Dear Readers,

Have you ever felt the transformative power of a teacher’s or mentor’s encouragement? Anatole France, the French poet and journalist, once encapsulated this influence by saying, 

“Nine-tenths of education is encouragement.”

It’s astonishing how teachers can nurture love or sow seeds of positivity, potentially steering an entire future. When a child moves beyond their family circle, teachers often step into a pivotal role. Their impact isn’t confined to imparting knowledge; it extends to shaping perspectives, igniting passions, and defining life paths.

Just as many attribute their accomplishments to teachers who unearthed their hidden talents guiding their paths, the Drupal community thrives on mentors who play a pivotal role. Like educators, these mentors guide newcomers, share their expertise, and foster an environment conducive to growth within the Drupal ecosystem. They serve as pillars, offering invaluable guidance and insights enriching the community with their depth of knowledge and experience.

In this context, Michael Anello shines as a beacon within the Drupal realm. His trajectory, from teaching engineering to co-founding DrupalEasy—a hub for Drupal-centric training, career development, and consultancy—mirrors the impact of a guiding force.  The DropTimes had the opportunity to interview Michael Anello. He reflects on his journey, the evolution of Drupal, navigating challenges in the learning process and steering DrupalEasy through adaptations to accommodate various skill levels. In essence, his role echoes the influence of those pivotal teachers who shape destinies within the dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of the Drupal community.

In another enlightening interview, the multifaceted expertise of Lyubomir Filipov, a Group Architect and Deputy Program Manager at FFW, takes centre stage. His journey spans various roles—from organizer to academician to mentor—an embodiment of the diverse skills of an expert Drupal developer.

Lyubomir Filipov operates as a leader by example, orchestrating the convergence of talent with opportunity. He’s instrumental in shaping career trajectories for over 800 professionals at FFW, ensuring that the right individuals find their niche within the company. 

Our adept sub-editor, Alka Elizabeth, skillfully conducted these insightful conversations, shedding light on the depth and breadth of Michael Anello’s and Lyubomir Filipov’s contributions within the Drupal sphere. Alka also delved into a Reddit discussion about the recent changes to not just Drupal alone but the economy, AI, and growth of other CMSs like WordPress, Wix, and Shopify. 

On a side note, I’ve compiled a thorough overview highlighting TDT’s significant milestones of the past year.

Speaking of events, The DropTimes has been announced as the official Media Partner for Drupal Mountain Camp 2024, Switzerland. To learn more about the event, visit the official website. You can also follow our tag Drupal Mountain Camp to catch every update. 

February 06 is DrupalCon Portland’s registration kickoff—don’t miss out! Find all the essential details right here. Stay tuned for more updates and announcements as the event draws nearer. 

The highly anticipated return of the PHP Conference Kansai 2024—a momentous occasion for PHP engineers in Japan is back after a notable six-year hiatus. Do check out the details here. 

As MidCamp 2024 draws near, it invites organizations to unite and bolster the vibrant Drupal community together. 

FLDC 2024’s countdown has commenced! Seize the early bird registration before January 12 and save $25 on your attendance fees. Don’t wait—the deadline is approaching fast!  

Fan tickets for DrupalCamp Poland are available until November 1, 2024—grab yours before time runs out.  A list of the Drupal events for the week is published here.

Acquia’s latest release, the e-book “Achieving Success with Headless and Hybrid CMSs,” provides in-depth insights into the benefits of employing CMS in various architectures—traditional, headless, or hybrid. For more information, dive into this informative resource.

Some notable news highlights include WeebPal’s celebration of its 12^th anniversary, dubbed the Silk or Fine Linen Jubilee, featuring an enticing offer for website owners. They’re offering 12 participants an opportunity to upgrade from Drupal 9 to Drupal 10 free of cost.  

Centarro is rejoicing in its most substantial release yet: Drupal Commerce 2.37. Learn more about it here.

A groundbreaking addition to Drupal’s arsenal is the newly launched Error Reporting module, poised to transform code analysis and debugging for effortless operations. Dive deeper into its capabilities here.

While more stories beckon for exploration, constraints compel us to halt further selection. To get timely updates, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep enjoying your Drupal journey! 
Thank you,

With warm wishes,
Elma John
Sub-Editor, TheDropTimes

Last September, I gave a talk titled “Intro To Ruby in the Browser” about how to use Ruby for Frontend Development in Rails as a complete replacement for JavaScript as per Matz’s RubyConf 2022 Keynote Speech. I concluded the talk by mentioning a then upcoming project called Glimmer DSL for Web that would make Ruby in the Browser the simplest, most intuitive, most straight-forward, and most productive Software Engineering experience in Frontend Development in any Programming Language or Technology. Well, The future is now! Glimmer DSL for Web (Ruby in the Browser Web GUI Frontend Library) just had its 0.2.2 Beta Release

We’ve got some seriously bad news for the OS/2 community. Hobbes, the massive software archive for OS/2 (and thus eComStation and ArcaOS), which hosts both old software as well as more recent releases, is shutting down in three months. After many years of service, hobbes.nmsu.edu will be decommissioned and will no longer be available. You the user are responsible for downloading any of the files found in this archive if you want them. These files will no longer be available for access or download as of the decommission date. As of April 15th, 2024 this site will no longer exist. No one will be able to access this site or any information/files stored on this site as of April 15th, 2024. I don’t even know how old Hobbes is, but I feel like it’s been around for decades. Seeing it being shut down is incredibly sad to read, but also a sign of the times for whatever’s left of the OS/2 community. Two of the four listed mirrors seem to be up, namely SunSITE Poland and Infania Networks in Sweden. We’ll see how long those last, but my advice to anyone interested in OS/2 – download the Hobbes archive and store it locally.