Putting Refresh & Rails on the map literally
March 23rd, 2006
It’s always cool to see a really neat (yet simple) idea put together with Rails. Justin Perkins from Refresh Austin put together a map application that combine Google maps and a small Rails application to visually show the location of the Refreshing Cities. Very simple and useful - the cornerstone of Rails. It brought to mind a question I was asked recently:
Hey Kelsey, Ruby on Rails is becoming very popular, what are you favorite Rails applications?
I would categorize my favorite Rails applications as those that are the most useful. Here are a few of my 5 favorites.
- BaseCamp - Created by the guys that brought us Rails. In fact Rails was born from Basecamp.
- Odeo - Next to BaseCamp I find Odeo to be the most useful Rails based application. Great way to listen to podcasts without using iTunes.
- Measure Map - Great blog traffic and statistics tool. You might find it difficult to get an invitation now that Google has purchased it, although I haven’t tried registering a new blog since the purchase.
- 43 Things - Social interaction at its best.
- A List Apart - I always have loved reading a list apart because it is truly a conpendium( don’t you love that word?) of knowledge on Web standards, CSS and everything web.
Justin Perkins
March 23rd, 2006
Thanks for the link, now I just need to get the refreshing cities map into your top 5 rails apps ;)
I would probably have Backpack and Blinksale in there somewhere, but I guess we’re getting to the point of needing a top 10 list instead.
Measure Map invite, do those still exist?
Kelsey Ruger
March 24th, 2006
Yeah, Blinksale is cool. I just never get a chance to use it. Everything in BackPack is built into Basecamp so I kinda get a two for one, or three for one if you count the Writeboards too.
Chuck Cheeze
March 24th, 2006
Nice writeup. Short and to the point. I think Odeo has the greatest unique features of the Rails apps out there. Recording and building podcasts and such. I almost have to say that I love every Rails app I have seen so far. Obviously as more and more people pick up the Pickaxe there will be more ha;f-assed sites showing up, just like has happened with every other web technology so far.
viperteq
March 24th, 2006
While, I agree that A List Apart is a great place for designers to go for information, can it really be seen as an application, much less a Rails application? Beyond that, great picks, especially Basecamp (my personal fave…)
Justin Perkins
March 25th, 2006
ALA *is* an application, imo.
It’s a custom written content management system running on Rails that serves millions (at least) of visitors a month without a hiccup.
It’s a testament to Rails reliability, if anything.
Kelsey Ruger
March 25th, 2006
I have to agree with Justin. I don’t necessarily think a web application has to be like Basecamp or Odeo to be considered an application. It would be sort of like saying that Wordpress or Textpattern aren’t applications. The only difference is that the average user doesn’t get to use the CMS functionality.
Marc Nathan
March 28th, 2006
Here are two that have not only the core application down cold, but the interface goes a long way to create intuitive usability:
www.sproutit.com - online email management for SMB
www.eyespot.com - video mixing and editing. The fact that this can be done at is amazing, but the way it works from a users perspective is nothing short of a miracle.
Kelsey Ruger
March 28th, 2006
I didn’t know that Eyespot was a Rails application. I’ll have to check out Sprout It. My first impression is….If other small businesses have half as much trouble with mail as some people in our company, it’s going to be rough getting that to take off. I like it, but I wonder how the average mail user would react.
What are your thoughts?
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