Well, it's been a while since I last posted. Maybe it was due to the fact that I received so many damn spam comments that Akismet seemingly didn't block. I'll look into that when I have some free time to check it out. For now, I'll just give a quick post on what's on my mind.
Even though I haven't been posting on this blog, it doesn't mean I haven't been occupied with my Rails learnings. I just discovered the wonderful new world of screencasts as a learning tool. If you don't know what a screencast is, it's basically a video tutorial. Instead of reading something off the Internet, where the instructions aren't always crystal clear, a screencast shows you what to do, and how it's supposed to work. I've found them to be an invaluable tool in my quest for Rails wisdom.
There are a couple of sites that offer Rails screencasts exclusively. The first site is Railscasts. This site is frequently updated with short screencasts about various Rails topics. I've noticed these videos are truly great for beginners, as most of the topics covered so far seem geared more towards people without much Rails experience. Even though the videos are normally short (about five minutes in length, maybe less, as an average), they're packed with useful information that'll help any beginner get a better grasp at certain Rails topics.
The other site I've visited is Peepcode. These people make high-quality and full-length screencasts (over an hour long!) for the low price of $9.00 for each video. Many may think "But why pay for screencasts that can be freely accessible from the other site?" There's a very large distinction between the screencasts from both sites. While length is obviously the main factor, the material shown on Peepcode screencasts is much more extensive and covers absolutely all the bases. Many of the screencasts that are currently available for purchase on Peepcode are geared to more advanced users, though. But in all honesty, $9.00 is a very small price to pay, given what you learn.
So if you're trying to learn Rails like myself, I'd suggest you head over to one of these site pronto. You'll be amazed at the great work that's put out on the Internet for the sake of teaching others. That's the beauty of the Internet.