I'm pleased to announce the first Release Candidate of the latest RubyInstaller packages. For those not already familiar with RubyInstaller, these versions continue the great work started with the original One-Click Installers by providing both 1.8 and 1.9 versions of MRI Ruby for Windows. RubyInstaller now uses a different compilation tool than the legacy One-Click Installers. As a result, when combined with our optional Development Kit, it is now possible to install RubyGems that, until today, were not readily or easily available to Windows users. This release also focuses on improving the installation process and ensuring a much more pleasant experience for existing and new users of Ruby on Windows. While we think we've succeeded in providing a solid, core Ruby platform that can be easily expanded to meet your needs, we'd also like to hear more as to what you'd like from the next RubyInstaller. Please continue reading for more details on how to give us feedback. = Before installing If you're upgrading from Preview2 or Preview1, please uninstall these versions before proceeding. Don't worry, any gems that you installed or compiled since installing Preview1/Preview2 will not be removed. Since the new RubyInstaller uses a different compiler, we highly advise that you avoid attempting to install over any previous One-Click Installer installation, or any other variant versions (InstantRails, BitNami, etc.) We recommend that you backup your previous installation, take note of the details, your installed gem list, etc and proceed to completely uninstall any legacy installations. = Getting the installers and the packages As usual, we distribute the installer and binary packages on our project page at RubyForge. Please download from RubyForge the RubyInstaller version that best suits your needs: http://rubyforge.org/frs/?group_id=167 The following are the MD5 signatures of each component: Installers: 64d79c8fdce31af79836ff26c688970b *rubyinstaller-1.8.6-p383-rc1.exe a3c32f5f6c50e043050fed80f6a54ba9 *rubyinstaller-1.9.1-p243-rc1.exe Binary Packages: aeab25259dfc95e4868b16ef31b42b45 *ruby-1.8.6-p383-i386-mingw32-rc1.7z 9b03eeea0a066cbc57343aac944b709e *ruby-1.9.1-p243-i386-mingw32-rc1.7z CHM Help files: 0651cbe998a0770a736a7b29353c8a4c *ruby-1.8.6-p383-doc-chm-rc1.7z 9a2950d869ebd15fbea96c9ee67ee9da *ruby-1.9.1-p243-doc-chm-rc1.7z Installers are meant for people with no previous or existing installations. Installers are tested and signed by me, Luis Lavena, using a digital certificate. The signed installers do not require administrative privileges, and can be installed by users with limited system privileges. Packages are meant for advanced users who want to configure the installation to fit their needs. For example, installing multiple Ruby versions. The CHM Help files provide access to both Core and Standard Library to simplify search. These files are already integrated in the installers, so the separate downloads are for convenience purposes. = What was improved in this version? * Installers now optionally offer adjustment to PATH and file associations to make it easier to execute Ruby and Ruby scripts. * Bundles OpenSSL 0.9.8k in a cooperative mode that will not interfere with other OpenSSL installations present in your system. * Improved Installer GUI to reduce click (only 5 clicks with default options). = In case of problems, where should I go? We recommend that you first check our FAQ at the Wiki: http://wiki.github.com/oneclick/rubyinstaller/faq And in case these resources do not answer your questions, please join us at our Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/rubyinstaller ...where you will find friendly people to help you resolve your issues. = What's next? To reach this point, we walked a long and winding path. We want to satisfy as much as possible our users needs and wishes for using the RubyInstaller in different scenarios. To help us prioritize our next steps, we would like to hear back from you on the capabilities of the RubyInstaller you'd most like enhanced. For example, which should we include or consider immediately after RC1: * Shall we include FFI to simplify creation of scripts that work with native binaries? * Shall we focus on simplify the installation of the Development Kit? * Shall we expand our build recipes to cover other Ruby extensions? * Others? Please use the following poll to tell us what you think. If you have a really cool idea that doesn't fit into the poll, please send us a note at our Google Group. http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/2233856/ http://groups.google.com/group/rubyinstaller = Bug reports We all know there is no bug free software, so we ask that you communicate your frustrations in a positive way and report any bugs you have found so that we work on fixing them :-) Please report bugs at RubyForge: http://rubyforge.org/tracker/?atid=715&group_id=167&func=browse For native C-based RubyGem compatibility, you can also read our Gem List at the Wiki: http://wiki.github.com/oneclick/rubyinstaller/gem-list = Contributing We always love when someone wants to contribute. We have a flexible contribution policy: first patch merged gets you commit rights. Feel free to read more about how you can contribute the project at the wiki: http://wiki.github.com/oneclick/rubyinstaller/how-to-contribute = Thanks Last, but certainly not least, would like to thank you the following kind human beings who made this release possible: - Alexey Borzenkov - Bosko Ivanisevic - deepj - Gordon Thiesfeld - Jon Maken - Park Heesob - Rodolfo Budeguer And many others! http://github.com/oneclick/rubyinstaller/blob/master/CONTRIBUTORS Thank you! -- Luis Lavena AREA 17 - Perfection in design is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but rather when there is nothing more to take away. Antoine de Saint-ExupñÓy