Socket IO is not bound to NodeJS , it ships with a NodeJS server side library, but there a whole load of other languages supported (https://github.com/learnboost/socket.io/wiki)... although I notice that PHP currently isnt

Oh. Hmm, I see PHP on the bottom of the list with Elephant.io.

Ah, indeed. Good spot!

I finally broke: I installed Linux on Virtual Box. Unfortunately, the screen is too small to use. I'll buy a disk and dual-boot, I guess...

that shouldn't be necessary? can't remember how but virtualboxes can be fullscreened I'm pretty sure

Virtualbox support maximizing the window and a full screen mode. If the guest OS is not taking up the entire space of the window, you should install Guest Additions. Device > Install Guest Additions. That will mount a disc that contains an install script.

Yep. Guest additions can be weird to install on some guest OSs but Googling will almost certainly come up with a working solution.

Also don't forget to turn on bidirectional clipboard sharing after you have the add-on installed. It's really handy. It's somewhere in the settings of the actual VM.

You might need to install guest additions, but its quite a simple process. Full screen virtualbox is awesome.

Ah. That was easy. Just have to un-mount and mount to ISO disk again.

I swear this better be worth my effort. I'm doing this because I'm irritated of reading "This [program / extension / update] is not available on Windows. Learn how to use Linux, WinLoser."

I get the impression that deploying to Windows is incredibly difficult. Is this the equivalent of doing cross-browser websites, but on steroids? I guess its the open-source mentality. If they are digging in the trenches offering up great freeware, you have to be willing to get your hands dirty too?

I can't imagine going back to windows for development after using linux in a VM. OS usage aside the biggest advantage is that you can keep all of your development tools and services isolated from your main OS.

This lets you experiment with a very care free style. I'm way more willing to try something out that involves having 3 services runnning, a binary on my system path, etc. if it's only going to mess with my virtual machine.

Come to think of it, if I ran linux as my main desktop I'd probably still use a linux VM for development. The only downside is you're limited to 1 monitor unless you happen to have 2 monitors of the same resolution, otherwise the VM will only go the height of the smallest monitor which is really annoying in my case because my 2nd monitor is 1440x900 while my primary is 1600x1200... so I'd lose 300 verical pixels.

Ah!! I wondered why my VM was so messed up across 2 monitors. Is there a reason it cant handle it properly?

I don't know, I never looked into it but whenever I drag the VM over to extend into my 2nd monitor the height of it adjusts to the lower resolution.

Maybe VMWare handles multi-monitor scaling better? I'm not sure.

yes, windows administration is terrible. the os is simply not well-designed for automation.

no, i think the cultural value you're running into is, "i wrote a thing, it works for me. if it works for you too, great, please use it. if it doesn't, patches are welcome." it's not that i want you to get dirty with me; it's that i don't care about your problems unless they align with my problems.

VM isn't exactly the world I expected. Still not set up completely. Basically don't want to dedicate the time yet, plus I didn't realize I may want to take snap-shots. I keep on getting the black screen of death. Not liking it too much yet, but I'll get around to it and all.

Still logged in as root user, so that's the next thing to fix.

also note that if you love VMs so much and can't handle unix, there's no reason you can't do your development in a Windows VM running on your Windows host os.

I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you’re referring to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I’ve recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.
Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called “Linux”, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project. There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use.
Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine’s resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called “Linux” distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.

Half serious / Half trolling question - Does this distinction matter?

i think that's accurate.

lol Stallman's old attempt to cling to Torvalds's success because HURD never went anywhere.

While we are on the topic of VMs...I'm getting sick and tired of having Windows with all its limitations on this machine just for playing poker.

How easy is it to run Windows in a VM and support the typical poker environment (2x1920x1200 monitors, HEM, machine has a SSD any issues with that) and how much juice would my machine need to play issue free in a virtualized windows.

Kernel gets naming rights imo everything else is silly.
If you want to add the silly GNU then it should be GNU/BSD/Linux at the very least because I'm pretty sure there's essential non-GNU stuff that is needed by every Linux.

Oh yeah and we should also call it BSD/Windows

Let me know when Hurd is done :P

I think you'd need two licenses though (if you care about that stuff)

That's the kind of FOSS dogma that just makes me roll my eyes, almost as much as being in Boulder does.

Play Boulder Dash for a couple of hours and chuckle imo

I want to write a long rant on why developing in windows sucks, but I'd be preaching to the choir.

I posted one of my articles on Reddit. Never. Ever. Again. Wow.