An Environment of Respect

Here is an early draft of the WindyCityRails Code of Conduct:

WindyCityRails strives to provide a healthy, harassment-free conference experience for all attendees. Our Code of Conduct, which has been practiced by members of our community for years, is as follows: Treat everyone at the conference as you would want yourself, a family member, or an esteemed colleague to be treated. Our community is stronger when every member contributes to the safety and learning of the other members. We are colleagues, and we treat each other with respect.

There may be some wordsmithing and typo-correction this week, but the final version will essentially read as it appears above. Key objectives achieved:

• Simplicity. The point is made with minimal words.
• Inclusiveness. Everybody who wants to learn and engage is included.
• Respect. Everybody is treated with respect. No threats are made.

You have already read the most important part of this post. The rest tells how the code came to be.

Henry Ford's Faster Horse

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have asked for a faster horse.

~Henry Ford

The above Henry Ford quote is often cited in presentations about innovation. The point of the quote: An inventor who listens to customers too closely, without observing customer behavior, will reap tiny improvements at best. Ford ignored the request for “a faster horse”, and that is how the Ford Motor Company became a leader in the early auto industry.

That’s one way to interpret Ford’s quote. Last night, I was introduced to another view.

BeagleBone Black Running Ubuntu: Part2 (Plus Ruby on Rails)

Part one of this series shows how to install Ubuntu on the BeagleBone Black. We used a MacBook Pro to burn an Ubuntu disk image onto an SD card, and then we booted a BeagleBone Black from the image we created.

This post, part two, covers the installation of the Ubuntu GUI, Ruby, and Rails. All of the commands in this article are run on the BeagleBone Black.

Node.js bonus: Rails requires a JavaScript runtime, and Node.js offered the quickest way to fulfill this requirement. Details appear within.

Gotcha: Partition Size

At the end of part one, we successfully booted the Bone with the Ubuntu command line interface. Now it’s time to add the GUI. Two things to know about the Ubuntu GUI installation…

BeagleBone Black Running Ubuntu: Part1

The above screenshot shows a BeagleBone Black running Ubuntu, Ruby, and Rails. Why Ubuntu? The Bone comes pre-installed with Ångström, and it boots as soon as you unbox it. Why not stick with Ångström?

My opinion: The factory standard is fine, but it’s always good to have options. Here’s why I decided to try Ubuntu on the BeagleBone Black…

Disposable Electronics in Wired Magazine

What can we build with disposable electronics? An ad in the January 2014 issue of Wired Magazine lets the reader change the color of a Moto X smartphone by pressing a colored circle on the page. This 20-second video shows the ad in operation followed by a glimpse of the inner workings.