RSpec 2.8: The Popular Ruby BDD Tool Goes Supersonic
RSpec 2.8 and rspec-rails 2.8.1 have been released and some users have been reporting significant performance improvements. Other tweaks include improved documentation, better tag and filtering options, random example execution, and 'rspec --init' for adding RSpec to an empty Ruby project.

TorqueBox 2.0 Beta 2 Released
Torquebox is a popular JBoss-powered application server for Ruby webapps that provides a smorgasbord of useful backend features. This beta of the 2.0 release boasts the latest versions of JRuby and JBoss and new support for WebSockets/STOMP.

Redcar 0.12 Released: An Editor Built in Ruby
Redcar is a programmers' text editor written in Ruby and this latest release has streamlined its installation and added Mac OS X Lion support.

The Status of DataMapper
DataMapper is a popular Ruby ORM and an interesting alternative to ActiveRecord. In this post, Piotr Solnica explains what's happening with DataMapper 2.0 and how it aims to implement the Data Mapper pattern in full. The systems outlined in this post could resolve a lot of issues people have been having with ActiveRecord, it seems.

Does My Rails App Need A Service Layer?
Jared Carroll picks up on a common thread being discussed in the Rails world lately: service layers. He explains what 'services' are, what types of service can exist, and tries to briefly explain his opinion on their usage within the context of Rails. I'm not entirely comfortable with his conclusion but it's a good introduction nonetheless.

An Exhaustive Explanation of Minimax: A Staple AI Algorithm
An appealing explanation of an algorithm that can be used to 'intelligently' play Tic Tac Toe, complete with a simple Ruby implementation.

How Airbnb Upgraded from Rails 2.3 to Rails 3.0

Rails Development on Ubuntu 11.10: Setting Up a Dev Environment
Eric Proctor wanted to refresh his setup for 2012 so sat down to install a Rails development stack from scratch on Ubuntu 11.10. He shares the process here in case you want to repeat it for yourself.

How to Create A Local Copy of the Rails API Docs and Guides
If you're like many Rails developers, you might frequently hit the Rails docs and guides via Google searches, but if you want access to these useful resources when offline, Aslam Najeebdeen has the answer.

Hosting Your Own Local RubyGems Server
Want to have your own in-house RubyGems server? It's easy and Michael Erasmus shows you how in this post.

Ruby Float Quirks
Clemens Helm stumbles across a rudimentary floating point representation issue, but one that can trip you up nonetheless if you're not aware of it.

Installing RefineryCMS with Rails 3.1.3

Capybara, Cucumber and How the Cookie Crumbles
Steve Richert of Collective Idea wanted to punch through Capybara and be able to set cookies that would "Just Work" from anywhere in his Cucumber suite. Here, he shows you how he did it.

DDD Aggregates in Rails with ActiveRecord

Pretty URLs with FriendlyId (RailsCasts)
If you are tired of model ids in the URL, overriding to_param can only get you so far. The friendly_id plugin can help by making it easy to generate a URL slug and maintain a history. Ryan Bates shows us how in a mere 7 minutes.

Puma: A Ruby Web Server Built For Concurrency
Puma is a simple, fast, and highly concurrent HTTP 1.1 server for Ruby webapps. It can be used with any application that supports Rack and makes the audacious claim that it 'is considered the replacement for WEBrick and Mongrel.'

confstruct: Yet Another Configuration Object for Ruby
Confstruct optimistically bills itself as 'yet another configuration gem.' It's definable and configurable by hash, struct, or block and aims to provide the flexibility to do things your way, while keeping things simple and intuitive.

coffee-script-pure: A Pure Ruby CoffeeScript Compiler
CoffeeScript was originally implemented in Ruby so it's interesting to see Charlie Somerville bring it full circle by reimplementing the current CoffeeScript compiler in pure Ruby.

gon-sinatra: Get Your Sinatra Variables in your JavaScript

rack_session_access: Rack Middleware for 'rack.session' Environment Management
rack_session_access makes it possible to change values within the application session of your Rack-backed app.

Rglpk: Ruby Wrapper for the GNU Linear Programming Kit

liquid.js: A JS, In-Browser Implementation of the Liquid Templating Language

Ruby and Rails Entwickler bei blau Mobilfunk GmbH [Hamburg, Deutschland]
Unfortunately I don't speak German but it's great to see a wider variety of locations in the jobs. So if you're looking for a Rails job in Germany or know someome who is, check this out.

Lead Rails Developer at Unpakt [New York, New York]

Exceptional Ruby: Master The Art of Handling Failure in Ruby
I can't help but continue to recommend Avdi Grimm's awesome 'Exceptional Ruby' e-book if you want to dig deep into the world of exceptions and error handling in Ruby. I enjoyed it a lot (and I'm not even making a bean on this recommendation :-))