"The real adventure of experience is not about searching new countries but about the ability to look through new eyes. " Marcel Proust

I was instantly hooked on the Mac - literally. The original Mac had a scrapbook image of a fish - a nice sunfish in pixel art that instantly changed the way I'd look at computers. With new tools you can do new things.

I've been interested in creating flow manufacturing software for about 10 years now, but the tools of creation never quite fit what I was looking to create: hosted, easy-to-use, flexible, interactive software. "Pure" html was too limited, Java too bulky, .Net too monocultural.

I was pulled by the hype into Ruby on Rails, but what I've found with it has more than justified the hype. With Ruby it has been possible for a single developer to make a full system that's rich and interactive—the DHH applications (like Basecamp) on 37signals are a beacon for lots of new developers. Ruby (the language) is gorgeous - a "bicycle for the mind", to quote another Jobs-ism.

I'll post more on the joys of Ruby as we go forward. It's a gorgeous language with a beautiful structure, and with it it's possible to do complicated tasks in fewer words than it takes to describe them.

I've always loved the term "insanely great." It originated, as far as I can tell, with Steve Jobs, back around the time of the original Macintosh (1984).

I bought one of those first Macs in February '84 and I've been a Mac person ever since. The Mac embodies one of my main design goals for software - to make it so pure and intuitive that it teaches itself.

For a great technology and business book that covers that unique, "insanely great" user-focused ethos, I recommend "Revolution in the Valley" by Andy Hertzfeld - great book on the creation of a product that, based on the technologies available, shouldn't have even been possible.