Software Tools – code 3:20, LLC

Atom.io screenshot

Recently (October 5), I started the Firehose Coding Bootcamp. It feels like truly drinking from a firehose! I’ve learned so many things that I didn’t know such as using Github for version control, web app deployment on Heroku, cloud file storage and integration, installation and configuration of Ruby Gems, Postgresql DB setup and use, etc, etc, etc. Drinking from the firehose…

After using many, I’ve also found my favorite editor called Atom. From their website:

Atom is a desktop application built with HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and Node.js integration. It runs on Electron, a framework for building cross platform apps using web technologies.

It is so very extensible it is crazy. I installed it and added these packages that are saving me SO much time: git-plus and rails-snippets.

With the git-plus package, you can pretty much do anything you have to do with your terminal from within the editor. I “git add –all”, “git commit -m “message”” (with a message edit that pops up and shows me everything that has changed and is on the stage) and “git push origin master” all with Cmd-Shift-A p. That alone is worth the price… FREE! One “gotcha” when developing with a virtual machine is that to use git-plus, I had to setup separate SSH key access to my Github account in addition to the key I use within my Web Dev environment. I followed this tutorial: https://help.github.com/articles/generating-ssh-keys/ from the good folks at Github. Finally, you have to launch Atom from the CLI for everything to work within Atom. In all fairness, I didn’t investigate too long how to launch Atom within my Web Dev environment. As of this writing, I haven’t setup my Heroku keys so that I can push from within the editor. I still use the terminal for Heroku interaction. Atom doesn’t recognize the Heroku keys I setup through Vagrant and I just haven’t had time to investigate it on this end of the firehose.

The rails-snippets save a lot of time. For example, <%= %> can be inserted with Cmd-Shift->. It auto fills do loops and so much more. What a time saver. And did I mention totally customizable?

Finally, Atom does everything you’d expect in a great code editor such as autofill HTML, CSS, Ruby, etc… And, did I mention it is customizable???

True confession: I have certain idiosyncrasies… I remember a line from Seinfeld within which he reveals one of his issues: “Yes, I’m lactose intolerant. I have no patience for lactose. And I won’t stand for it.”

My issue is advertising. I have a serious problem: I’m ad intolerant. I have no patience for ads and I won’t stand for them! So, I’ve developed many strategies over the years to live an ad-free life. My DVR speeds through the ads on my TV. For OnDemand programming, where certain functions have been disabled such as fast-forwarding, there are workarounds such as the 30-sec skip (don’t tell anyone about this). And finally, I’ve found a wonderful tool for my browsers: AdBlock (learn about and get it here). It will block all advertisements on all web pages, even Facebook, Youtube, and Hulu. You can get AdBlock for Chrome, Safari, Opera, and Firefox.

Here is pictorial proof of the difference with AdBlock:

Your browser without ads — Same page without ads

I’ve also found another great application called Adblock Plus (learn about and obtain it here) which serves the same purpose with an additional benefit. I’ve installed it on my Android tablet and the app routes all traffic through a proxy; therefore, no matter which app I’m using (browser, weather apps, etc), the annoying ads don’t get through!! Hit the about page on their website to see how Adblock Plus works and the benefits.

My friends, life is too short to be bombarded by the advertising community! Protect yourself and live ad free!!!

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