Question: i want to develop rails 3 apps using mysql on windows 7 (64 bit) and i have installed mysql via the msi download from the mysql site.

my question is that do i still need to install the mysql gem?

thanks

Answer: 
The mysql gem provides the ruby bindings, so yes, you need to install this.

With Rails 3 you should use the mysql2 gem rather than the mysql gem.
Yes you do. The mysql gem is a ruby driver (interface) to connect to the mysql database.

You should use [mysql2](http://rubygems.org/gems/mysql2) gem instead with Rails3.