Setting up Ubuntu for Ruby on Rails development

NOTE: This is a work-in-progress. I’m publishing it early so that Sam can use it. If it doesn’t work for you exactly as expected, well, that’s to be expected.
Every time I setup a new Ubuntu machine, I have to search around to come up with a procedure for getting everything I need to develop Ruby [...]

Rain8net Ruby Library v1.0.0

I previously wrote about a product called Rain8net. I’m happy to announce the initial release of my Rain8net ruby library. The library is now available from rubyforge.org.
Or, just install it like this:
gem install rain8net
Now you won’t have to worry about sending the specific codes I detailed in my last post. Controlling your [...]

Build a Development Infrastructure…or buy a Mac

Disclaimer: Let me start out by saying I am not anti-Mac. That being said, I am very pro-Linux. I am not a Dell lover either. I just picked them for comparison.
As a web developer, I have found it extremely beneficial to have access to my own servers for development purposes. I have my own infrastructure [...]

Subversion with Active Directory Authentication via Apache

Laura–skip this one.
I recently started using Subversion at work. It has been popular enough, that several other employees have found a need for it. So, I decided I’d better figure out Active Directory authentication so I don’t end up maintaining a separate set of passwords for everyone.  It took quite a bit of trial-and-error. Here’s [...]

Things I commonly do when starting a Rails project

Here’s another post from me for me. When starting a new Ruby on Rails project, I tend to do several things the same each time.
1. Setup SVN repository. Most of my projects are completely unrelated, so I usually have to setup a separate repository. The best walkthrough I’ve found is here.
2. Create development/test databases in [...]

Hostmonster on Rails

A client of mine recently moved their web hosting to Hostmonster, and I was tasked with migrating a Ruby on Rails application to the new server. I ran into a few snags.
First of all, I followed their tutorial.
The default rails welcome page worked fine, but I kept getting “Application Error” on everything else. The logs [...]

Converting DivX files to mpegs for an NTSC DVD

Problem:
You have a bunch of DivX avi files and want to put them on a DVD for a friend. The friend wants to play the final product on a DVD player (not on a PC).
Solution:
Believe it or not, my first inclination was to fire up my old Windows XP computer because it has [...]

MythTV on Ubuntu plus IRman

I’ve been running mythtv for a couple of years. It is much more flexible and feature-packed than any commercially available DVR. Last week Sam told me that the free service for the TV listings has closed up. There is a new fee-based service from Schedules Direct. Unfortunately, I was still running mine on Fedora Core [...]

Using RubyODBC in Rails on Linux to connect to MS SQL Server

(I really need to work on shortening my titles.)
I spent the day trying to figure out one little problem. I setup a brand new server for the Intranet at work. I set it up with Fedora 7 and started configuring it for my rails apps. Since our corporation has decided to use Microsoft [...]

Using the “dry_scaffold” and “dhtml_calendar” plugins with Rails 1.2.3

I spent the morning trying to get a lame little site up and running. I didn’t know it would be an issue until I couldn’t turn back. Information was sketchy, so here’s my addition to the sketchy info I had found.
Keep in mind, these instructions are only designed to help if you already had these [...]