\v/ julian gruber

my browsing workflow

2011-07-02T00:00:00+02:00

i have those 7 bookmark folders:

ToDo design/, server/, Lessons From Metafilter, Is Web Design Dying?, ...
Webdesk webmail, feeds, calendar, bank, icq, ...
Shopping futon/, dvds/, amazon, ebookstore, ...
University linear algebra/, informatics/, bb, course browser, ...
Resource dictionary, thesaurus, recipes/, gems/, ...
Inspiration tomafro.net, chrislaco.com, ...
Bookmarklets 960.gs|12, Live.js, Wirify by Volkside, ...

i work from folders for each project like unix/ or unix/webserver/ until the folders are all empty and done.

when i stumble upon a website that I want to come back to and do something with, like a tutorial, an application to try out or something like that, i file it in the ToDo folder, so that it doesn't interrupt my workflow.

then when all the folders are empty i decide which projects i want to work on and which i don't have the time for or are not relevant any more for me. for those projects i then again create folders and fill them with bookmarks.

this setup works especially well for me because:

most of my todo items are websites, and if they are not, i just search for "update system" and file it
the delay between todo collection and todo doing prevents me from doing a lot of stuff out of impulse which i might not do now when i have had time to reflect upon my aims
items are synchronized with firefox sync or xmarks, so everywhere accesible
todo items show up in my address bar so searching also is covered perfectly

the other folders should be self explanatory.

powertop

2011-06-30T00:00:00+02:00

PowerTOP

Computer programs can make your computer use more power. PowerTOP is a Linux tool that helps you find those programs that are misbehaving while your computer is idle. The application that misbehaved the most was the Linux kernel. However, as of version 2.6.21, the Linux kernel went tickless, and no longer has a fixed 1000Hz timer tick. The result (in theory) is huge power savings because the CPU stays in low power mode for longer periods during system idle.

However... there are many things that can ruin the party, both inside the kernel and in userspace. PowerTOP combines various sources of information from the kernel into one convenient screen so that you can see how well your system is doing at saving power, and which components are the biggest problems.

PowerTOP has these four basic goals:

Show how well your system is using the various hardware power-saving features Show you the culprit software components that are preventing optimal usage of your hardware power savings Help Linux developers test their application and achieve optimal behavior Provide you with tuning suggestions to achieve low power consumption

nietzsches zarathustra

2011-06-30T00:00:00+02:00

my favourite quotes from Friedrich Nietzsche's Thou Spoke Zarathustra

de: Gesellschaften sind ein Versuch, kein Vertrag.

en: Societies are a try, not a treaty.

de: Lieber nichts wissen, als vieles halb wissen! Lieber ein Narr sein auf eigne Faust, als ein Weiser nach fremdem Gutduenken!

en: Better to know nothing then to know a lot partial! Better to be a fool on one's own account then to be a sage on foreign ground!

from Friedrich Nietzsche, Also Sprach Zarathustra/Thus Spoke Zarathustra

misc

2011-06-26T00:00:00+02:00

"Once you decide to change, you will always wish you changed earlier" (startup lessons learned)

scaling a development team

interesting questions regarding frameworks

2011-06-26T00:00:00+02:00

how long would it take to upgrade your app to the next major version of the framework?
would you do the upgrade, or stick with the current framework version?
what would it take to switch you app to a differend framework?

source: beyond frameworks

importance of performance

2011-06-26T00:00:00+02:00

1sec more pageloadtime = -2.8% revenue
yahoo: 400ms slower = 5-9% drop in full-page traffic

from don't make me wait! or building high-performance web applications

windows mac switching resources

2011-06-25T00:00:00+02:00

i'm switching back to linux now for reasons that i will dwelve into later. in order to leave my trace in the mac world here i post some software and tips for people who just switched over from windows and other operating systems in order to help with the transition:

{apple-key} + Space

launch programs
open documents
do calculations (like 2+2)
search mails
access settings
definitions

and if you want more features from a box like that, try alfredapp.com

xmarks and lastpass

synchronize and backup your bookmarks and basswords across all your browsers. it just works.

srware iron

a browser that is essentially google chrome, but without the google. in my experience it is the fastest and most stable while best to use browser on the market. recommended extensions:

textexpander

"If you find yourself rewriting the same lines of code, the same paragraphs, even the same signature over and over each day, you’re doing it wrong. How many hours each year would you save, simply by turning an eight second repetitive typing task into a keystroke? Especially in my particular circumstance, TextExpander is 100% a necessity. “Save time and effort with TextExpander! Whether it’s a simple email signature or several paragraphs of a standard response, you’ll love how easy it is to use TextExpander to avoid typing the same thing over and over.”"

time out free

reminds you to take short breaks regulary

dropbox

automatically synchronize your files between multiple machines

sidestep

this app secures your internet connection in case you are in an unsecured wifi network

you control tunes

control itunes without having to leave your currently active application, right from your menu bar

adium

for all your instant messaging needs

better snap tool

organize your windows without the hazzle of manually resizing them

omni graffle

"Need a diagram, process chart, quick page-layout, website wireframe or graphic design? OmniGraffle can help you make eye-popping graphic documents quickly by keeping lines connected to shapes even when they're moved, providing powerful styling tools, importing and exporting Microsoft Visio files, and magically organizing diagrams with just one click. Whether you need a quick sketch or an epic technical figure, OmniGraffle keeps it gorgeously understandable."

find out how

apple video tutorials for new mac users

the unarchiver

opens zip, tar, bzip2, rar, 7zip archives and more

vlc video player

a free media player that is able to play almost every format. if you don't want an extra app besides quicktime you can also install http://www.perian.org/ and extend quicktime with a vlc-like encoding support

wunderlist

free todo list application with web sync and browser interface

30-must-have-tweaks-for-your-mac

rails state of the art

2011-06-25T00:00:00+02:00

my comment on the somewhat controversal last railsconf talk by rails founder david heinemeier hansson (i recommend you watch his talk first if you haven't yet).

magic 13

13 files in one directory -> :(
13 methods in one class   -> :(

true.

asset pipeline

nice for big sites like the 37signals ones, but again a hassle for smaller sites. and a lot of sites start rather small. this might push even more developers towards sinatra.

code cops

and what's about david heinemeier hanssons's initial talk about ruby with freedom and risk and monkeypatching and stuff, now he is talking about laws, enforcements and code cops :(

asset structure

however filing the js- and css-files in a perfect folder structure on the backend and then serving them combined, minimized (and cached) is rather neat: lower filesize, fewer ttp requests, faster development.

unix

some critizise that the learning curve for rails is becoming steeper and steeper, possibly turning a lot of developers away from it.

but might this not be just like with unix? a steep learning curve which always pays off in the end? only to a certain extent because unix allows simple flexible solutions whereas rails has this enforcing structure (convention over configuration).

vendor libraries

divorcing self written js from vendor js libs is a good idea. now you can install js libs also as gems and don't need to have them hang around in your directory structure. the only downside i see in this is that for quick code lookup in those files while development you have to get it from somewhere else.

and the same works equally well for css frameworks (if you use them^{^)}

coffeescript

the inclusion of coffeescript isn't necessary, couldn't the just enable easy coffeescript integration?

-> they help make coffeescript a standard which i myself appreciate

but don't you have to have node.js installed on the server for coffeescript? this could become a huge problem for people tied to shared hosting environments. but hey, lets push those companies towards the future and demand it!

(btw: the coffeescript compiler is written in coffeescript which is totally awesome)

and they have automatic recompilation of changed .coffee-files already built in which is also totally awesome.

updated generators

when you generate a new controller, the generator autogenerates coffee & scss-files for you. while this could generate some unnecessary files, for the scope of applications rails targets for js is propably needed for every controller.

automatic parser chaining

posts.css.scss.erb

this says that posts.css should be parsed by erb and then by scss. thats very nice, dynamic css just got easier.

default libraries

although scss is the default css library you can easily witch to less e.g. by changing one config file. good for everyone!

defaults over no-defaults

rails stands for faster and easier development vs for example the classical unix approach: more configuration, but more flexibility. now what do you prefer?

i prefer both. can't we have both?

framework vs library

framework: have features enabled by default. disable what you don't need library: have nothing enabled by default. pick and configure what you need.

middleware

this js/css compiling, minifying, filename-based-caching is cool, but do you know if they have this implemented as an independent racks middleware? would be cool to use in also not-rails-projects.

why this blog

2011-06-24T00:00:00+02:00

so why another blog?

after i finished school and civil service i went to university with the vision of being alone as much as possible.

yes, being alone, no friends, just enjoying the solitude.

i felt like i needed this. so i started this experiment. and it is a nice experience, you learn a lot about yourself. but what i noticed is that thoughts don't develop as they used to.

i am missing the talking.

when i occasionally explain something to someoneor just discuss on a topic, while i am talking i am making up an opinion and on-the-fly finding conclusions which i didn't reach in solitude, not talking.

so i need to find a way to talk. still i don't want to break my experiment with the silence. so i will talk to my self, only in a non-creepy-way and where others can benefit too.

voila, this blog has a reason, and although i am not the first one blogging for myself, there is a real personal reason for this blog. let the fun begin!

running death

2011-06-24T00:00:00+02:00

the skull wast made by lukas bihlmayer, everything else by me

raytracing

2011-06-24T00:00:00+02:00

just dug up some old rendering of mine, done in cinema 4d with the raytracer (1280x1024). i tried to simulate alien water which of course doesn't necessarily follow our physical laws. or so...

drop it

2011-06-24T00:00:00+02:00

...like its hot! had some fun time with just cam and flashlights :)

cowfish

2011-06-24T00:00:00+02:00

a fish that looks like a box and is named like a cow. how cool is this?

the death of the blog post

2011-06-23T00:00:00+02:00

the death of the blogpost in case you missed this one

dreamhost ddos

2011-06-23T00:00:00+02:00

from the official dreamhost blog, reporting about their system attack by a former member of anonymous:

Thankfully the FBI sent along this brochure to help us cope. It managed to calm everybody down.

alt tag: Hand amputation hurts everyone

Ritterschaft zu Wasserstein

2010-11-08T00:10:15+01:00

My newest work that I'm proud to present to you is the creation of a full-featured website for a german Knights/Middle Age club called Ritterschaft zu Wasserstein.

It took about 3 months planning everything out, designing the frontend, laying out the pages and creating the underlying Content Management System.

Again I used the great CodeIgniter PHP-Framework, MySQL, XHTML, JavaScriptwith jQuery, CSS with Blueprint and Adobe Photoshop.

The Content Management System enables easy

creating
editing
reordering and
deleting

text-bricks
members
videos
events
blog-posts
links
pictures
and the adjustment of various settings.

Especially to mention is the picture slider on the frontpage and the use of HTML5 and CSS3 on the backend to create clean rounded corners with managable code (as you can see in the pictures below).

Thanks to the Ritterschaft zu Wasserstein for being such a great client to work with!

http://ritterschaft-zu-wasserstein.de/

Freundeskreis Château d'Orion

2010-05-19T01:32:49+02:00

The german society Freundeskreis Château d'Orion asked me to redesign their website with an easy to use Content Management System. I created the Design and Content Management System in one week, building upon the system I created for Schulverein-des-jbg.de.

The administration area features functions for creating, editing, deleting, reordering, enabling and disabling pages using a word-like editor + a newsletter module I created for this site. The newsletter system consists of a registration page, a confirmation mail and a send-form in the administration area.

This site was created using PHP5, Mysql, CodeIgniter, BluePrint, TinyMce, CkEditor.

http://freundeskreis-chateau-orion.de/

wallpaper for taste of desolation

2010-02-15T12:07:31+01:00

business card for gruber-consulting.net

2010-02-15T11:36:36+01:00

The management consultany Gruber-Consulting.net, I previously created a page for (original post) also wanted me to design matching business cards for them in order to improve their branding. They follow a color scheme quite similar to the webpage and feature the same logotype. Here are the different revisions of the design:

Dark background and big Helvetica type

Removed border on behalf of the client and swapped colors

Added the borders again, this revision was then sent out to print

schulverein-des-jbg.de

2009-11-22T00:00:00+01:00

I designed and coded this simple website for a union at my school which cares about culture and science. It uses CodeIgniter and PHP5 at the backend and Blueprint, XHTML and CSS at the frontend. I will soon write about the process for this site, as I wrote it in only 3 days, including the cms. http://schulverein-des-jbg.de/

website for my school

2009-11-16T00:00:00+01:00

I am the project leader and main developer of the team at my school that created and maintains the school website. It is written in XHTML, CSS and JavaScript (MooTools) at the frontend and PHP5 (CodeIgniter) and MySQL at the backend.

http://jakob-brucker-gymnasium.de/

juliangruber.com prior designs

2009-11-16T00:00:00+01:00

I just want to share with you how this site looked like in prior times:

gruber-consulting.net

2009-11-16T00:00:00+01:00

This is a website I created for my father's management consultancy. It was written in quite few time using Blueprint and no backend system.

http://gruber-consulting.net/

mickey mouse in the gardens of versailles

2008-10-09T00:00:00+02:00

A stunning discovery: Micky Mouse hides in the gardens of Versailles! This must be part of an old plot!