Paul Dix Explains Nothing

Give me time!

Not a single post last week! I've been so pressed for time and it doesn't look like it's going to let up soon. I want to work on the product prototype, but have been completely unable to do so for the last two weeks because of time constraints. I'm getting bummed because this idea won't even get off the ground unless I can find some time to execute. Does anyone know how to fit another 8 hours into the day without resorting to serious sleep deprivation and copious amounts of coffee? How do other microISVs handle this? How do you set aside time to work on your product?

First Trackback Spam

Well I just got my first trackback spam.  I can't believe that people actually spend time writing scripts to do this shit.  I've cleared it out to avoid giving them any linkage love.  I don't understand what the motivation is to do stuff like this.  Does it ever actually work?  I guess it's just like email spam.  All they need is 0.0001% to respond to it and they're in the money.  Ah well, not from me anyway.

The Product Idea Continued...

Another buzzword has invaded my thinking with regards to The Product Idea and its name is Tagging.  Let me give you the background story...
One of the reasons I want to design this CMS for the common man is that I'm in dire need of this product myself.  When I think of content, I don't just think of web content.  I think of everything I create, receive and download on a day to day basis.  Email, tasks, class notes, meeting notes, blog posts, contacts, forum posts, web sites I like, music in my collection, ebooks, appointments, install programs, source code and other things I can't think of at the moment.  I'm talking about most everything I have digitally that I'll want to reference and/or share out at some later point.  When I add all that up, I'm producing, receiving, and sharing out an enormous amount of content week to week.  This is the problem I was thinking about that lead up to this idea.
I normally organize things within each program.  For files I just use the standard hierarchical folder structure as best I can.  For email I can arrange them in a hierarchical folder structure and by conversation (along with various sorting options).  On my web site the pages just go up based on the category I assign to the post and what month and year it was published.  If I want to go back and find something later I'm stuck with either remembering what folder I placed something in or the search utility in the program or on Google.  The search option seems to work great but it doesn't scale well after you have a large amount of content to search through.  You just get too many hits.  My idea to make this all better for myself is tagging.  Tag absolutely everything I put into the CMS.
I expect that right about now I'll get flamed by everyone for using the latest buzzword.  KC (of Casey Software) briefly mentions the phrase as part of the latest hot VC jargon.  Well despite it being one of the latest Web 2.0 catch phrases, I think the technology has great use.  The only thing is, it's been around for years.  Anyone remember the metadata craze of the late 90's?  Tagging is just metadata in a sexier dress.  Well metadata seems to have failed miserably (I'm not counting ID3 tags and program metadata that are embedded as part of the file structure).  How can I avoid the same failure in this product?

• Make it insanely easy to tag things.
• Tag things automatically based on where they get uploaded or created.
• Make finding content through tags easy.
• Let people stick with the old hierarchical model if they want.
• Integrate with other services.
• Keep the data open (no vendor lock-in).

I like the whole hierarchical model.  It gives you the option of having a specifically defined path to get to or find something.  Search just doesn't have the same capability when you're dealing with an ever expanding data set.  The only problem I have with the hierarchical model is that it's a little inflexible.  Search is all about flex and being dynamic.  I think we can bridge the gap with tagging.  The product can just dynamically build a hierarchical folder structure based on tags.  Thus you get the advantage of a fixed hierarchical model but the flexibility to place the same item in other places of the hierarchy when it makes sense.  You can also use tags to create a more informed deterministic search.
I'm sure there's more to this, but I just wanted to get a few things down.  I think tagging is going to be an integral part of this product.  Am I going buzzword crazy or am I on to something here?

Ruby Development in Windows

I've been meaning to post some additional thoughts on The Product Idea, but I've been too busy to get around to it.  In the meantime you can check out my latest CodeSnipers post about IDEs/Editors for Ruby development.  I have to go take a test now, but I promise I'll have more thoughts on the product posted later today.

I've Just Had My Mind Blown

I've never heard the term z-space used before, but apparently it refers to a zooming user interface.  Creating Passionate Users made the reference and stated that you could  Blow your mind in Z-space.  I checked out the Bill Harvey site along with the designer sofake and well... my mind has been blown.  Very cool.

iPod Nano

My iPod Nano was delivered today!  My old iPod died a while ago and I've just been using the shuffle.  I couldn't resist buying this thing.  However, I am a little disappointed.  I ordered the black version, which looks totally sweet, but the headphones are white!  I'm surprised that Apple didn't keep things consistent with black headphones for the black versions.  Did the U2 iPod have the same problem?  Anyway, I'll be enjoying this sweet baby on the subway ride to campus tomorrow.

Technology Selection: Ruby on Rails

Last week I promised a decision on technology selection for my wannabe ISV by end-of-day today.  Well the time has come and I have to make a decision.  In a perfect world I'd have more time to do research and play with things but it's time to get a move on and start slinging some code.  After much deliberation I've decided to go with Ruby on Rails.  The two main contenders were really just dotNet or RoR.  There were plenty of reasons to go with either one, but in the end it came down to a few things.
I've been playing with Rails for the last week and working my way through Agile Web Development with Rails.  So far I'm very impressed.  Rails seems uniquely focused on the type of application that I want to deliver.  The other reason is not technical at all, but cultural.  I love the culture that surrounds Rails and it's just the kind of thing I want to be involved with.  In the movie "Tucker: The Man and His Dream" Martin Landau has a line that goes something like "Never get too close to anyone. You'll catch their dreams".  Well it seems that passion, like a dream, is quite contagious.  I'm catching the passion that the RoR crowd has and it's part of the reason I'm going with Rails for this venture.
The Style Czar is psyched while The Adept is wary about having to pick up a new language.  Only time will tell how this decision works out, but for the moment I'm happy to have this decision out of the way so we can focus on learning Rails and how to build out The Product Idea with it.

Desktop vs. Laptop

Alex King is considering the Tools of The Trade and debating about moving to a desktop or staying on a laptop for development.  I'm shocked that this is even a debate.  I have friends who like to develop on laptops and I had no problem with it until The Change.  You see, there are two time-lines for me as far as development machines are concerned.  Pre-(kick-ass, cpu-screaming, gigabytes-of-memory, dual-monitor, hot-hot-desktop-action), and post.  The PA (pre action) period was a dark bleak time in my life.  The HHA (hot, hot action) period is a time for joy, learning  and productive hacking.
The desktop system is my own and while at the paying day job I was developing on a laptop.  Going back and forth between the two for the last year I can say that there's no comparison.  I work on the laptop when mobile but if I have the choice I'll work on the desktop any day of the week and twice on Sunday.  The only thing that brings me down about the desktop is that at the moment I only have two monitors as opposed to three or four.
What does everyone else think?  Desktop?  Laptop?  Mix both as appropriate?

Sometimes You Have to Fire Yourself

I fired myself today.  Well, that's not a completely accurate statement.  Let me give you a little background.  Earlier this year Christopher Hawkins wrote a somewhat controversial post about the 11 Clients You Need To Fire Right Now.  Along those lines, I turned down a freelance project today.
Was it because the client fell into one of those 11 categories?  Nope.  The client is completely reasonable with a project that has no reason to fail.  I turned it down because I wasn't comfortable about whether or not I'd be able to deliver to the client's needs.  Like many programmers I often get into the position of overextending myself.  Not this time.
This time I decided not to over-promise.
This time I decided to be realistic.
This time I realized that I have enough on my plate.
This time I realized that taking on another project may cause me to shortchange all of them.
So in a sense I fired myself from this project.  The good news is that the client appreciated my honesty up front instead of having it blow up halfway through.  It was a tough decision to turn down work, but I'm sure it was the right one.

I love microISVs

Ian Landsman just released the beta of HelpSpot.  It's always inspiring for me to see microISVs shipping software!  Congrats Ian!