github goes ace (and demos)

A week ago GitHub announced they were incorporating the Ace editor (which powers the Cloud9 IDE).  Since I am a fan of both Cloud9 and GitHub, I gave it a whirl on my GitHub Pages site and was not disappointed.  As advertised one can easily open a file for editing, preview the diff of your changes and commit.  I think it will likely become useful to edit posts when (if) I finally decide to move my blog from here at Blogger to Octopress (just because it looks fun).  For me, this is particularly useful for simple changes like those I have made to my demos and experiments.  Speaking of demos, I had created a simple drawing app using HTML5 canvas for my preschooler which evolved into a demo of the HTML5 History API thanks to a tweet by Christian Heilmann and subsequent read of his blog post.  I decided to use this History API to create the undo/redo functionality that I rely on heavily if i'm trying to draw something in a painting tool.  As a bonus I added a localStorage call that will recreate your last drawing if your browser closes or you are forced to leave the site for a while.  What does that look like:

 I entered the demo in the DevDerby, you can find it here.  I hope you 'like' it too.  (note: I've only really tested my demo on firefox 5, 6, 7, and 8 as well as chrome 13 & 14, so your results may vary if you use a different browser)

Chrome Dev Tools as an IDE

I've spent a lot of time trying to find the best development method in Chrome OS.  Recently I decided I wanted to create a chrome extension using Chrome OS.  My first stop was CodeRun IDE which has a sample Chrome Extension project so I thought it would be great for a starter.  The development is pretty mess free, but the problem comes once its downloaded.  It comes downloaded and zipped.  When loading an unpackaged Chrome Extension you can point Chrome to a directory, but not a zipped directory.  So I had to unzip the files...which was pretty easy to do once I found wobzip.

Now that I had a skeleton Chrome Extension up and running, I could start to make it my own.  I decided on a simple calculator for starters, plus I thought it might be useful.  I have to admit it had been a while since I'd used the user 'chronos' in Developer mode, but once I got it there I found that Chrome OS had a new default text editor (thankfully) in 'vi'.  This is where it got really fun.  I edited my popup.html file to have a stylesheet and JavaScript file and loaded the html directly in Chrome.  Enter the best web app ever... Chrome Dev Tools.

With Dev tools I am able to make changes to my stylesheets through the inspector to get the style just how I want, then save the modified .css file to the extension directory.
 Similarly, I can edit and save versions of my JavaScript file directly from Dev tools.  The only issue with this is when I overlooked some invalid code which prevented Chrome from loading the JavaScript file.  This was not much of an issue the one time it happened to me, as I was able to enter vi and quickly rectify the rogue curly brace and was back to Dev Tools in no time.  So If you ask me what my choice is for rapid JavaScript development, I'll say Chrome Dev Tools.

 The result from blank files to:


and

I Cloud

Earlier today Apple announced a revolutionary set of services called iCloud.  I must say it sounds incredible to be able to edit a document, sync contacts, view my calendar, listen to music, read my electronic books, view my photos, and access my email from any internet enabled device. , It does seem like a great advantage to not have to upload to a cloud music service like the Amazon Cloud Player or Google Music, which iCloud offers via iTunes "scan and match" and I'm certain it will be another service I try in my attempt to find the best cloud experience.   I've been happily clouding for some time now, and hope that Apple does good things in the space.  Happy clouding.

Chromebook first dibs

Being a test pilot has some perks.  The latest of which is a special invitation to early released Chromebooks via the Gilt Groupe.  Below is the email I received earlier today inviting me to Gilt's privileged offering of the newest Chromebook.

Be the first to get a Chromebook.
Since we announced the Chrome Notebook Pilot Program back in December, we’ve been humbled by the amount of interest that we’ve received from users like you. We’re excited about the brand-new Samsung Chromebook that goes on sale on June 15. Fortunately, we’ve managed to get our hands on a few machines a little earlier, and we’d like to make these available to you, our biggest enthusiasts. When you buy your Chromebook, you’ll also be getting a limited edition, custom-fit Chrome sleeve designed by Rickshaw so you can carry your new Chromebook in style. Our good friends over at Gilt, the premier invitation-only shopping site, have agreed to put these Chromebooks up for sale -- but only for a very limited time.

Duostack acquired by dotCloud

A few weeks ago I wrote about utilizing the Duostack platform as a service to host a Node.js application on the cloud.  Today Duostack announced they were joining forces with dotCloud, another platform as a service provider.  Here is the announcement as I received it:

Duostack Announcement - May 24, 2011

We are pleased to announce that Duostack is joining forces with DotCloud.

 

DotCloud is a Platform as a Service that provides unsurpassed flexibility. Developers have the freedom to assemble their own deployment environment by selecting stack components on DotCloud, instead of being restricted to a limited stack configuration typical of cloud platforms. Supported components include PHP, Ruby, Python, Perl, Java, Node.js, MySQL, Redis, RabbitMQ, Solr, PostgreSQL, and now MongoDB.

 

As part of DotCloud, we will continue to raise the bar for cloud platforms and further our commitment as the best place to deploy apps.

 

See the full acquisition announcement here:

DotCloud Acquires Duostack, Expands Footprint in PaaS Market to Further "One Platform, Any Stack" Vision

 

What does this mean for apps hosted on Duostack?

Current Duostack developers will receive immediate access to DotCloud. Invite codes will be delivered by email.

 

Apps currently hosted on Duostack will remain online through the end of June 2011. We will provide assistance for migrating apps to DotCloud. More information about the transition will be available this week.

 

The Duostack name will be phased out. However, the best parts of the Duostack platform and the feedback from our beta program will be incorporated into DotCloud. This starts today as DotCloud launches support for MongoDB, and there is plenty more to come.

 

We are very happy to welcome you to DotCloud.