Announcing Ruby-related content on minituku.net

Dear ruby-talk readers,

Here at Network Applied Communication Laboratory Ltd., we’re currently
building a Ruby-related e-learning service as part of an employment
project supported by Shimane Prefecture, Japan.

The service is called “Minituku”* and is available at www.minituku.net.
Minituku features a small collection of Ruby-related content. Most of
this content is in Japanese, but we have started adding English content
too.

*) “Mi ni tsuku” is a Japanese phrase which means “to master”.

The service and the content is currently free to use. The business model
for the service is still undecided, but the free content will stay free
indefinitely.

The following content is available in English:

  • Training materials (drills) for the Ruby Association Certified Ruby
    Programmer Silver examination

The following content is available in Japanese:

  • An introduction to Ruby including videos in which Matz himself
    explains some of Ruby’s features
  • Drills to complement the introductory text
  • Training materials (drills) for the Ruby Association Certified Ruby
    Programmer Silver examination

We’re still working on both content and the system itself and comments
are very welcome.

You can contact us at [email protected] or through the feedback form on
the site.

On Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 21:46, Hidekazu N. [email protected] wrote:

The service is called “Minituku”* and is available at www.minituku.net.

*) “Mi ni tsuku” is a Japanese phrase which means “to master”.

Why drop the s and not use minitsuku.net? It’s available, and will be
less confusing to those who actually know Japanese. (Or you could use
both, with one redirecting to the other.) For that matter,
minitsuku.jp and .gr.jp are also available.

-Dave (watashi wa, nihongo o sukoshi hanashimasu)

On 10/17/2011 03:28 AM, Dave A. wrote:

-Dave (watashi wa, nihongo o sukoshi hanashimasu)

“tuku” is also an accepted spelling, see

Anyway I’m for providing both.

Tor Bechmann Yamamoto-Sorensen wrote in post #1027335:

Thank You very much for the input!

We considered both transliterations (Hepburn and Kunrei) and decided on
“Minituku” for the following reasons:

  • Both transliterations are generally accepted as being “correct”
  • Japanese people are not confused by either transliteration
  • As for people not familiar with Japanese, it is likely that both
    transliterations will be pronounced incorrectly …
  • … but we think that “tu” is less likely to confuse the reader than
    “tsu”
  • As a subjective assessment, we think that “Minituku” is more catchy
    and brand-like than “Minitsuku”

We probably won’t be picking up another domain name, at least not until
we have a clearer view of our long term plans for the site. As of now,
we can’t think of a compelling reason to do so, but please let us know
if you think otherwise.


Tor B. Yamamoto-Sorensen
Network Applied Communication Laboratory Ltd.

For non-native Japanese speakers, I think ‘Minitsuku’ is definitely
better. ‘Minituku’ has a very old feeling about it. Anyway, the site
looks very interesting as there aren’t a great deal of Ruby problems and
exercises available on the net. I’m keen to see where the site is
headed!

On Wed, Oct 19, 2011 at 11:49:49PM +0900, Eric Findlay wrote:

exercises available on the net. I’m keen to see where the site is
headed!

I guess I would qualify as a non-native not-quite-speaker.

I don’t know about “old” feeling, but as someone who has dabbled in
learning the Japanese language (much as I’ve dabbled in learning
Scheme),
I found “minituku” a bit strange. Every resource I’ve found for English
speaking people learning Japanese has stressed “tsu”, not “tu”. On the
other hand, I’m not sure it’s really all that big a deal which one is
used “officially” for this site, in the grand scheme of things.

Thank You very much for the input!

We considered both transliterations (Hepburn and Kunrei) and decided on
“Minituku” for the following reasons:

  • Both transliterations are generally accepted as being “correct”
  • Japanese people are not confused by either transliteration
  • As for people not familiar with Japanese, it is likely that both
    transliterations will be pronounced incorrectly …
  • … but we think that “tu” is less likely to confuse the reader than
    “tsu”
  • As a subjective assessment, we think that “Minituku” is more catchy
    and brand-like than “Minitsuku”

We probably won’t be picking up another domain name, at least not until
we have a clearer view of our long term plans for the site. As of now,
we can’t think of a compelling reason to do so, but please let us know
if you think otherwise.


Tor B. Yamamoto-Sorensen
Network Applied Communication Laboratory Ltd.

On Wed, 19 Oct 2011, Tor Bechmann Yamamoto-Sorensen wrote:

  • … but we think that “tu” is less likely to confuse the reader than “tsu”

Personally, I find the Japanese names starting with Ts to be very
appealing, but maybe I’m weird. The sound is interesting.

– Matt
It’s not what I know that counts.
It’s what I can remember in time to use.