11/28   http://www.tiobe.com/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.html
        why is ruby going down so fast?
        \_ Because everyone's finally realizing how much it sucks? Not the
           language, necessarily, but the interpreter. Also, Zed Shaw.
        \_ mongrel_rails start -p 80 -e production -d
           thus: way too easy to start a rails server
        \_ yah the bytecode rev is in the next release.
        \_ Pascal is up!  It's coming back!
           \_ COBOL #1 fan
        \_ Java #1!!! Followed by C.

8/27    Is Ruby on Rails similar to CGI? Or maybe just something with an
        object-relationship mapping between objects and DB?
        \_ it's an entire application server framework.  You define your
          views, your models, your control, and Rails makes all the connecting
          parts.  DB mappings included.  Also it's all written in Ruby,
          which is an odd language.  So, for example, you'd replace not just
          JSP with Ruby on Rails, but rather you'd replace all of J2EE with
          RoR.  Also there's a temptation to configure Tomcat to use RoR,
          but in the long run it's much easier to farm out to a Mongrel
          instance.   Advice #2: buy the 3 main books.  Ruby, Agile Web Dev
          with Rails, and Rails Recipes.  --brain
          \_ So what are some of your major complaints with RoR? Also,
             what  are some of the major websites that use RoR? I know
             Python scales quite well if done correctly (e.g. Google)
            \_ scales fine.  Since RoR is inherently "agile," odds are you
                will have completely rewritten your entire application by
                the time you get to scaling issues.  Large installations use
                clustered Mongrel instances.    --brain
                \_ http://tinyurl.com/6g93om            --brain
                        (lists major installs and Twitter's difficulties)

6/13    I knew it would happen eventually.  Porn + ruby on rails
        http://fantasti.cc

4/30    So I've done lots of C, C++, Java, Perl, and Python and may need
        to learn Ruby on Rails soon to build a prototype without any
        consideration for scalability. Which language is RoR most similar
        to and why is it such a big hype these days?
        \_ Is Ruby on Rails even a programming language? -clueless sysadmin
           \_ there's ruby on rails.  java on rails.  python on rails.
              perl on rails.  rails rails rails.
              \_ So rails is more of a development methodology then?
                 \_ It's a framework.
                    \_ What does that even mean?
                       \_ Look it up, sheesh.
        \_ Don't learn RoR.  Learn Ruby.  RoR will be easy to learn, but
           won't really teach you much about how to use Ruby efficiently.
           Ruby is pretty amazingly cool as long as you are willing to
           throw out a lot of what you think you know about programming.
           Read the source to a lot of Ruby low level libraries.  It's
           amazing how readable major changes to object behavior are
           because of how easy it is to do meta-programming in Ruby.

4/19    Can anyone recommend a inexpensive yet reliable web hosting solution?
        I'm looking to pay ~$5 a month to host a simple site.  I'd like
        linux/ruby on rails/mysql support ideally and a decent amount
        of transfer.  This is for a hobby site so I don't want to spend
        a lot on it. thx