I’ve been reading up a bit on Python lately, which is a pretty popular high-level programming language used for a variety of applications - including web and desktop apps.  It’s used extensively in a lot of Linux applications, and Google utilizes Python in a lot of their work.  The performance of the language seems to be a key selling point, as does its refreshingly simple syntax.  Naturally, I’m curious about using the Django framework in my own work.

This doesn’t mean I’m leaving PHP in the dust - I still use it extensively at work, with no plans of stopping anytime soon - but I just have a feeling this is a language I would like to work in. Python’s syntax is similar to Ruby’s (at least at first glance), and from what I’ve read it outperforms Rails by quite a bit.

The project that I’m going to cut my Django teeth on is my wife and I’s blog: www.rustyandben.com. I talked briefly about overhauling the site a few months ago, but some other higher priority projects came up. I’m getting to the point now, however, where I can start working on it again. I’ll be re-designing and developing from scratch (obviously maintaining all data), so it makes the perfect opportunity to try out Django. I’ll be upgrading my Media Temple hosting to a virtual dedicated server so that I can have root-level access in order to install whatever software I want. This, in turn, will allow me to try out a couple other technologies I’ve been wanting to check out: SQLite (a lightweight flat-file database system) and Lighttpd (a lightweight and fast HTTP server). More on those as I assess their feasibility.

I’ll be posting about all this again soon, as I’m planning on writing a series of posts about the creation of the site.

Wubi is something I should’ve posted about a long time ago, but I just saw that a new version was out, so here we go. Problem: You’ve always wanted to try Linux out, but were afraid to mess around with partitioning a hard drive or otherwise hacking up your system. Solution: Wubi. Wubi is a Windows application that installs Ubuntu Linux 8.04 (Hardy Heron) to your Windows hard disk, and adds a boot record to the Windows Master Boot Record. It installs the OS on a file that Windows treats as a separate hard disk, thereby negating the need to partition your own hard disk. Awesome.

Ubuntu Linux is, in my opinion, the most accessible and usable version of Linux out there. I’ve been dual-booting with Ubuntu for about a year now, and I started out by trying the previous version of Wubi. I had so much fun with Ubuntu that I decided to go ahead and get another hard drive and install the OS the proper way. Not that Wubi is a lesser version of the OS - it isn’t - but since it installs to your Windows hard disk, it’s not a “real” install. There have been some minor bugs with Wubi (it is a beta product), but I’ve encountered none of them personally.

Moral of the story, if you’ve wanted to try Linux but were afraid to, there’s no longer a reason to be afraid. A nice bonus to using Linux: It’s uber-secure, and worrying about viruses and spyware is a thing of the past. I don’t even have any anti-virus or anti-spyware installed on my installation of Linux.

Enjoy.

Update: I should’ve mentioned that Wubi is a Windows only app. Not sure if there are any alternatives for OS X or not.

I’ve been keeping up with Carsonified lately, the small team behind Future of Web Apps, Future of Web Design, Vitamin, and much more. They’re another one of those great small companies that gets things done the right way, without any bullshit.

Ryan Carson wrote a post recently about PR people, and he quoted Robert Stephens (founder of Geek Squad):

“Marketing is the price you pay for being unremarkable.”

I love sayings like that. Simple, true, and inspirational. I had never really thought about it, but it’s true. You only need to market yourself if you don’t otherwise stand out in the crowd. He references another small team, 37signals, who are also uniquely remarkable. They create simple, useful apps for small businesses. They’re not for everybody, but for the people that use them they’re a godsend (most of them anyway).

I think we need more companies like Carsonified and 37signals. We need to move away from larger market-dominating companies that try to please everybody with overly complex software, and move towards smaller companies that meet the needs of smaller groups. If there are enough of these small companies going after certain market segments, people will end up being happier in the long run. At least I think so.

I know it’s just a pipe-dream, but I think we’d truly be better off with fewer big companies, and more smaller companies.

That is all.