June 23rd, 2010, by Aaron
We’re currently deciding on hardware to build a bit of a testing cluster on which we’ll run whatever the current best remote testing package we can find. At the moment, for us, that’s ended up being Specjour. We ended up pitting one of our i7 iMacs against a $400 Acer box we bought. We installed Ubuntu’s REE 1.8.7 on the Acer machine and RVM and REE 1.8.7 on the iMac.
i7 iMac – Quad Core Hyperthreading
real 11m14.131s
user 0m0.776s
sys 0m0.348s
Acer – E5200 Dual Core E5200
real 35m56.658s
user 0m0.870s
sys 0m2.500s
It seems like the little Acer box offers slightly better value for money in this case. I’d like to see how we’d do with some virtualisation sitting on top this, but I think the included memory will be quite limiting in this regard. I wonder whether the processor resources are actually being fully utilised.
We are a Perth web design and web development company and this is our blog. We specialize in building web applications with the Ruby on Rails framework. Jump to the Ruby on Rails category or contact us.
Tags: rspec, Ruby on Rails, Specjour
Posted in Inside TFG | No Comments »
June 22nd, 2010, by Adam
I’ve just spent the last half an hour reading some of the amusing comments from customers of Crazy Domains (or soon to be ex customers).
Ask yourself a question – does your business rely on a website with maximum uptime?
- If you pay between $2 and $4 per month for web hosting, you probably should expect serious regular downtime.
- If you will lose thousands of dollars of business when your website or email goes down, think about finding a provider who offers a commercial grade hosting package with a fair price attached.
- Take uptime guarantees with a grain of salt. Do some online research and see what other companies/customers are saying about their experiences.
I feel for Crazy Domains. It’s a tough situation and they are going to be under fire for this for a long time. All it’s highlighted to me is that there is a big lack of education in the hosting and web space and that needs to change.
Update: Netregistry voiced a similar opinion
We are a Perth web design and web development company and this is our blog. We specialize in building web applications with the Ruby on Rails framework. Jump to the Ruby on Rails category or contact us.
Posted in Industry Trends | 2 Comments »
June 18th, 2010, by Adam
On the 21st July, I am presenting as part of a one day seminar at the Sheraton Hotel in Perth. The event is organised by Savile House and sponsored by Thoughtworks.
Global Companies are increasingly employing Agile development techniques to gain an advantage. It seems so obvious – increase the collaboration between different experts on the project and you will deliver results quicker and at a lower cost. But is it really that easy?
Hear from our first class panel of experts who will share the high’s and low’s of their experience in adopting Agile.
I’m looking forward to sharing the stage with the presenters (download the full brochure – Agile Development – Myth or Magic?):
Nigel Dalton – Lonely Planet
David Joyce – Thoughtworks
Mike Allen – Agile Alliance
John Townsend – NOPSA
Adam Fitzgerald – The Frontier Group
Dr Ashley Aitken – Curtin University
Angela Ferguson – Thoughtworks
We are a Perth web design and web development company and this is our blog. We specialize in building web applications with the Ruby on Rails framework. Jump to the Ruby on Rails category or contact us.
Posted in Industry Trends, Speaking Engagements | No Comments »
June 18th, 2010, by Adam
The past two weeks have seen me travelling around the state of Western Australia and the Northern Territory as part of the Achieve More Online program. This has been a great experience both on a professional and personal level.
Travelling as far south as Albany, and soon to be as far north as Darwin, our team has experienced first hand, just how much value the program is bringing to the small business owners we reach.
Some of my favourite feedback so far:
“Best investment of time & money. Tell your friends – these sessions will be booked out when people realise the quality of the material & presenters. Tell your best friends but NOT your competitors!”
– Keith MacAulay, 2 Oceans Adventures (June 2010 Margaret River event)
“A friendly, knowledgeable team. Loved Matt’s unbridled enthusiasm, Adam’s quirky sense of humour and the whole team’s willingness to help in any way. Go to it! A worthwhile investment of time!”
– Kylie Byfield, Illuminaire Pty Ltd (June 2010 Margaret River event)
See more of the action at the Achieve More Online Facebook Page
We are a Perth web design and web development company and this is our blog. We specialize in building web applications with the Ruby on Rails framework. Jump to the Ruby on Rails category or contact us.
Posted in Speaking Engagements | No Comments »
June 14th, 2010, by Matthew
The Frontier Group is a boutique software development company based in West Perth. We have a strong focus on web software, and utilise Ruby on Rails and JavaScript to build web applications. Our team has grown to thirteen staff and we’re looking to take on more experienced web developers.
Is this you?
You understand the difference between websites and web applications, and you want to write apps that matter for people that care about them.
You’ll have a track record of working on completed projects. You’ll have a few years commercial experience, probably working as part of a team doing solid but under-appreciated work. You will have experience with Mac, Linux or UNIX, but it might not be your daily environment. Similarly you will have an opinion about vi vs. Emacs or Python vs. Ruby, but you’ll understand that they’re just opinions.
You’ll care about your tools and will take real, genuine pride in the quality of the code you create. Learning new programming languages and getting more out of the languages you already know will excite you. Efficiency will be important too, and you’ll be looking for ways to automate your workflow and push the repetition off to a script.
You’ll be confident in your programming ability, regardless of the web language you prefer, yet humble enough to seek guidance when needed. You’ll know how JavaScript can be used to enhance the web, and will have demonstrated experience with a leading JavaScript library. You might even care about SASS and HAML, if you’re really cool.
Using the right tools is important and we realise that. We don’t have a parent company dictating how we do things or what our “standard operating environment” is – you’ll get to make those decisions with us. We all use MacBook Pros for development, but you might want a new iMac, for example. You’ll keep up to date with current trends and care about using modern techniques and practices, as well as tools and technologies.
What we give you
- $76,000 per year salary
- 9% superannuation (on top of salary)
- A MacBook Pro with SSD (yours to keep, replaced every two years)
- $1,000 travel allowance per year (parking, bike servicing, public transport)
- Internet and mobile allowance ($80 each per month)
- Current and relevant books, training, tools and gear
- Opportunities to work from home/flexi-time
- Pay reviews every 6 months with no ceiling on earning potential
- Freedom to grow your role with our organisation
What you give us
- 38 hours per week
- Your creative genius and passion
How to apply
Send a short email to jobs@thefrontiergroup.com.au and reference your Github and Stack Overflow accounts, along with any Open Source projects you’re involved with. Include a resume if it’s three pages or less.
We are a Perth web design and web development company and this is our blog. We specialize in building web applications with the Ruby on Rails framework. Jump to the Ruby on Rails category or contact us.
Posted in Inside TFG, Ruby on Rails | No Comments »
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