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Now I might be slightly biased because I'm a UX designer, but I believe that wireframes are the foundation of any website project. You might be asking, "But what about the tasklist, features, and requirements of the project? Aren't those the true foundation?" Well, yes, but in my experiece, the true tasks, features and requirements are revealed through the creation and iteration process of wireframing. The great news is with a thoroughly explored and developed set of wireframes a project can begin with a clearly defined destination on the road to success.
Those who have met us know that it's the team that makes Palantir what it is. Given that, it's understandable that our recent public announcement that we were planning to grow might have made some folks a little nervous. Let me reassure you, however, that this growth was approached with our usual commitment to sustainability and quality. It had been in the works for some time and I think everyone will be excited by the outcome.
Palantir had never done such a public search, and we didn't know what to expect. I was truly humbled by the response we received and very much appreciate the interest from all of the wonderful and talented folks who applied. I am nevertheless happy to announce that our search is closed.
On behalf of the entire Palantir team, I am very pleased to welcome Dave Reid, Arthur Foelsche, Bevan Rudge, April Peck, and Bec White!
Recently, there was a minor flap about a security hole found in one of the modules that's part of the Drupal install running whitehouse.gov. The actual issue itself was rather uninteresting (if you give someone an "administer X" permission they can do evil things to your site; um, duh), and the only reason it attracted attention at all was sensationalist reporting by some online news sources, but it did bring up one interesting and important detail that many Drupal folks forget: You really shouldn't be using pre-release modules in production.
Of course, that becomes a problem given the number of Drupal modules that are in a pre-release state forever. Which is, of course, the underlying problem: Too many module maintainers are not being responsible maintainers.
It hasn't been all that long since the last DrupalCamp here in Chicago, but the next one is only a month away! DrupalCamp Chicago 2010 will be held June 26-27 at the University of Chicago Law School in Hyde Park on the city's South Side.
Not only does moving DrupalCamp into the summer mean that we'll hopefully have better weather, it also gives the local community a lot more breathing room as planning for DrupalCon Chicago 2011 gets underway. The University of Chicago Law School (which uses Drupal to run their site) is a beautiful venue with capacity to hold even more people than last year's sellout event. This year's camp will feature two full days worth of Drupal-related content, including curated sessions, community gatherings, Birds of a Feather (BoF) sessions, hands-on-training and more.
Registration is $40 for the event and covers lunch on both days. We recommend you sign up on the site and purchase your registration ASAP, as spots are limited. Sponsorships are also available for companies and organizations looking to make themselves better-known to Chicago's vibrant Drupal community.
If you're interested in presenting at DrupalCamp Chicago, now is also the time to submit your session! With five large classrooms to fill for two days, we're looking for all sorts of content, from introductory sessions for people new to Drupal all the way to advanced technical topics.
One of the great things about DrupalCamps is that they're truly community events that bring together people from all sorts of different backgrounds. This community spirit carries through to the way that these gatherings are produced and promoted; the codebase for the drupalcampchicago.org website is based on an installation provided by the organizers of last year's DrupalCamp Los Angeles, and the registration system uses a signup module developed by some of the organizers of this year's DrupalCamp Colorado.
DrupalCamp Chicago is also one of the first DrupalCamps to benefit from the fiscal agency of DrupalCon, Inc., the North American not-for-profit subsidiary of the international Drupal Association that supports Drupal education in the United States. In exchange for this assistance, DrupalCamp Chicago will (as it has in past years) donate any profits from the event back to the Drupal Association to support camps and other Drupal events around the world. Much like the software benefits from the contributions of those who develop code for it, the community also benefits from the efforts of those who work together to help spread the word to others.
We hope you'll come be a part of our community here in Chicago next month. See you there!
