Blog | Modules Unraveled
039 Donna Benjamin and the Drupal Association Elections - Modules Unraveled Podcast
Drupal Association
Before we begin, I want to get some background on the topic:
- How many users are active in the Drupal world? (and what does “active” mean in this case?)
- How many members are in the Association? (And does this include organization memberships?)
- Why is that number so low?
- One reason I can think of is lack of understanding about what the association does. I’ll admit that even I’m a little fuzzy on that. The biggest thing I know is that you’re involved with DrupalCons. So, can you tell us more about how the association helps and influences the Drupal world?
- What are you doing to attract new members?
- What are some of the benefits of being a member?
Drupal Elections
- What exactly are we electing? (ie: All new board, just a couple of positions?)
- Who can vote?
- When is voting open/closed?
- Where can we go to learn more about the people running?
- https://association.drupal.org/election2013-update
- https://association.drupal.org/nominations
- https://association.drupal.org/node/17078
- Where can we go to actually vote?
- https://association.drupal.org/vote2013
- Voting is being done using the “Instant Runoff” method (also called the “Alternative Vote”). There’s a great YouTube video that explains how it works. But for anyone who might be listening in their car, or not near a computer, can you briefly explain how it works?
- I was just curious how the association came across it, and why you chose to use it.
Questions from Twitter
- @tsvenson: "Donna: How important do you see the "community" elected chairs to the @DrupalAssoc for Drupal's future success? #MUP039"
I liked what MortenDK wrote “if you don’t vote for the Drupal Association’s Board you are not allowed for the next year to complain over Drupal - If you do vote you have that right ;)
038 Jake Strawn and Michelle Lauer and NodeMaker - Modules Unraveled Podcast
Jake Strawn and Michelle Lauer of ThemeGeeks join me this week to talk about their new distribution NodeMaker.
NodeMaker
Basic Features
- During installation, choose which Apps you want to enable. Using our admin UI, you can change this at any time.
- Install optional default content that really shows off the power of the distro.
- Too many times when installing a distribution or Drupal core alone, you really get no idea what’s going on behind the scenes or what the site in front of you is capable of. Our powerful set of default content demonstrates all the features available to you and creates a complete site out of the box that is ready for you to dig into and customize with a much greater understanding of how all the pieces fit together.
- An interactive launch checklist so you know that you have completed all of the steps needed.
- Lots and lots of in-site documentation. (Although it is not all written yet.)
Feature Sets
- Global stuffs....
- Intuitive URLs and Breadcrumbs based on those
- Free tagging on every content type
- A Headline Image so every piece of content is interesting, whether it is displayed as a teaser or you are looking at the full node
- Associate related content with each other to increase intra-site linking
- Display ANY of your social media site links so users can find you elsewhere on the web.
- Multi-user Blog with archive and browsing by category
- Announcements with archive and browsing by category
- Galleries
- Responsive slide shows
- Any piece of content can have an existing gallery attached
- Events
- Event listing and FULL calendar feature where you can browse by year, month, week, or day.
- Testimonials
- Any user can write one, you get notified and choose to publish
- Social Network Functionality
- Discussion Forums
- Advanced user profiles
- Lots of fields
- Facebook style status updates
- Activity log
Front End
- Omega NodeMaker is a new subtheme of Omega that serves as the base theme for NodeMaker, and will serve as the base theme for all ThemeGeeks premium themes that target NodeMaker.
- Responsive out of the box, NodeMaker gives you a more complete experience regardless of the device your visitors use.
- Standalone web app mode on compatible iOS devices
Use Cases
- For new Drupal users, provides all the normal out of the box functionality that you know you want but might not know how to build yet.
- For the advanced Drupal site builder/developer, cut 2-3 weeks of development time out of every project when using NodeMaker as a starting point.
- For when that friend says: “Hey, you build websites right?!? Can you build me a website tomorrow? I only have 200 bucks... “ You can actually say “Sure... I can help you out” and launch a site with everything they need in just a few minutes! I mean, you know you really do hate telling your friends that they can’t afford your work, so NodeMaker makes it simple!!
- Whatever the need for you site, NodeMaker’s core functionality is a very sturdy platform to get you started on your next project.
Questions from Twitter
- @jerryitt: Is there plans for the future of #nodemaker #omega for a panel's type of interface for region and zone configurations?
037 Mike Pirog and Twitter Bootstrap and Drupal - Modules Unraveled Podcast
Mike Pirog of East Bay Development joins me this week to talk about Twitter Bootstrap and how it integrates (and doesn't integrate) with Drupal.
Twitter Bootstrap
Before we decided to talk about Twitter Bootstrap, I had basically written it off. I thought things like, “this is for people who aren’t using a CMS. It probably doesn’t even work with Drupal.” And then when you guys suggested talking about it on the podcast, I thought, “Oh, I guess it can be used with Drupal... hmm...” So, I looked into it a bit, and it looks like it would be a good way for people with limited development experience to get a good looking site up, without having to know too much code.
- Before we get into using Bootstrap with Drupal, can you explain what Bootstrap is by itself?
- How does Twitter Bootstrap integrate with Drupal?
- Are you guys using the Twitter Bootstrap theme from drupal.org? Or are you building something custom?
- Let’s play devil’s advocate for a minute. Why would someone not want to use Twitter Bootstrap? What are its downfalls in regards to using it with Drupal?
Questions from Twitter
- Ted Bowman: Other Twitter Bootstrap sites to give a good example of what it can look like? Made with Drupal or not.
Update: Mike let me know that they have finally put together a theme which incorporates all of things we talked about in the podcast and would love to pass people who end up on this podcast along to the theme. Kalatheme
036 Sam Richard and the Aurora Base Theme - Modules Unraveled Podcast
Aurora
- What’s the backstory behind Aurora?
- What did you see missing from other base themes that made you decide to create another?
- Aurora has awesome documentation! The download includes a pdf, and you’ve also put it out as a free ebook in the iBookstore. You’ve got to be the first theme developer to do that. What made you decide to do it?
- There’s some installation on the development machine that needs to be done in order to use Aurora. Can you go over what some of those requirements are?
- Ok, so what would you consider Aurora’s best feature? Or what makes it stand out from the rest?
Borealis
- The project page says Aurora has a companion module suite called Borealis? What is that?
Questions from Twitter
- Paul Johnson (@pdjohnson) wants to know:
- Why would someone choose Aurora over Omega?
- Do I need to be more of a Techy themer to use it?
- What is the learning curve like?
- Tony Groff (@tgroff) had a few questions:
- Why is the project page dated March 16, 2007? The SASS theme hasn't been around that long. If he acquired the d.o/project namespace from a previous person, can he talk a little about that transition process of taking over the name?
- What is the Borealis Suite? Should I always be using Borealis with the Aurora theme?
- Please explain more about SASS "partials" and CSS abstraction. Is it the best practice to declare the .block-header class in both the _layout.scss partial, and the _design.scss partial?
- Talk about his involvement with - drupal.org/project/html5 ?
Listen to the Modules Unraveled Podcast LIVE!!!
Hi this is Brian Lewis from the Modules Unraveled Podcast. I just wanted to throw out a quick announcement that I'm going to be doing the podcast LIVE, hopefully from now on, but that will really depend on the guest that I'm talking to and whether or not they're comfortable with it.
Basically the way it will work is that we will do a live Google Plus hangout, which means it will be streamed on Youtube. So, I'll tweet out the link to the live feed before we begin, and you can just click the link to start watching.
Each episode will also have a hash tag associated with it, so episode 37 (which will be the first live podcast) will have the hash tag #MUP037 (for Modules Unraveled Podcast episode 37). So if you're listening live and have any questions, you can tweet your question and include the hash tag for that episode, and we'll answer your questions at the end of the show! So for those of you who have had questions in the past, but weren't able to get them to me before I recorded, or if you have ever listened and wanted to ask a question that I didn't, you can listen live and ask them on the spot!
I want to thank @Transition for being able to join us for a test run. He took a screenshot to show me what it will look like for the audience, and you can go actually check that out too! Just search for #MUP037 to see that screenshot.
The very first live recording will be with Mike from East Bay Development about Twitter Bootstrap and Drupal. So follow me on Twitter @ModsUnraveled for more information about that.
And in case you're curious, the podcast will continue to be edited and released on a weekly basis exactly as it is now, so if you live in a timezone where listening live would be difficult, you won't miss out completely.
That's all for now, so if you're interested, come hang out with us on September 6th 2012 at 1:00PM CST and we'll talk to you then! Bye.
035 Stuart Clark and His Awesome Modules - Modules Unraveled Podcast
Wysiwyg Fields
- http://drupal.org/project/wysiwyg_fields
- I took a look at this module briefly, and even installed it on a dev site, and I have to say, it’s pretty slick. Why don’t you describe exactly what it does.
- What do you mean by this works in a “Drupal way”?
- How is this different from using the media module and wysiwyg combo?
- Video: ImageField demonstration
Custom Formatters
- http://drupal.org/project/custom_formatters
- Before we start, let’s make sure everyone’s on the same page as to what formatters are. So, can you explain that quickly?
- What can you do with Custom Formatters?
- Origin story
- customformatters.com
Configuration Builder
- http://drupal.org/project/config_builder
- This one was actually featured on a Module Monday recently, so that’s pretty cool!
- What kind of configuration can you build with this module?
- Why did you write this module?
- What’s your long term plan?
Setup
- http://drupal.org/project/setup
- This is your newest module, what exactly does it do?
- How does it improve the site creation process?
034 Matt Farina and HP Cloud - Modules Unraveled Podcast
HP Cloud
- What is HP Cloud
- What does it offer that you don’t get with a typical hosting environment?
- Virtual machines
- Storage
- CDN
- Databases
- What is the HP Cloud module?
- If someone wanted to get started where would you recommend they go?
Use Cases
- blog.hpcloud.com
Front End Performance
- I heard you talk about front end performance at DrupalCon Denver. Why are you talking about front end performance so much when you aren’t a paid consultant on it or selling anything around it?
- Can you provide some simple tips for faster sites?
033 Josh Koenig and Pantheon - Modules Unraveled Podcast
I got to talk with Josh Koenig this week about Pantheon. A super awesome Drupal hosting and development platform. Here's what we talked about.
Pantheon
- What is Pantheon?
- How does it affect development?
- Version control - replace github?
- dev / staging / live
- Is Pantheon just for development? Or can you host a live site on Pantheon?
- What kind of scalability does Pantheon offer?
- What’s the pricing look like?
- What kind of support is available?
Use Cases
- How are clients and site owners using Pantheon
- What does Pantheon have to offer for site-builders
- What tools are available for developers.
I also asked
- What’s coming up in the future of Pantheon?
Questions from Twitter
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032 Florian Loretan and DrupalCon Munich - Modules Unraveled Podcast
Florian Loretan joins me again to give us an update on DrupalCon Munich. The conference is coming up soon! So, if you haven't purchased your ticket yet, get one now before they are sold out!
DrupalCons
- I know that before I attended DrupalCon Denver, I really didn’t know what to expect out of a DrupalCon. So for anyone that might be listening who hasn’t been to one, what is a DrupalCon?
- There are sessions, BOFs, Day stage, vendors, pre-conference trainings, etc.
DrupalCon Munich
- When is it?
- August 21st-23rd (with pre-conference training on the 20th, and Contribution sprints on the 24th)
- Where is it?
- Hotel is sold out
- Look for hotels near the subway line U4 or the tram line 16 and 18
- Who are the keynote speakers, and what will they talk about?
- Dries Buytaert - The State of Drupal
- Anke Domscheit-Berg - Open Government, Open Data
- Fabien Potencier - Dream, Experiment, Create, and Share
- What tracks are available?
- Coding and Development
- Community
- Frontend
- Business and Strategy
- Sitebuilding
- DevOps
- Core Conversation
- Day stage
- Are there any featured sessions you’d like to point out?
- No specific one, but a lot of outreach to other technologies
- What pre conference trainings will be available?
- How much do they cost? 400€ or 500€ for non-attendees
- DrupalCon Ticket sales close on August 17th
- What has been going on since the last podcast
- Ticket sales
- Session proposals
- See http://munich2012.drupal.org/stats/sessions
- Voting
- Social event
- Community wishes
- Special offer for flights from Lufthansa for those who don’t have a ticket
031 Robert Douglass and Commerce Kickstart 2.0 - Modules Unraveled Podcast
Robert Douglass joins me this week to talk about the upcoming 2.0 release of Commerce Kickstart.
Commerce Kickstart
- Kickstart is built off of Drupal Commerce. Most of my listeners will have at least heard of Drupal Commerce, but just in case, can you give us a very brief overview of what Drupal Commerce is?
- What is Commerce Kickstart?
- As of this recording, Kickstart 2.0 is in alpha3, when do you expect a stable release?
- What are some of the release blockers?
- Will some of the customizations be available to pre-existing sites? (ie, the theme)
Use Cases
- Should you only use it for testing/experimenting? Or is it production ready?
- Do you know of any live sites that are built off of Commerce Kickstart?
- Do you think there will be a distribution for digital goods?
Questions from Twitter
- A friend of mine has been checking out Drupal Commerce lately, and has been pretty frustrated with it. He’s coming from Ubercart in Drupal 6, and his main issue is that it’s a “NASCAR” of a project, and not an everyday driver. Can you comment on that? In his opinion, you need to know how to tune it properly before you can drive it.