The Perils of Punditry

Panic released Coda 1.5 on Tuesday. BareBones released BBEdit 9 today. Meanwhile MacroMates keeps improving TextMate.

Coda 1.5 is, amazingly, a free upgrade. I’ve been getting used to Coda over the last few months and gradually I’ve been doing more of my work in it and less in BBEdit. I’ve also been getting more familiar with TextMate. It’s a slick, well-implemented Swiss Army knife of a text editor. But version 9 of BBEdit looks like a major update. The grizzled veteran is back with a new bag of tricks.

There’s definitely never been a better time to use a Mac for web development.

If you’ve ever been to a bar camp, you know that they’re conferences that are planned and executed in a radically decentralized fashion. I’d never been to one before, but when some folks in the Santa Cruz tech community came up with an idea for one, we at productOps decided to pitch in as a sponsor. I’m glad that we did.

While I only attended the morning sessions because of family obligations, the general feeling seems to be that Freelance Camp was a success. Held on Saturday, the event brought freelance professionals of all stripes (I met programmers, graphic artists, a sculptor, career coaches, and writers there) and from surprisingly diverse points of origin (is Toronto far enough away for you?). They exchanged ideas, learned from each other, and networked in a fun, relaxed environment.

Several local businesses pitched in to support Freelance Camp, and it was exhilarating to see so many entrepreneurial, creative people together under one roof. Speaking of roofs, the Santa Cruz Art & History Museum was the venue, and it was an inspiring (if somewhat cozy) setting for the small group discussions, which were lively and engaging. If I never have to go to another conference that is held in a sterile, dull, conference center, I’ll be happy. If every conference were held in a museum, I think people would enjoy them much more.

I’ve posted a few photos from the event, and you can look for more photos online with the tag #freelancecamp.

There’s an excellent article by Paul Boag over at Vitamin, entitled The 5 hidden costs of running a CMS. Content management systems can be a great way for site owners to manage their sites, but they do come with hidden costs as well. I know this from experience.

As Boag explains, he is not against content management systems. But knowing their drawbacks is important when determining whether to take the CMS route.

Yahoo acquired the social bookmarking service del.icio.us two and a half years ago, and essentially let it lie dormant. Yesterday the company rolled out a thoroughly overhauled del.icio.us, and the results are marvelous. If you have heard of del.icio.us but were put off by the austere interface and geeky URL, now is the time to give it a try. Check it out at the new and much less offputting delicious.com address.