A blog about software and chocolate http://yet.another.linux-nerd.com/blog Naveen Maram [asked on LinkedIn](http://lol.cat/2G) "What are some good, practical quality metrics for your IT development team that worked in your setting and you have personal experience with?". As a [software architect](http://yet.another.linux-nerd.com/what-i-do), I've been using metrics to guide me for my code reviews, here is my two cents on the subject. Tue, 15 May 2012 08:58:44 +0000 http://yet.another.linux-nerd.com/blog/linkedin-question-some-good-practical-quality-metrics http://yet.another.linux-nerd.com/blog/linkedin-question-some-good-practical-quality-metrics If you use the Markdown syntax for a Rails based blog or website, you probably have a media library with images or files to use in your posts. If Markdown supports external images but there's no out-of-the box support to tie it to your media using an id or a logical name. Redcarpet - a Ruby library that converts Markdown in HTML - allows overriding the HTML output functions and I'll present in this tutorial a way to reference your images which will be stored using the Paperclip gem. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:59:18 +0000 http://yet.another.linux-nerd.com/blog/how-to-extend-redcarpet-to-support-a-media-library-part-2 http://yet.another.linux-nerd.com/blog/how-to-extend-redcarpet-to-support-a-media-library-part-2 If you use the [Markdown](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markdown) syntax for a Rails based blog or website, you probably have a media library with images or files to use in your posts. If Markdown supports external images but there's no out-of-the box support to tie it to your media using an id or a logical name. [Redcarpet](https://github.com/tanoku/redcarpet) - a Ruby library that converts Markdown in HTML - allows overriding the HTML output functions and I'll present in this tutorial a way to reference your images which will be stored using the [Paperclip](https://github.com/thoughtbot/paperclip) gem. Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:09:24 +0000 http://yet.another.linux-nerd.com/blog/tutorial-how-to-extend-markdown-slash-redcarpet-to-support-a-media-library http://yet.another.linux-nerd.com/blog/tutorial-how-to-extend-markdown-slash-redcarpet-to-support-a-media-library If you're into Rails or Ruby development, chances are that you'll already play with popular gems like [Capistrano](https://github.com/capistrano/capistrano) or [Omniauth](https://github.com/intridea/omniauth). Here's seven nice gems that you may not known: * Capistrano calendar * Spritefactory * Dropbox * Mailcatcher * Twitter * Wkhtmltopdf * GoogleVisualr Click below for more details. Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:05:10 +0000 http://yet.another.linux-nerd.com/blog/seven-handy-yet-lesser-known-ruby-gems http://yet.another.linux-nerd.com/blog/seven-handy-yet-lesser-known-ruby-gems Uncertainty is a constant of projects or companies, whether if you're testing business model, receiving incomplete specs from a customer or just because unexpected - defects, unforeseen opportunities, competitors, new requirements, etc. - happens. The waterfall model, which consists in writing all requirements first then writing technical specs before starting to implement, has proven not to work in this kind of situations but continues to be used in some companies. Three popular methods : **Scrum**, **XP** and **Lean** - all are called **Agile** - help you deal with uncertainty by : * Delivering frequently a product or service to a set of users, even if it's not complete * Identifying quickly defect and possible enhancements * Adjust to change, while preserving team / product * Improving the production process and the team continuously You have a non IT business ? Don't close the page yet : some of those practices still apply to you: Agile has roots in businesses that have nothing to do with software. Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:05:09 +0000 http://yet.another.linux-nerd.com/blog/three-agile-methods-that-help-turn-uncertainty-into-success http://yet.another.linux-nerd.com/blog/three-agile-methods-that-help-turn-uncertainty-into-success I’m working on a project for deploying J2EE and PHP applications and it requires communication with customers in both english and french. This work is part of a traditional IT documentation but I had some trouble translating certain expressions especially those inspired from Public buildings and works sector (they’re typical to France) so I’m going to list them in this post, so other people can use them or suggest better translations. Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:00:00 +0000 http://yet.another.linux-nerd.com/blog/translation-of-some-typical-french-it-words http://yet.another.linux-nerd.com/blog/translation-of-some-typical-french-it-words Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://yet.another.linux-nerd.com/blog/difference-between-ssh-and-ssl http://yet.another.linux-nerd.com/blog/difference-between-ssh-and-ssl Like a lot of people, I receive weekly or monthly opt-in emails from vendors but I’m always surprised it’s from not working address “do-not-reply”. Not very engaging. If you’re sending emails, people look to sender name, and a more friendly “From” would be appreciated. Furthermore, even if the mail contains links, the customer get it in his mail reader. A tool where he’s used to send mail and to respond to mail. Think of a salesman that, after a successul demonstration, would tell you : “Nah, I won’t take your order, please call this number instead”. As those mails are sent to people that suscribed (the company is not doing old fashionned spam bulk emailing), the customer is more likely to have an interest in their product and thus to respond. To have a more direct human to human like relation - is it possible even if you’re using email robot - it could be better to : * create friendly emails (i.e. do not let the email admin without hints) * for people that respond (there are some), have an auto responder robot that could help/redirect people according what they replied (looking for keywords “buy”, “unsubscribe”, “help”, “whatever”). Maybe a program using a bayesian filter ? Sat, 26 Mar 2005 03:31:30 +0000 http://yet.another.linux-nerd.com/blog/you-got-a-mail-from-%22do-not-reply%22 http://yet.another.linux-nerd.com/blog/you-got-a-mail-from-%22do-not-reply%22