Let's Encrypt now has a plethora of clients available to help you make it as painless as possible to install free SSL(TLS) certificates on all of your websites. That is, there is really no good reason why your website doesn't have https now. Do eet!
With governments and corporations dipping their hands ever more into our private lives, it's good for you (and your customers/audience) to setup some safeguards.
Amazon's cloud services are arguably the cheapest and most stable platform on which to build a distributed set of web services and applications. I've chosen to build my next web app using their EC2 service because of it's easy, consistent installation and control of all the features I want. If you're looking to do something similar, this article will show you how to get up an running.
"A JSON Web Token (JWT), pronounced 'jot', is a compact URL-safe means of representing claims to be transferred between two parties. The claims in a JWT are encoded as a JSON object that is digitally signed using JSON Web Signature (JWS)".
Focus, grind, and validate. What you create doesn't need to be a fucking masterpiece. In a universe seemingly out of our control, something is better than nothing. Nothing is the default.
Handle file uploads and server-side image processing in your Rails 4 app with Paperclip and Image Magick.
There's been a lot of talk recently about Big Brother and governments reading your email or listening to your phone calls, and that the age of the internet is a surveillance state akin to East Germany, but let's reflect on what our expectations of the internet should be.
Both Stripe and Paypal provide payment processing services to help you accept money through your website. But in my opinion, Stripe is easier to use and understand, simpler to setup, more flexible, and better value for about the same price as Paypal.
Setup your local Rails app to deploy to your production server using Capistrano and Git so your deployment process is automated, fast, and your brain hurts less.
Get your priorities straight and rollout onto the web when you're ready and only to further enhance your already functioning core business strategies.
I attended a local 3-day game jam with my friend Ilya Schwarz at which I made an HTML5 game while learning the ImpactJS Engine.
I don't think social media is a predominant source of traffic or a great generator of sales, but I do think it can be a good extension to already-solid customer service. Social media is icing on the cake; you need to have a tasty cake first.
I just saw Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, and I liked it. I can see how many people would think it was overly gratuitous or voyeuristic, but I think it needed to be. It showed how our dreams are tangled with our lives by our desires.
This blog is the first app I've made with Rails 4/Ruby 2 and this article explains how I installed it in production from a bare-bones virtual-dedicated server running Ubuntu, Apache, Passenger, and MySQL.
I have certain expectations from the movies I purchase and they're not being satisfied by existing products. I think there's an opportunity for sellers of movie wares to satisfy my whiny consumer demands in new ways that will earn them new money.
My name's Rob. I live in Toronto. I make stuff on the interwebs. I believe in the free and open exchange of information. This is my blog.