December 2008
12 posts
Happy New Year
Here at thoughtbot, we think that ending the year without wishing everyone happy holidays and a happy new year should be considered harmful….
Enter this blog post.
Early this year we launched teebot, an online store that sells t-shirts we think are amusing to ruby programmers and other web/geek types. We had a lot of fun designing these shirts, giving them away at conferences, and wearing...
6 tags
What good is a flexible paperclip?
Since it’s the Holidays, I’ve been spending a bit more time than normal on Paperclip. And since that time has been particularly fruitful and there’s been a release or two, I figured I should probably tell someone about it before I friggin’ explode. It’s all about making Paperclip more flexible, more adaptable, and more friendly to use. Can you believe there’s more to file uploads than...
2 tags
Access Hoptoad on Your iPhone
As our holiday present to you, we’ve just deployed a new iPhone interface to Hoptoad.
Now, when you visit Hoptoad on your iPhone (for example, following a link to an error in an email you receive from Hoptoad) you’ll be presented with a nice view formatted specifically for iPhone.
While this interface is specifically tested on iPhone, it also works on Android. So, if you go to...
11 tags
irb & script/console tips
Let’s get interactive. You can learn a lot about your application from irb & by extension, script/console.
Wirble: colors
Color matters. You’re picky about your text editor syntax highlighting and maybe you use the excellent redgreen gem for colors in your test backtraces. Gotta have it in irb, too.
First, install Wirble:
sudo gem install wirble
Then, in your...
6 tags
I accidentally the whole SMTP exception
You have a slick, exclusive, invite-only Web app for sharing Tor URLs, with
an Android client and specialty hardware. You use validates_email_format_of
in the Invitation model, but still something slips through and
your Hoptoad errors pile up, showing
your user the beautifully-designed 500 page instead of an error
explanation.
There are two types of exceptions that ActionMailer will...
6 tags
thoughtbot is filled with vim and vigor
Slowly over the past year thoughtbot has turned from an all-TextMate (and one
Emacs) group into a mostly-vim group. Here are some tips, tricks, and scripts we’ve mastered along the way:
From Mike Burns
I’ve been a vim user for six years, and brought the vim fever to thoughtbot. I tend to rely more on the built-in commands than on scripts and plugins. My favorite commands start with...
5 tags
Ruby on Rails training in Boston
We’re pleased to continue offering Ruby on Rails training in Boston. The next two classes have been scheduled:
Beginning Ruby on Rails
Advanced Ruby on Rails
Umbrella Today? is used as a case study for all courses, for which attendees get access to the full source.
Beginning Ruby on Rails
January 29th-30th, 2009
This course is meant for programmers with a background in...
2 tags
Umbrella Today, Winter edition
Umbrella Today now has snow support!
If you subscribe to umbrella today, we will do one of the following things…
On days where there is no precipitation in your area, we will continue to not send you any text messages at all.
If it’s going to rain, we’ll send you a message suggesting you bring an umbrella
If it’s going to snow (ie, going to rain plus it’s < than 32˚F where...
Hoptoad Gets Paid Accounts and SSL
It’s been a little over five months since we launched Hoptoad, and we’ve caught over 13 million application errors from people “riding the toad”. Now we’re taking it to the next level and rolling out paid plans along with some new features.
When I Ride The Toad, I Ride Him with a Saddle.
Hoptoad has been an incredible success since its launch. The people using the service so far have...
2 tags
Kickstart
We do work for some companies with their own in-house development team. They often don’t have much Ruby experience. Others are startups. They need to hire developers but don’t know how to interview potential Rubyists. Neither want to delay development of their projects while they wait to build their team.
In response to their needs, we’re pleased to announce our new consulting service:
In...
Voices that Matter and RubyConf 2008
We’ve been busy this past few months, having been asked to present at both RubyConf 2008 in Orlando, and at Voices that Matter (aka “Obieconf”) in our home town of Boston.
Matt Jankowski shows a slide asking who the people whose voices matter are, exactly
Voices that Matter
Pat Maddox, Tammer Saleh, Brian Liles, Sandy Metz discuss how you test whether your voice matters
...
Sweet tea
Hey! Remember when we launched teebot right before RailsConf this past May? Well since then we’ve run out of stock on some of the initial shirt sizes, and we’ve been handing out some previously unsold shirt designs at various ruby events and conferences throughout the year.
If you attended any of our training events, or if you saw us at a conference, we may have thrown a tee shirt at you. ...