Twitter Best Practices

Here are some best practices when using Twitter:

1. Keep your tweets educational, entertaining, and relevant. Don’t bother tweeting the mundane. Be creative.
2. Use Twitter’s native URL shortening service. This allows links to be shortened but retain original information about the URL so that it shows up, fully expanded, in your followers stream.
3. Don’t retweet compliments. This is considered bragging and is insulting to your followers.
4. Don’t dot reply (i.e. “. @example Original text here.”). This causes your reply to show up in the stream of everyone that follows you instead of those that follow you and the person you are replying too. This is annoying to those who follow you but don’t follow everyone you follow. Remember, time is precious, not everyone wants to read everything you tweet about.
5. Don’t enable services that auto-tweet your activities. Examples: Path, Gowalla, FourSquare, flight statuses, weight scales, etc. These activities are mundane and boring. Nobody cares.
6. Don’t cross the streams! Differentiate your tweets from your site feed and/or other syndicated services, otherwise you end up spamming followers and losing credibility.
7. Don’t follow someone that averages more than 10 tweets a day.
8. Don’t post more than 10 tweets a day (on average).
9. Limit the reading of tweets to three times a day (morning, noon, and night) or less.
10. Use services like Instapaper to save tweets that link to articles which require more time to read. Doing this will allow you to parse your timeline quickly without being bogged down with the longer length articles.

Tags: Twitter

Reeder

Introduction

I’ve been looking for a great syndicated feed reader for my iPhone for whats seems like ages and I finally found one: Reeder. I stumbled upon this while reading iPad Opinions as, yes, there is an iPad version as well. After reading Ken’s review, checking out the Reeder screenshots, and noticing the Google Reader synchronization support, I immediately spent the $2.99 for the app and have been happy ever since. Besides, OmniFocus for the iPhone, Reeder is my second favorite app on the iPhone. In fact, I enjoy the app so much that I actually find my reading habits have changed to where I prefer to read the news via Reeder on the iPhone rather than via a desktop client. Its that good!

Screenshots

This is the main or initial page of all items you have stared for reading later, etc. Clicking on “Starred” gives you a list of all starred items in all folders. Otherwise you can click on a folder in particular to read specific starred items. The circular arrow icon (lower right) is for manual syncing with Google Reader. This isn’t a bad habit to get into, once you have finished reading your feeds, to ensure Google Reeder stays in sync.

This is the second page of unread items only. As with the first page, click “Unread” to read all or delve in each folder for specifics.

This is the third page of just your folders, notes, etc. Well, this is out I organize/categorize my feeds at least.

This last screen is of a few unread items within my “Development” folder. You can tap on each headline to read in detail.

Design

The design, as Ken mentions in his article is very spartan. I would argue that controls are not the most intuitive but you only need to stumble a few times before you’re off running.

Synchronization

The synchronization with Google Reader is really, really good. I’ve not seen synchronization work so well for a feed reader. Then again, I’ve really only used NetNewsWire (both desktop and iPhone app) which are somewhat pathetic. In fact, NetNewsWire for the iPhone is downright awful. Then again, the app is free. Perhaps that is why.

Workflow

As mentioned earlier, my work flow has really changed. I used to read my feeds morning, noon, and night via the desktop (and still do for the most part) but the sheer convenience of being able to read my feeds while on the balcony, traveling, eating lunch, in bed, etc. is a lot of fun. If I need desktop access for downloads, video feeds, etc. I can star those news articles for later reading and quickly move on to next unread items.

Final Thoughts

If you enjoy your feeds, love being mobile, and appreciate really good synchronization, then buy this app!

Tags: iPhone

jQuery Check All Bookmarklet

A while back I wrote a post (of the same name but now deleted) about a simple jQuery check all bookmarklet I created for quickly checking off all check boxes on a web page. Only problem is, in my original design, I required you to load jQuery via another bookmarklet in addition to my bookmarklet. Recently, while reading Smashing Magazine, I came across a better solution where jQuery is optionally and intelligently loaded prior to executing my custom code (see Make Your Own Bookmarklets with jQuery for more info). The result can be found below:

• jQuery Check All Bookmarklet (right click to save as a bookmark then click the bookmark to use)

In my case, I keep all my bookmarklets within a single folder which are easily accessible from my Firefox bookmarks toolbar. So having this capability within one click is highly useful.

Tags: Bookmarklet

Mac OS X Applications

The following is a breakdown of apps I commonly use and their install order (from a fresh install of the MacOS):

1. MacOS 10.6.0 (Snow Leopard Disk) - Insert the DVD, click Install MacOSX, click the Utilities button, and click the Restart button. You’ll be booted into the Snow Leopard install at which point you’ll want to launch Disk Utility and format your hard drive (MacOS Extended (Journaled)). After you have wiped your hard drive, exit Disk Utility, and continue on with the Snow Leopard install.
2. XCode Tools (Snow Leopard Disk)
3. Mac OS X 10.6.5 Combo Patch (download)
4. iPhoto (download)
5. GarageBand (download)
6. iMovie (download)
7. iDVD (download)
8. PathFinder (download)
9. OmniFocus (download)
10. OmniOutliner (download)
11. OmniGraffle (download)
12. Firefox (download)
13. Google Chrome (download)
14. Opera (download)
15. ExpanDrive (download)
16. NetNewsWire (download)
17. 1Password (download)
18. Skitch (download)
19. VLC (download)
20. Caffeine (download)
21. Coconut Battery (download)
22. iStat Menus (download)
23. Growl (download)
24. TextMate (download)
25. CSSEdit (download)
26. VMWare Fusion (download)
27. Billings (download)
28. MoneyWell (download)
29. Delicious Library (download)
30. OpenOffice (download)
31. Skype (download)
32. Tweetie (download)
33. Lorem Ipsum widget (download)
34. Logitech Harmony 890 remote software (download)
35. RipIt (download)
36. Startup Sound (download)
37. iBackup (download)
38. Dropbox (download)
39. Software Updates (via the Apple icon - requires a reboot)

Configurations

After installing the applications, you might need to configure some of them. Here are some notes:

1. Configure printer.
2. Configure scanner.
3. Configure Spaces.
4. Install Firefox extensions.
5. Set up the Ruby development environment.

Notes

You can learn more about some of these apps on my Applications page. Also, since I’m one of those who likes organization, I wrote a post on data management a while back that sheds further light on how I manage my apps and the data related to them in case it is of interest (Note: even though the post was originally written for Windows some of the concepts still apply for the MacOS).

Tags: Mac OS

Mac OS X Ruby Environment

For those wanting to set up a proper Ruby and Ruby on Rails development environment for your Mac OS, I’ve created an OmniOutliner outline that might be of help:

• MacOS Ruby Development Setup 1.6.0

Tags: Mac OS, Ruby

Mac OS X Spaces

Introduction

The Spaces feature is a heavily used aspect of my setup. It allows me to group similar applications together within each space (a.k.a. desktop).

Configuration

Here is my configuration:

What might not be clear from the screenshot above is the complete picture of what I am loading in each space. Here is a more verbose breakdown of each of my spaces:

1. Navigation (PathFinder/Terminal)
2. Chat (Skype/Tweetie)
3. Email (Apple Mail)
4. Syndication (NetNewsWire)
5. Web (Firefox/Safari/Chrome/Opera)
6. Planning (iCal, Address Book)
7. Organization (OmniFocus)
8. Design (OmniGraffle)
9. Notes (OmniOutliner)
10. Documentation (OpenOffice/Preview/Digital Books)
11. Development (TextMate)
12. Virtualization (VMFusion)
13. Finance (MoneyWell/Billings)
14. Security (1Password)
15. Media (iTunes, iPhone, GarageBand, iMovie, iDVD)
16. Miscellaneous

Example

Notes

What I really like about each space is that all application related events are captured in the space that the application is running in. It is rather handy to have my chat windows, e-mail, etcs all within their own space without being cluttered upon other applications. I also like that I can easily switch between application using the APPLE+TAB key combo.

Tags: Mac OS

Gearing up for Rails 3.0

As full release of Ruby on Rails 3.0 draws near, I find myself collecting news, articles, and preparing myself for the transition. Here is what I’ve been reading so far:

• Reading material.
• Introduction.
• Approaching the upgrade.
• Getting up to speed.
• Upgrading to Rails 3.
• Automating a portion of the Rails 3 upgrade process with the rails-upgrade gem.
• Revamped Routes.
• Render Options.
• Active Record Query Interface.
• Understanding the ActionMailer API.
• Generic Actions.
• The Rails Module.
• Discovering Rails 3 generators.
• Validations.
• I18n changes.
• Signed and Permanent cookies.
• Creating new apps with the Rails 3 beta.
• Gem and Plugin Compatibility Checker.

I’m sure I’ll collect more as time rolls on. BTW, you can find these links and more on my Ruby page where I continue to capture useful Ruby information.

Tags: Ruby on Rails

iPhone Home Screen

Its always fun to look over someone’s shoulder and see how certain technology is used so I thought I’d share my setup. In this case, I’m talking about the home screen of my iPhone since it where I keep the most trafficked applications.

Here is a break down of my home screen (left to right, top to bottom):

• OmniFocus - Inspired by the book “Getting Things Done” by David Allen, this is the best app to implement David’s teachings perfectly via software. This app is heavily used (hence being in the first position). Sync’s perfectly with the desktop and truly is my digital brain. Well done OmniGroup!
• Groundwork - At one point I tried to do accomplish all professional work within OmniFocus (and still do when I’m the solely responsible). The only problem is that OmniFocus is for single use and doesn’t work well in a team/collaborative setting. This is why it is handy to have Groundwork around to sync with your Basecamp setup. Perfect for checking status and not loosing ideas while on the go.
• Nezumi - Almost all my Ruby on Rails apps are running on Heroku. This is a handy app for managing your apps while from the road. It is limited in function but having log, reboot, and console access is a nice backup plan.
• Ego - Sounds bad but is actually quite useful when it comes to tracking Google Analytic, Feed Burner, and Twitter stats for various my Ruby on Rails applications.
• Messages - Default iPhone app, sometimes useful. I don’t really use SMS much but keep it around since others like to communicate that way. Personally, I think SMS should die much like email.
• Tweetie - Another app that makes managing multiple Twitter accounts easy. I use Tweetie on both the iPhone and desktop.
• Skype - My favorite instant chat client. I use no other. Obviously, very handy to have on the phone. Also, a great way to save on SMS text costs.
• Calendar - Default iPhone app. What can’t be done (or doesn’t make sense to do) in OmniFocus, is done here. Syncs perfectly with my desktop app. No complaints.
• Maps - Default iPhone app. Always handy and now on the 3GS version of the phone, it does a pretty good job of keeping track of where you are in real-time.
• 1Password - So passwords suck and just about every web site and application known to man does it their own special way. The only way to deal with the chaos is to use 1Password. I love having this on the iPhone because it syncs with my desktop client and allows me to easily cut and paste complicated 20-character or more passwords into my local iPhone app configurations or web pages. BTW, as you might have guessed, this didn’t truly become useful until Apple enabled cut and paste support.
• Dropbox - While some people might like Evernote, I still find files and folders extremely handy. This app does all the heavy lifting of keeping my files and folders synced between all machines. Plus they give you up to 3GB of space for free. Brilliant.
• Billings - When I was running my own consulting company (actually, I still do), this app was used a lot. I keep it around now because I like track my open source and personal project work. I’m mostly curious as to how much time I spend on things and like to know whether my speed is increasing over time.
• AccuWeather - So far the best weather app for my tastes. Since I live in the mountains and ride a metal steed, it is wise to know what is brewing. Especially in the dead of winter.
• Clock - It’s what gets me up in the morning. Also handy for when you are in the kitchen.
• Calculator - For those calculations that would take too much brain power to compute.
• Convertbot - For unit conversion calculations. Handy when cooking or in the garage. It’s also an elegantly designed application and worth looking into if nothing else to help inspire your own designs.
• Phone - While I don’t use the phone much, it does give me access to my contacts.
• Mail - Used often with Inbox Zero discipline. What can’t get processed immediately gets scheduled via OmniFocus.
• Safari - Used mostly for info lookup. Always handy in a pinch and for testing your own sites, of course.
• iPod - Besides, the OmniFocus app, this is probably the secondly most used app for constant learning. Audiobooks and educational podcasts are heavily consumed.

For a list of the apps mentioned above and other iPhone related news, check out my iPhone page for more info.

Combining PDFs with Automator

I have a Canon PIXMA MP470 device. It’s a decent printer that doubles as a scanner. The device is perfect for my needs although I would argue that it eats printer ink a little faster than I’d like. Then again, I got it for free, so I can’t complain too much (well if you don’t calculate the long term cost of printer ink over time).

In the past, I used proprietary software that came with the device to scan documents. For printing support, I could easily detect and attach to the printer via Bonjour (as the device is plugged into an Apple Airport so all machines on the network can use it). In the case of scanning, I would have to attach the USB cable directly to my computer. There might be a way to do this via Bonjour but that eludes me at the moment.

Recently, I upgraded to Snow Leopard and discovered that I could scan documents using the native Image Capture application. Perhaps, you could do this in Leopard too? Anyway, this allowed me to no longer require installing Canon’s proprietary printer/scanner software. The only downside is that the Image Capture application doesn’t know how to combine multiple document scans into one PDF. Nor does the Preview application allow one to combine multiple PDFs into one PDF document either. Bummer.

The solution is to use Automator. I generally use Automator for quick image manipulation, resizing, etc but it also has decent PDF support. In my case, where I have several PDF files from multiple scans of a single document, I can use Automator to combine all these PDFs into one file. As part of Apple’s Automator action library, someone has already built an Automator worklfow that does exactly this. You can download the workflow and use it to combine multiple PDF files into one.

Something to think about if you are in a situation like this. It definitely does the trick for me.

Favorite Ruby Feeds

Over a year ago, I write a post about my favorite Ruby feeds. I’ve since deleted that post in order to write about an updated set of Ruby feeds that you should be paying attention to (if not already). I read all of these feeds religiously on a daily basis and have broken them down below by general news and information followed by screencasts/tutorials. Enjoy.

News

• A Fresh Cup - My personal favorite. While you can find similar news via the links below, Mike Gunderloy does an excellent job of summing everything up in place for news, information, and new gems from the Ruby community.
• Ruby Toolbox - A great trending site for finding out what gems are hot and most popular within the Ruby community. This can save you a lot of time when you want to know which gem is the best solution for a problem that has already been solved.
• Ruby Trends - Another trending site. Useful for cross-checking against Ruby Toolbox on what is hot.
• Ruby News - Straight from the source. Find about new releases, conferences, developments, etc.
• Ruby Inside - The inside scoop on Ruby news.
• RubyFlow - A great site for picking up new resources to add to your development repertoire.
• RubyFu - Useful quick news and resource links.
• Ruby Best Practices - A great source of thoughtful discussion, including code samples, on how to write better code.
• Ruby5 - From some of the same guys who provide the Rails Envy podcast below. This is another podcast on Ruby news but in short, 5-minute, segments of usually discussing many of the new and interesting gems being developed.
• Rails Inside - Get the inside scoop on Rails news.
• Riding Rails - Learn what is happening with the Ruby on Rails team.
• Rails Spikes - A multi-authored site of Ruby developers discussing news, tips, code, etc.
• Rails Illustrated - Info on Rails, web design, and the user experience.
• Rails Notes - Another site worth checking out and picking up new learning.
• Rails Tips - As the site description goes: “One man, feverishly posting everything he learns.”
• The Rails Way - News and information dedicated to teaching best practices of Ruby on Rails.
• Ruby on Rails Security Project - A good place to read up on security issues or at least keep your mind in it.
• Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots - Good development tips and tricks, mostly related to Rails.
• Ryan’s Scraps - Interesting news on what’s new and upcoming within the Rails code base. Includes code samples and detailed descriptions and examples of new Rails features.
• Has Many Through - Although he has a low writing frequency, the posts are enlightening.
• Rails Envy - An entertaining and informative weekly podcast dedicated to Ruby, Rails, and web framework news.
• Rails Podcasts - Ruby/Rails podcasts by Geoffrey Grosenbach of PeepCode fame.
• Rails Magazine - News, articles, and information about the Ruby on Rails framework.

Tutorials

• Railscasts - Short screen cast tutorials of Ruby on Rails code.
• Envy Casts - Produced by the same guys that host the Rails Envy podcasts. Each screen cast tutorial will set you back about $9.
• PeepCode - Screencast tutorials like Railscasts but longer in length and not free (roughly $9 per episode).
• Tekniqal - A collection of screencasts that cover some of the Ruby basics.
• Scaling Rails - A series of screencasts on detailing how to scale your Ruby on Rails application appropriately. Produced by Gregg Pollack of Envy Cast fame.
• BDD Casts - Video tutorials on all things related to Behavior Driven Development.

BTW, you can find this list and more on my Ruby page.

Tags: Ruby, Ruby on Rails