Forward
The past few weeks have proved quite life-changing for me. Readers may have noticed a few comments on Twitter, but I think it’s time to get a few things out in the open. First up: I’ve moved. I’m no longer based in Philadelphia, but now living in Palo Alto—the heart of the silicon valley.
This was not an easy switch by any means. I’ve lived in the northeast for my entire life, surrounded by excellent friends and family. My roommate in Philadelphia has been my best friend for almost 20 years. I made the final flight about 2 weeks ago, and—though I certainly get homesick occasionally—I’m doing well out here. I have two great new roommates and, let’s face it: A California winter is a pretty welcome change to a northeastern one. The town, too, is very lovely, even if the neighbors can be a bit raucous. But I’m finally settling in. My car was delivered, we have a few crucial bits of furniture, and hopefully the house will finish coming together early January.
Now the “why.” I’ve taken the position of creative director with an amazing up and coming company, Ext JS. For those who have never seen it, Ext JS is a great Javascript company, with something for everyone. For those looking for a solid base Javascript framework, there is Ext Core—a fully open sourced (MIT) Javascript framework which rival jQuery. Then there’s the main product, Ext JS. Ext JS is a set of combinable, cross-browser UI components that make creating rich internet applications super easy, and built on web standards (Read: NOT Flex). For Java-heads, there’s even Ext-GWT, which allows you to write your web app on GWT for the utmost in performance and optimization.
Our company doesn’t have the best image. The framework itself could use a few new themes, our website is in serious need of an overhaul, and our social media efforts are a bit weak. The product rocks, though, as many of our clients and customers will attest. This is why I’m honored to take the role of creative director—the level of potential is simply enormous. We also have a lot of tricks up our sleeves. I can’t disclose all of the details now, but I can say we could use a hand. If you’re a Javascript nut who loves UI (and there have to be a few reading this blog…) give me a shoutout. At any rate, it’s an adventure, and I’m loving every second of it.
What does this mean for you, my dear readers? Well, first off, the sabatical is off. As of now, I’m resuming a normal (whatever that means) publishing schedule for this blog, WebKitBits, and jQTouch. I also hope to start publishing a bit more original content—describing the trials and successes of rebranding a company and giving it an appropriate presence. And dear contest participants, please forgive me, I’m picking the winners this week.
There are many more things to discuss, but I think that’s enough for one post. A sincere thank you to all the friends and family who are helping me through this transition—for those in Philadelphia, I miss you dearly. And for my readers—any questions or points I missed that you’re curious about?
Good luck! You’re in for a tough fight… jQuery has some serious mindshare amongst developers.
Earlier this summer we were evaluating javascript frameworks (JQuery was one of them) and we found that Ext JS fit our requirements, so we bought a license. My impression is that the UI library feels a little more cohesive than JQuery’s.
Also, you can use JQuery with Ext JS, if you absolutely need to.
