Coffs Drupallers Second Monthly Meeting for 2009

Wed, 12/08/2009 - 17:34 — Matthew Davidson

5:30pm, Wednesday 19th August 2009
81 First Ave, Sawtell.

It's the (not so) usual plan: an hour or two of chat about and demonstrations of cool things to do with Drupal in the lavishly-appointed Alma Technology office, then for those who are so inclined, adjournment to one of the quieter corners of the Sawtell Hotel to plot world domination.

As I emerge from the darkness of a lengthy Drupal 5 project, blinking in the divine light of Drupal 6 and the accompanying cornucopia of brilliantly shiny things, the list of cool new stuff to play with is overwhelming. I've been experimenting with Open Atrium to manage a few projects, replacing my old hand-rolled equivalent, and I've got to say it's a nice out-of-the-box experience. The Features module, used extensively in Open Atrium looks quite game-changing, and I hope to get my head around it in time for the meetup in case anybody else is interested.

Also, the Coffs Coast is finally making it's mark on Drupal.org. A week or so ago, Peter contributed his first theme, and this week I finally came up with a module that was generally useful and not embarrassingly poorly coded.

Bring along your own creations, discoveries, problems, and questions, and I'm sure the time will pass quite amiably.

Groups:

Drupallers

Comments

Wed, 19/08/2009 - 09:21 — chrisjacob

Can't wait

Hi Matthew, I'm looking forward to my first Coffs Drupal meet up. Google maps shows 81 First Ave, Sawtell as "The Coasters Hotel"... Is this the location? If so are there any special instructions for finding the right door ;-)

Wed, 19/08/2009 - 11:35 — Matthew Davidson

Here's a lesson in never

Here's a lesson in never trusting proprietary data sources. We're actually the house next door to the coasters. Look for a "For Sale" sign out the front (actually, that could be half the properties in Sawtell at the moment).

Wed, 19/08/2009 - 16:47 — chrisjacob

Very true. Cya in the next

Very true. Cya in the next hour. Hope to meet some other Coffs Drupalers.
- Chris

Thu, 20/08/2009 - 10:28 — Matthew Davidson

Linkage

Here's a probably very incomplete list of the things we discussed last night. Please add anything I've missed:

Open Atrium

It looks pretty cool. Here's a screencast that does a better job at demonstrating how it works than I could.

Modules

Administration menu is a sanity-saver
Coder has saved me much embarrassment in the drupal.org issue queues.

I've got to admit when I'm looking for a module, I ask Google something like 'site:drupal.org inurl:project whatever', but many people swear by drupalmodules.com (FCKeditor 3rd most downloaded - really?). This video from the Lullabots on selecting modules offers some sensible strategies for identifying modules you can trust.

I love OpenStreetMap.org, which is doing to Google Maps (proprietary data! Boo! Hiss!) what Wikipedia has done to Encyclopaedia Britannica. Mapping kit is a set of modules which allows integration of a number of mapping services, including OpenStreetMap.org with your Drupal site. It sounds cool, and I seriously need to start playing with it soon.

Theming

Everything I know about the iPhone I learned from this article. There's a group dedicated to making Drupal integrate seamlessly into the Steve Jobs reality-distortion field.

I'm not totally sold on the 960 Grid System, but anything that minimises the freedom of developers to screw up design has to be a good thing. There's the NineSixty theme which is a candidate for D7 core and a fluid-width sibling, which makes me happier.

Local Stuff

If you're starting a business in Coffs, I recommend getting the advice of the Enterprise & Training Company. Also their Business Club breakfasts are good for making contacts in the local community. (Catering is by the CEX group, so you might want to eat beforehand.)

Coming up next month is something called Enterprise 2.0 SME - What Is It & What's In It for Me, promising you can "discover how, as an SME, you can best use Web 2.0 tools economically for productivity gains and to assist with growing your business." I shudder to think what snake oil's being peddled here, but I'll try to attend just so I know what sort of nonsense prospective clients are being told. Who knows, it could be good, but I'm with Eben Moglen when it comes to "Web 2.0" (video). It's a meaningless term coined by Tim O'Reilly, the sole purpose of which is to promote Tim O'Reilly.

Keeping in Touch

I don't like to spam people, so if you want to know what's going on Drupal-wise in Coffs, look here or here, in Australia here. Also worldwide here and here. (Screw you, Google. I don't optimise my link text for anybody!)

Thu, 20/08/2009 - 12:39 — Matthew Davidson

Oh, and the other thing for

Oh, and the other thing for those starting in the IT business in Coffs is to see whether you agree with these principles, and if so, let me know that you would like to be a member of the Coffs Free and Open Technology Network.

What are the benefits? Well, at the moment, a warm fuzzy feeling. Don't knock warm fuzzy feelings.

Thu, 20/08/2009 - 11:04 — Peter Anderson

Voluntary Insurance
Long Term Care Insurance
Life Settlement

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