Geoffrey Grosenbach introduces the RaPT Plugin Manager for Rails, the answer to the problem of slow plugin installation. Installable as a gem (gem install rapt), RaPT caches the locations of different plugins so that installation is quick and easy. Future plans include developing a central plugin repository, auto-announcement of self-developed plugins, and automatic plugin upgrading. If you want the files direct, check out the Rubyforge project site for RaPT.