February 2012
1 post
Cross Domain REST with Backbone.js and .NET MVC 3
I’m working on a small project within a bigger web application where an all-javascript solution made the most sense. In the past I’ve used Knockout.JS and had a lot of fun with it. It was simple to learn and easily added some robust javascript functionality on top of a .NET MVC project that would have been much more difficult in straight jQuery.
For this project, however,...
January 2012
1 post
CoffeeScript in Sublime Text on Windows
I work on both Ubuntu and Windows, and just recently switched to the Sublime Text 2 editor, which is a nice cross between TextMate and vim, and runs cross platform. Everything runs as expected on Ubuntu, not so much on Windows. Here’s what you need to do to get CoffeeScript highlighting and building:
Install Node using the new Windows installer. This also installs npm.
Open a cmd...
December 2011
1 post
Knockout.js
I just finished my first non-trivial web app that leverages Knockout, a framework that helps you build better javascript front-end applications. While Knockout isn’t nearly as popular as Backbone.js is, I think it serves a different purpose, even though they’re typically lumped together. There’s a great set of answers on Backbone vs Knockout on StackOverflow about this, but the...
October 2011
1 post
In Support of Code Reviews
Ok, its tough not to laugh at this post from Ayende. He’s going through the process of trying to hire someone for his team, and asks those who apply to complete some simple programming tasks. I’m sure he’s glad he does.
But how did this happen? How did someone write code this bad?
Let’s make some assumptions. I think Ayende wouldn’t have wasted this person’s...
May 2011
1 post
2 tags
Visual Studio buttons for Mercurial
I prefer using the command line myself, but as a shortcut, via Rob at TekPub, here is a great way to use Mercurial through Visual Studio without cumbersome plugins:
Install TortoiseHG
Open Visual Studio
Click Tools -> External Tools…
Click Add
Create each one of the items below:
Title: HG Workbench Command: C:\Program Files\TortoiseHg\thgw.exe Initial Directory: $(SolutionDir)
...
April 2011
1 post
3 tags
New project for A Wider Circle
This is the first in a series of posts on an application I’m developing in collaboration with my good friend Kevin Vess for A Wider Circle, a non-profit based in Washington, DC. He’s doing the graphic design and front-end work, including all the javascript/jQuery goodness, and I’m focusing on the backend. The application we’re building is a web-based dashboard/CRM that...
March 2011
1 post
Uninstall dual-boot Ubuntu
I just removed Ubuntu today from my laptop. I was dual-booting with Windows 7, and besides the fact that I needed to free up some hard drive space, I figure I can always VM linux later if I want it like I do on one of my other computers.
Uninstalling an OS is always a bit nerve wracking, so here are the steps I took which worked well for me.
Backup everything important!
Download and burn a...
December 2010
1 post
November 2010
3 posts
My weekend project: StopGoStopGo at Boston Mobile... →
July 2010
1 post
June 2010
4 posts
Three Weeks of Stats
Here’s the end result:
Impressions: 158,120 Clicks: 177 Total Conversions: 3
The most important stat that I care about here is that of the 177 people who saw my landing page, 3 were willing to sign up for a “beta” trial of it. That’s a 1.7% conversion rate, and I could do worse.
thedailywhat:
DIY of the Day: An insanely cool... →
thedailywhat:
DIY of the Day: An insanely cool levitating Origami Hang Glider you can manually propel by creating a wave of air with your hands.
Build your own by downloading the…
Gauging Interest
Step 1 in the process of gauging interest has started today. I’ve taken two applications that have been side projects for me and put up initial two page landing pages to promote them. Here’s what I’ve done so far:
SnipBit (www.snipbit.net)
The product is a replacement for the search built into your website. It pulls results from Google Site Search, your Twitter feed, your...
The Founder Institute
Step 1: Join the Founder Institute
Step 2: Form a new product-focused company
Step 3: …
Step 4: Profit
The 2010 session of The Founder Institute in Boston kicks off in just under a month. With my acceptance letter in hand, its time to kick things into gear. I took a list of 15 of my ideas and sorted them by the likelihood of success. I’ve now taken the top one and started...
May 2010
2 posts
Campfire →
Cartoon: Retweet this cartoon! Win cool prizes! →
…Like, say, the scorn of your friends. In the spirit of Twitter, I’ll make this brief. If you’re running a Twitter contest or promotion, then please - I beg you - have entrants do…
April 2010
9 posts
Syntax Highlighting - jQuery.Syntax - Orion... →
A man flying in a hot air balloon suddenly realizes he’s lost. He reduces height and spots a man down below. He lowers the balloon further and shouts to get directions, “Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?” The man below says: “Yes. You’re in a hot air balloon, hovering 30 feet above this field.” “You must work in Information Technology,” says the...
SendGrid | We Make Email Delivery Easy →
Wireframes. Mockups. Prototypes — FlairBuilder →
Cloudomatic | Discover Business Web Apps (SaaS). →
Blueprint: A CSS Framework | Spend your time... →
CSSDesk - Dynamic CSS Sandbox →
New CSS Sticky Footer - 2010 - HTML for Bottom of... →
New Leaf Legal, LLC →
March 2010
5 posts
Web Illiteracy: How Much Is Your Fault? →
When hundreds of clueless commenters decided mid-February that ReadWriteWeb was the place to log in to Facebook, alerts went off in my personal network like alarms at a fire station. For the…
“Starting is easy. Finishing is HARD.”
– Jason Calacanis
“Unless something is really easy to use, we don’t actually use it.”
Balsamiq Mockups Home | Balsamiq →
Adding a first post here. More to come I’m sure!