I’ve been running Ubuntu as my sole OS on my laptop for around 8 months now. I’ve had dual-boots and dabbled in Linux for servers and stuff for around 10 years or so, but this is the first time I’ve had it as the only OS on a system, that I use for day-to-day.

"...Steve Yegge’s Javascript editing mode for Emacs, js2-mode, really takes this kind of 'ambient usefulness' to the next level. That’s because it doesn’t just use colors and styles to indicate syntax, but to indicate semantics as well..." -- http://code.google.com/p/js2-mode/

If you’re using Ubuntu with a Dell computer, there is a handy command to get your service tag number.

Building Dynamic Web 2.0 Websites with Ruby on Rails is a new book from Packt which helps users to design, develop, and deploy a fully featured website using Ruby on Rails. Written by A. P. Rajshekhar, this book is a tutorial to create a complete Web 2.0 website with Ruby on Rails.

Recently, I forayed into the cool world of RoR and my immediate question was, how to get started and which is the best IDE to start my RoR journey with. I found loads of options and I have decided to list them here for the benefit of others, who face the same problem. I will also detail the installation of the IDE that I am currently using, which I feel is the easiest for newbies to start with.

To install Firefox 3 RC1 on Ubuntu Hardy, go ti System > Administration > Software Sources. Then go to Third-Party Software, click Add, and add this (auto install):

"... that makes writing documents fun! It might have something to do with the fact that even with the default settings, the output looks awesome. For a guy whose document-writing experience has been limited to OpenOffice.org and Microsoft Word, the whole thing feels very liberating.