If you remember a previous post on this blog about 37signals, you might also remember a brief introduction of Ruby on Rails that appeared in that post. Here is something more about this tool that's rapidly gaining in importance.

Ruby on Rails, or RoR, is an open source web application framework written in Ruby. Its main goals, as presented by the guys at 37signals who developed and first used it, are simplicity, minimum code and configuration.

These goals are achieved by several characteristics, which, assembled, make the difference:

• readable and intuitive syntax, mostly coming from the extended utilisation of Ruby's metaprogramming capabilities
• object oriented platform
• favoring and organizing the language around the MVC (Model-View-Control) programming model
• database access completely abstracted from the developer's point of view
• "don't repeat yourself" - meaning that all is done in the way that no code or definition ever has to be repeated. For instance, Ruby on Rails finds the column names from the database all by itself, so that you need not redefine them in class definitions.
• "convention over configuration" - meaning all the conventional configurations are done automatically. When you make a reference to a class, for example, RoR will consider that the database record representing the class has the same name. You only do additional configurations if they are not conventional.

Ruby on Rails is reasonably easy to deploy and/or integrate with the existing web and database servers. Any web server with CGI or FastCGI support will work with Ror (or maybe it's the opposite, whatever ), though Apache, Lighttpd or Mongrel are recommended. A lightweight WEBrick web server included with Ruby is often used as the application server in the development phase. On the database side, an RDBMS system is recommended for data storage. Supported servers include IBM DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle and PostgreSQL. Rail also supports the SqlLite library.

"Web development that doesn't hurt", Ruby on Rails really can make your life easier and applications better. More and more online projects are built with RoR, like Revver, Odeo, Jobster, A List Apart and many many others. There are enough resources on the web for starting and getting involved, so - start, and get involved.

Just imagine a browser plugin that quickly gives you a preview of the sites in the search results. That would really be a time saver, right? And, yes such plugin exists.

Browster, is a free Internet Explorer and Firefox plugin which can cut in half the time it takes to browse through search results and other lists of links. Its patent pending web page retrieval, prefetching and display technology uses special algorithms to intelligently recognize and prepare search result links for instant display. This new technology has been crafted into a simple-to-use tool that benefits anyone searching on the Internet.

Browster technology highlights:

• Fastest, instant Web page rendering
• Smart prefetch (preload) of pages so you don't have to wait
• Multi-threaded cache management
• Search engine integration

The removal of the click-load-back browsing process, you will have more effective searches in less time. Good luck.

If you tried to use Google Reader before and were disappointed, this is the occasion to give it a second shot, before making any final judgement. It has new clothes, and, let's be honest, we all expect them to be special.

At the first glance, that's what they seem to be. Neat and elegant looks, smooth and extremely pleasant browsing (no surprise, you will say, given that the page is stuffed with JavaScript in the genuine Google style), simplicity of use but impression of completeness. In brief, almost nothing to do with the previous version. Some key new features include:

• switching between list view and expanded view
• improved sharing functionality
• improved read-state management

You should also notice the infinite scrolling capability, allowing you to charge a large number of posts on one page without negative effects on performance. Add to this a few standard Google ingredients (staring, searching, tagging…), as well as the handy bookmark shortcuts or the possibility to use it on your mobile phone, and you got yourself a nice and fully functional RSS reader.

For those who, in some highly mysterious and improbable case, preferred the previous version of Google Reader, you can keep on using it for a limited time. According to Google, it's just for compatibility and transition sake.

Hopelessly trying to find an imperfection? Well, let's not exaggerate, nothing's perfect. For example, you who are used to Bloglines will maybe spot the absence of links to comments and references to a post. Also, the preferences list might seem a little modest. However, since they made it so much better since the previous attempt, there is no doubt we will hear again from Google Reader. It's surely worth putting on a test.

Introducing the much-talked-about Facebook, a social utility that helps people "better understand the world around them". Facebook was launched in February 2004, and the website now has over 9.5 million registered users across over 40,000 regional, work, college and high school networks. According to comScore, Facebook is the seventh-most trafficked site on the web and is the number one photo-sharing site.

Facebook develops technologies that facilitate the spread of information through social networks allowing people to share information online the same way they do in the real world. Several separate networks are part of the Facebook including things like schools, companies and regions - each of which are independent and closed off to non-affiliated users.

People use Facebook to:

• Share information with people in your networks.
• See what's going on with your friends.
• Look up people around you.

To join Facebook, people can authenticate into a school or work network, or they can join a regional network. They can then create profiles to connect with friends, share interests, join groups, send messages, writes notes and post photos.

OK, everyone has a mobile phone, that's not a question any more. The real question today must imply whether or not one has a smartphone, or being able to benefit from all those features modern mobile devices tend to offer.

One of the features, maybe the most important, is - the e-mail. Running a decent e-mail client on your mobile phone by default implies some kind of solid operating system behind, but there are alternatives. One of them is Flurry, a cell phone e-mail client that can be run on any Java-capable device. Let's take a tour.

The installation of Flurry starts by signing up onto their website and a receiving a confirmation message to your mobile phone. The message indicates a web address that you should visit and automatically download and install the necessary files to your device. As soon as it is done, you can start receiving e-mail. According to the service description provided by Flurry, it consists in three steps:

1. The Flurry server logs into your e-mail account and checks for new messages
2. New messages are downloaded to the Flurry server, compressed and encrypted.
3. When you open the Flurry client, the new messages are encoded and sent to your mobile phone.

Despite the obvious exaggeration in claims that using Flurry will "make your phone smart", there is no doubt that it might help in filling the time gap between the present moment and the moment in the (near, we hope) future when all phones will be smart. Until then, consider Flurry as a free of charge and useful substitute for something that (just for now) can be out of reach.

The first "Launch: Silicon Valley" is coming on November 8, at the Microsoft Campus in Mountain View, CA.

The event is designed to uncover and showcase the next generation of emerging technology companies that are ready for launch, but are not already well-known. These are companies who have a product or service available, but have not been out for more than several months. All technology sectors and all geographies will be considered.

All of you who want to nominate a company should email a two-page executive summary to LaunchSV@svase.org. The deadline for submissions is October 15.

But please note that "Launch: Silicon Valley" is not for companies pitching for funding. Rather it is for companies looking to generate some buzz, customers, mindshare, and possibly talent and partners.

All submissions will be reviewed by an Advisory Board of investors and executives. The 30 most interesting companies will be invited to participate in the "Launch: Silicon Valley" showcase, and 15 of these companies will also be invited to deliver product presentation to an audience of Silicon Valley's leading movers and shakers.