Engine Yard

by Shawn Herman

The video entitled 'Engine Yard,' presented by Shawn Herman at RailsConf 2018, delves into the journey and evolution of Engine Yard within the Ruby on Rails community. The primary focus is on the origin of Engine Yard, its commitment to supporting developers and the community, and the announcement of a new product, Dev Spaces.

Key points discussed in the video include:

Foundation of Engine Yard: About 11 years ago, four individuals—Tom, Lance, Ezra, and Jason—set out to simplify the deployment of Ruby on Rails applications. This initiative marked the beginning of Engine Yard and a community-driven approach to developing tools for Ruby on Rails.
Community Engagement: The speaker emphasizes the importance of being part of the Ruby on Rails community, highlighting initiatives that helped grow Engine Yard alongside the open-source ecosystem.
Technological Advancements: The team contributed to significant developments in the Ruby community, including tools like RubyGems and Bundler. These innovations reflect their ongoing commitment to not only create products but also provide substantial support to users.
Mission Statement: Engine Yard operates with a motto of 'Whatever it takes for our customers,' indicating their dedication to customer service and support.
Launch of Dev Spaces: Shawn announces a new feature called Dev Spaces, designed to allow users to execute robust actions remotely, through an IDE. This capability is intended to enhance user experience regardless of their internet connection or device.
Community Interaction at RailsConf: The theme of the conference, 'Stranger Things,' reflects the unusual challenges encountered in scaling applications, with an invitation for attendees to engage with Engine Yard’s booth activities like video games and a karaoke party.

Overall, Shawn Herman's presentation underscores the intertwining of technology, community support, and product innovation at Engine Yard. The ongoing journey emphasizes their resilience in addressing new challenges and adapting to the needs of developers, advocating for an ever-evolving technological landscape.

00:01:04.970 Yes, we blew the entire Barclays budget just on that little movie. No kidding. So before I get started, I'm from Florida, and I'm not sure at what point it becomes unsafe to go outside in Pittsburgh, but today it was definitely not safe. I tried to walk from the parking garage to the front doors, and I don't know what you call that feeling when snow burns into your eyes while you're walking, but that was tough.

00:01:41.300 About 11 years ago, if you think back, there were four people who set out to make deploying Ruby on Rails applications easier. It was an exciting and strange time. Tom, Lance, Ezra, and Jason embarked on that path. At our second RailsConf, we brought racks full of servers, and we were off to the races in terms of solving these issues. However, it was more than just building tools and creating a company; it was also about being part of the community and growing within it. We had a number of open-source initiatives, and we were building what would become Engine Yard and the community around it.

00:03:04.890 Through all this, we witnessed some of the most extraordinary developments. We scaled some of the largest applications on the web at that time. We also created tools like RubyGems, Bundler, and others. Our goal was not only to build products and tools, but also to support the community in a unique way. From the very start, we had a mindset of building a support organization that would stand beside what we created. This support organization still stands today and is part of our motto: 'Whatever it takes for our customers.' We continue down this path, facing new challenges, but we remain committed to creating unique tools.

00:04:06.670 At RailsConf this year, we are announcing something called Dev Spaces. With Internet-connected devices, regardless of your bandwidth, we've created the ability for you to run robust actions in the background on your server remotely through your IDE, whether it’s on your smartphone, while you're on a bus, or anywhere else. Our theme for this RailsConf is 'Stranger Things.' We've seen many strange things in scaling applications, and I am sure we will continue to see more. We invite everyone to visit our booth where we have all kinds of video games and challenges. I think I saw a Pac-Man machine rolled in, and we're hosting a karaoke party on Wednesday. Thank you all for being a part of our community, and if we can help you in any way, please let us know.