The Blog of Maxim Porges

Archive for February, 2008

  • JRuby – The New Web Productivity Layer for Java

    I remember years ago, Macromedia did a video that said that ColdFusion was the new productivity layer for J2EE apps. Well, I’m sitting here watching Charles Nutter demo the latest JRuby functionality at acts_as_conference, and I can definitively say that JRuby has taken CF’s place.

    I’ll have more to come on this topic after the conference, so watch this space.

    2008.02.09 / no responses / Category: Uncategorized

  • Call Me Apple-stradamus

    Looking through some old blog posts in the archive today, I came across this post where I made some predictions on Apple’s future direction. Following their keynote in January 2008, it seems that my predictions from July of 2005 weren’t far off.

    2008.02.06 / no responses / Category: Uncategorized

  • Read CHM Files on OS X With Chmox

    A few weeks back I posted about us implementing HP’s Quality Center suite, starting with TestDirector. I still find this to be a great product (we have teams productive with it after a two week ramp-up, if that gives you any idea of the simplicity of setup).

    Unfortunately, since it’s Windows-only and runs in IE, they built a lot of the API documentation in CHM files. For those of you who don’t know, these files are the fodder consumed by the Windows Help utility, and they are not cross platform (surprise! a non-portable product from Microsoft).

    A quick Google turned up Chmox. Yes, it’s in it’s 0.4-beta release, but who cares? Works great on my MacIntel MacBook Pro, and I can now read all the Quality Center docs in glorious Technicolor in Preview and Chmox instead of having to schlock about in Windows.

    2008.02.06 / no responses / Category: Uncategorized

  • Java Migrations for Maven

    It was only a matter of time before somebody did this. I’m pretty happy about the potential for this plugin after all the work we have done to integrate Maven in to our Flex and Java development at CFI.

    Read more about a Maven Rails-style migration plug-in for Java at CarbonFive.com.

    2008.02.06 / no responses / Category: Uncategorized

  • The Best Way To Predict The Future Is… To Have Funding?

    I watch CNBC when I wake up in the morning. Since just about everything in the world is driven by capitalism, I find it to be the best news source for stuff that really matters.

    They have a set of ads run with Jeff Daniels promoting Michigan as a place to start companies. While watching a version of this ad this morning, they showed office shots of an innovative advertising company, and I saw a poster on the wall of an employee’s cube that said:

    “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”

    Couldn’t agree more. Apparently Alan Kay invented that statement.

    “Don’t worry about what anybody else is going to do… The best way to predict the future is to invent it. Really smart people with reasonable funding can do just about anything that doesn’t violate too many of Newton’s Laws!”

    I have no respect for Newton’s laws. If only I were smart, all I would need is funding… *sigh*

    2008.02.05 / 1 response / Category: Uncategorized

  • The Gap Between CEO and Employee

    I’m always amazed by the massive differences in the way different chief executives communicate with their employees.

    There’s clearly two extremes.

    On the one hand, you have those that don’t speak to the employees actually doing the work at all, and surround themselves with many layers of management. They appear periodically for ceremonial functions and make speeches. For obvious reasons, employees are intimidated by these chief executives, and act as they believe they “should” around them to avoid being fired or making severely career-limiting moves. Chief executives who operate like this can expect to be fed pleasantries and rose-tinted misinformation by their employees as opposed to being given candid, meaningful feedback that will help them steer their business the way they need to.

    And then there are those on the opposite end of the spectrum – the every-man, the friend, the companion. The guy employees feel that they know, somebody they feel comfortable talking to openly. A leader who encourages, inspires, and earns trust. A real person who rubs shoulders with the troops and gets down and dirty to see what’s happening rather than relying on being told by the SVPs and other C-level executives. These are the guys who can get in and see the business for what it is, and make educated decisions based on feedback from employees; employees who become all the more loyal for seeing their suggestions being put into action.

    Read this, and tell me which type you think Howard Shultz is. Then tell me which one you work for in your organization, or if they are somewhere in-between.

    I strongly intend to run my own company at least once before I die. If I have my way, I’ll be a Howard Shultz.

    2008.02.05 / 2 responses / Category: Uncategorized

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