System76 Pangolin Laptop

Last summer I decided to switch from OSX back to Linux. I don’t think Linux is better desktop software necessarily. However 99% of my time is spent either using software that’s the same on all platforms (Firefox and Thunderbird) or doing development for software that runs on Linux. I got tired of the context switching. I wanted my laptop to behave the same way that my server did. My last experiences with Linux on a laptop were pretty time consuming and I never got everything working (like power management). System76 sells laptops with Linux pre-installed and they make sure the hard parts are working (wireless, power management, sound). I even have IE6.

System76 does one important thing extremely well: they make sure your laptop software works correctly by offering updates and fantastic software support. I do have one complaint. Their hardware support turnaround is awful. I needed to get my power connection replaced and was without my laptop for three weeks. Around the same time my coworker thought his Macbook wireless wasn’t working so he went in to the Apple store and got a brand new one same day only to get home and realize the problem was with his Airport. I’d still recommend System76 with the caveat that you shouldn’t buy the extra warranty and assume that you’ll pay for any repairs to be done locally.

Logitech S510 Cordless Keyboard

I do also have a desktop and enjoy working there because I have a nice view and because I have a dual monitor setup. However, I’ve come to find that I prefer my keyboard to be on my lap. I decided to try out Logitech’s S510 Cordless Keyboard. I discovered two things. One, cordless keyboards are nice! Two, this is a fantastic keyboard to type on. I like writing just for the joy of getting to press the keys. The keyboard side works great. I don’t notice a lag. I went six months before needing to recharge the battery. I can type from almost anywhere in my room. The package also comes with a wireless mouse, but I didn’t like it so I stuck with my old mouse.

Syncmaster 245BW 24″ Widescreen Monitor

This monitor is HUGE. 24 inches is a lot of inches. I’ve always lusted after bigger monitors but recently felt like buying one would have been too extravagant. I don’t know why I thought that because I’ve definitely read that larger monitors can make huge differences in productivity. I’ve also read how tabbing through windows is a bigger break in concentration than merely glancing. That’s why I have all my interrupting programs (Email, IM) on a second monitor (merely 20″ widescreen).

Last month I had my first conference booth in order to demo CrowdVine. The booth fee was waived because we were being showcased but the logistical fees weren’t. This was my first exposure to conference logistical fees and I was shocked! I paid $90 to plug my laptop in for two hours plus another $90 for Jay’s laptop and another $90 to power the monitor we were demoing on. We also could have rented a 30″ plasma screen for $300 but at that price I decided it was better to buy something I could own. And that’s how I ended up with this wonderful 24″ monitor ($400 plus shipping there and home).

Here’s the full posting on craigslist.

Install Ruby on Rails
The Ruby on Rails wiki provides a great tutorial. Basically, you apt-get install a bunch of ruby packages, manually install rubygems (a ruby module manager a la CPAN), and then use gems to install rails. I needed to have sudo to run most of the commands.

Read About Rails
You can start on page 2 of the O’Reilly Article, since the first page is all about installing on Windows. There’s more Windows-centricity to work around, see below.

The Webserver
The article recommends using the supplied webserver. I used that for now since I was more interested in getting a taste of Ruby than I was of Apache conf files. Initially I started the webserver in the background, but it spits a lot of output. You’ll probably want to redirect the output with a command like.

ruby script/server &> /tmp/rubylog

The Database
The article assumes a GUI MySQL admin interface. I prefer the command line. Here’s a sql file that handles all the table creations for you.

Gotchas
The database/model naming convention is goofy. Table names are plural, foreign keys singular, and models singular. That tripped me up. I’d much prefer the table names be singular so that they can match the foreign keys.

A lot of the commands in the article were written for a Windows server so some of the slashes are backwards.

Resources
Rolling on Rails, Part Two
Explanation of Minutae in the Rolling Articles
Programming Ruby, the book, online, for free.
Ruby on Rails site