've come across developers who were willing to share their time and views which impact the spread of Ruby on Rails in Asia.

First, let us have our friend from Singapore share to us his views. His names is Sau and he is quite the practicing Ruby on Rails programmer and is one of its active proponents in his country. He together with some colleagues and friends have formed a Ruby on Rails Brigade, which is informal ( and he prefers it that way, I agree) and would soon connect to form a bigger ASEAN Rails group that is currently busy organizing what might be their first organized and formal RoR meetup.

I've sent this through email with his full answers following after each of the questions: (Emphasis are mine, though)

1. Personally, what makes Rails special?
I believe Rails is very much hyped up as a web framework. Ruby is the engine that powers much of the ‘magic’ behind Rails, which unfortunately I believe today is not nearly as much discussed (or appreciated) as Rails. Rails is a great framework, no doubt and many of the ideas are very well implemented and executed. However it’s not as innovative as it is marketed to me. A lot of the ideas came from various sources like existing Java frameworks (some of which tried and succeeded but many of which failed, which is also a good lesson to show what it shouldn’t be) or frameworks from other languages like Python and even PHP.

What’s so special about Rails? I believe it’s the marketing push, the well-implemented framework and especially the strength of Ruby backing it up. The other factor would probably be tiredness of empty promises of existing Java frameworks. Another factor could be that it is a framework that is easily worked with by web designers. At least 50% of Rails programmers I know have a web design background (which makes me feel pretty left behind since I come from a computer engineering background and is generally sucky at UI design).

2. Are there barriers towards a broader Rails adoption?
While Rails is picking up rapidly especially in US, it’s not nearly as popular as what Java or Windows programming is today and is unlikely going to be. In any case, it’s still very much web-based/Internet-based technology and there are limits to what applications are suitable for a web-based or Internet-based platform. The only other ways that it can expand is through either:

(1) being a web front for Ruby, that is a much more universal ‘glue’ for applications. For one, Ruby is already a pretty good tool to put together various Windows applications through its Win32 interface, or through its OLE bridge.
(2) Jruby, which already brings a lot of promise to tie in various existing libraries, APIs and applications that are running in Java.

I see that these 2 directions are the more probably ways that Rails can extend itself, otherwise it will always remain a web-based or Internet-based platform.

Another barrier which some might find disturbing is the "open-ness" of Ruby, because its source code is readily readable by everyone. Of course these are just details which can be resolved at a later point in time but at this moment I believe it’s an obstacle to overcome. For one it’s pretty tough to sell software that the customer can read all its source code, for good or bad. Copyright aside, the customer can readily change the code and point out and publish bugs, which can be an embarrassment and a loss of revenue (software patches and maintenance revenue is nothing to be sneered at)

3. What are the things you would like to see happening as a member of the Rails community in Singapore?
For me I’m pretty happy with the way Rails is happening in Singapore though I would like it to be better organized. Personally I prefer a more informal and loose organization where people just swap war stories and help each other in their implementation rather than being a formal one but I think for many beginners, formality helps esp if there is guidance involved.

What Sau has shared made me think of how beautiful Ruby (despite or because of its open-ness) is and yet somewhat under appreciated while Rails hugs the spotlight. Maybe its worth emphasizing that it is still 'Ruby on Rails' and not Rails alone that is making things work.

Another thing that grabbed me is how most Asian developers prefer using others since RoR is still primarily web-based. But then again, based on developments and directions, the web is sure being harnessed in ways we've never seen before. Sure there remains other projects out there for developers in other languages but I do hope that there'd be more early adopters than late comers to RoR because web seems to be the place these days and other forms of media are beginning to shift into tapping its power.

Many thanks to Sau for his enlightening thoughts!

We hope to get more insights and views and see how it relates to the things Sau has pointed out and find out if Rails can get Asian developers the boon that their North American counterparts are now enjoying.

Ruby on Rails: On the Asia Pacific Express. First Stop.

There is no doubt that Ruby on Rails or Rails has become such a popular web application framework. The buzz about it has taken a life of its own making icons of Mr. DHH and even leading others to proclaiming that it is the best.

But what about this part of the world. Quick surveys of Rails communities using G00gle in Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore, India & Philippines) suggest that it is growing but apart from Australia, it seems that group activities have been few or at worse, lifeless. I'd like to think that the Rails developers are relatively quite busy with jobs and projects but my gut feel says that for something that is "open source", Rails communities in Asia, ironically, don't feel close knit.

Hope I'm wrong though.

Next: Building the Rails Orient Express