Contents tagged with Interesting
Finding a Niche
Parts.Common.Body.Summary.cshtml – The template for summary of a content item's body.The Freakanomics blog has an interesting anti-pattern for a software engineering career.
I was chatting with a 70-year-old man who is an independent “software engineer”—a programmer. I asked him how he keeps up with all the young hot-shots who know the latest fancy programming languages. Simple, he said: There are many companies that are just converting very old systems, and the young programmers don’t know the older languages.
[..]
Being technically obsolete gives him an advantage.
[..]
Indeed, this man charges higher than average fees, because there are so few other programmers left who can deal with the old technology!
The real catch here is picking the right technology with the right kind of longevity, where “right” means “widely deployed” and “longevity” means “so critical to business, management is afraid to touch it.”
COBOL fits this pattern. Some would add PowerBuilder to that list.
The key thing to remember here is finding a need and filling it, not studying up on antiquated technology and expecting a huge payday.
Secrets of Agile UX
Parts.Common.Body.Summary.cshtml – The template for summary of a content item's body.Here’s an interesting slide deck I found on SlideShare about Agile UX.
US Falling Behind in Race Toward Open Government
Parts.Common.Body.Summary.cshtml – The template for summary of a content item's body.Here’s an interesting article in Bloomberg about open government initiatives around the world and how the US is falling behind.
From the article: (emphasis added)
When Brazil’s government buys anything from fighter jets to a fancy villa, details are available online within 24 hours. Such disclosures are a powerful way to combat corruption, and are a model for official openness that could inspire other nations.
Brazil’s online portal started in 2004. Among its contents: information about Brazilian outlays in advance of hosting the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. The site includes an online channel for whistleblower complaints.
Because corruption is a major problem in Brazil, timely release of spending data, including daily information about the use of government credit cards, is designed to help the media and opposition politicians in Brazil reveal crooked behavior. If a minister buys a truckload of wine with her government card, or pays off a cousin, someone will notice.
And it’s not just in Brazil, the open government movement is gaining steam around the world:
Enthusiasm for open government is taking hold not just in Brazil, but in countries such as Kenya, India and the U.K. Kenya last month became the first sub-Saharan African country to launch a government-data portal. India is a beehive of activity; it has initiated ambitious plans for providing public services with the help of mobile phones in rural areas and for electronic citizen engagement in government generally.
Later this month, President Obama is set to address the UN General Assembly meeting to praise open government and announce an Open Government Partnership led by Brazil and the U.S.
This sounds like a great opportunity for IT developers to take a closer look at open government. As pressure mounts to make spending more accountable, there is sure to be demand for solutions that enable transparency.
Las Vegas Infographic
Parts.Common.Body.Summary.cshtml – The template for summary of a content item's body.Admittedly, I’m a fool for infographics.
Here’s on I found via AllTop on Las Vegas.
Designing for Bears
Parts.Common.Body.Summary.cshtml – The template for summary of a content item's body.Here’s an interesting slide deck on “Designing for Bears” that should help reboot the way you approach user experience design.
Designing for BearsView more presentations from Lucy Spence
Going Viral Infographic
Parts.Common.Body.Summary.cshtml – The template for summary of a content item's body.Mashable has a great write up and infographic on what it takes to go viral.
What Motivates Smart People
Parts.Common.Body.Summary.cshtml – The template for summary of a content item's body.An interesting talk from Dan Pink and animated by RSA on what motivates people and how money isn’t the only factor.
Changing Education Paradigms
Parts.Common.Body.Summary.cshtml – The template for summary of a content item's body.Another great animation by RSA to a talk by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert.
A Day in the Internet Infographic
Parts.Common.Body.Summary.cshtml – The template for summary of a content item's body.The size and scope of the internet is hard to fathom for techies.
Clearly, it’s also hard to fathom for traditional media companies, politicians and regulators. Just the fact that SOPA was even written testifies to that fact.
Here’s a visualization of the amount of data consumed and created on the internet each day.
Is it me or that moon looks like the Death Star?
Source: MBAonline.com