Designing for a Hostile Environment, Alex Koppel

Designing for a Hostile Environment

Devcon October Conference, Thursday, October 10, 2013, 13:30

As Rubyists, we're fortunate to work often in the open, friendly environment of the web browser or consumer app -- but what happens when that's not the case?

Sometimes you have to work in an environment that's prickly -- spotty connections, locked down systems, unwilling users. Whether you're in schools (as we are), big enterprises, or even working with the specialized Internet-enabled devices increasingly found in homes or shops, hostile environments tend to have similar requirements and challenges, not all of which are immediately intuitive; fortunately, there are ways to work around the challenges, and even to turn some of those challenges around, using technology to turn weaknesses into strengths.

Alex Koppel

eSpark

Alex is a senior software engineer at eSpark, helping to improve student learning using technology. He's also the author of the Koala Facebook gem and sundry other projects, and in past lives has moonlighted as an online bookseller and led part of a massive healthcare IT installation in California.

An amateur cook, eager language learner, incurable devil's advocate, inveterate book reader, and lover of adjectives, Alex dual majored in computer science and scavenger hunts at the University of Chicago.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Ozenbar, 48 King George st, Tel Aviv, Israel