Pie in the Sky (October 26, 2012)

We have a long reading list this week. Not sure how that happened considering how much other work we’ve had this week (maybe that’s why I didn’t get much sleep this week). This week’s list has everything from lots of small tips to big announcements. Enjoy…

• Express.js 3.0.0 released: Looks like 3.0 is out. TJ has a blog post that provides details about this release. There’s also a 2.x to 3.x migration guide
• Node.js 0.8.14 is out: I (Larry) should seriously consider automating this link entry with a weekly incrementing counter.
• r…e: This is a useful little range implementation for Node.js. Reminds me (Larry) of working with ranges in Ruby.
• npm link: developing your own npm modules without tears: How to use npm link to avoid the tedium in maintaining an npm module.
• YUI 3.7.3 – Windows 8 Apps and IE 10: The YUI 3.7.3 is out and now allows you to target IE 10 and the Windows 8 runtime.
• BootMetro: Speaking of Windows 8, here’s a little framework to make your web pages look like the Windows 8 start screen.
• Jruby 1.7.0 is out: If you’re a JRuby user, the latest version is available.
• Try mruby Today: You may remember that Matz was working on a small implementation of Ruby for micro-controllers, embedded systems, etc. It’s at a point where you can build and play around with it now, and this post walks you through it.
• Interoperability Elements of a Cloud Platform: Technical Examples: A recap of some of the work the MS Open Technologies group has done (or helped do) in the last year.
• RuslanY.net running on Windows Azure Web Sites: Ruslan Yakushev has come up for air and is blogging again! This post is about how he moved his WordPress blog to Windows Azure Web Sites.
• Microsoft Simplifies Big Data for the Enterprise: "...at the O’Reilly Strata Conference + Hadoop World, Microsoft Corp. announced new previews of Windows Azure HDInsight Service and Microsoft HDInsight Server for Windows, the company’s Apache Hadoop-based solutions for Windows Azure and Windows Server."
• Getting Started with Windows Azure HDInsight Service: How to get started with the HDInsight service.
• October 2012 update of the Windows Azure Training Kit includes 47 hands-on labs, 24 demos and 38 presentations: The Windows Azure Training Kit has been updated. It contains several labs focused on PHP and Node.js development.
• Microsoft DevRadio: (Part 1) What is Windows Azure Web Sites? (VIDEO - 18 min.): An excellent introduction to Windows Azure Web Sites, for those new to the platform.
• Microsoft DevRadio: (Part 2) Windows Azure Web Sites Explained (VIDEO - 18 min.): Part 2 of the series above, with a bit deeper look into Windows Azure Web Sites.
• Increase max_user_connections for ClearDB MySQL on Windows Azure Website: In case you are wondering how to get more MySQL user connections in Windows Azure Web Sites.
• Windows 8 How to upload an Image using a Blob Storage SAS generated by Windows Azure Mobile Services: "This post details the specific scenario on how to capture an image on windows 8 and upload it directly to Windows Azure Blob Storage using a Shared Access Signature (SAS) generated within Windows Azure Mobile Services."

Have a great weekend!

-Brian