The Best of Code Syndication
I was recently asked about who I learn from, so I threw together this list of good places to get new ideas. Most of these are the RSS Links, not the web sites. I use Google Reader to make sure I keep up.
I was recently asked about who I learn from, so I threw together this list of good places to get new ideas. Most of these are the RSS Links, not the web sites. I use Google Reader to make sure I keep up.
In my first and second post on the idea of learning Ruby through writing tests, I showed the basics of learning a language using the TDD tools. Since that start, I’ve found some great work others have done along these lines that you can use to play with the skills you’re learning and test yourself against some real problems.
First, the Ruby Koans by Jim Weirich are a comprehensive set of ‘learning tests’ that can teach you or quiz you on what you’ve learned of Ruby so far. Each time you pass a test, it points you to the next thing you need to fix. Truly TDD learning!
I was a bit put off when I first found this set, since it seems so much like a shortcut, but there’s no reason I can’t play with Jim’s tests as well as write my own, now is there?
Second, there’s the Ruby Quiz, which looks to be a great place to get a graduate education in your Ruby skills. The quiz isn’t being added to anymore, but the challenges are just awesome and they have reference solutions from people who have solved them before you. Once you’ve solved one, you can find so many ways of learning a better way. Talk about erudition!
Rob James writes Eight things I wish I had been told before doing my start-up. There's some good thoughts there for anyone who's looking at making a company big enough for investment. #1 Invest in People is the one that rings true for me, since I've spent years pursuing a model that requires more people...on a budget that can't afford more people.
Rob Secretlastname has a post on the Build or Buy Decision when starting a small ISV. I found this one personally interesting, since I've bought the software from him! It's also worth noting that the initial effort of getting a product online is probably more costly than it's really worth. If you can capitalize it...and if there's a market, it's probably better to pay someone else.
"I've got an IDEA!" Who hasn't said that. Who hasn't heard that. Of course the idea is the easy part. Mitch Denny shares some thoughts on getting started with SAAS as a business (SAASAAB?)
As of now they are for me. Apparently Microsoft has been developing heuristics to detect people who use inexpensive practice tests and study materials. They threaten to ban you from any further Certification or membership in their training program if you are 'caught' studying for their tests.
I've always thought the certification exams were meaningless collections of arcane--usually marketing-centered--trivia. However, in the past, I've succumbed to one pressure or another to getting a certification. I'm done now. I don't need to give Microsoft money for useless training, or for certificates that have never helped my income one bit. Especially if they plan on threatening me.
The whole two-factor authentication system is a fantastic idea. However the idea of giving a new device to every person who needs to login to my site? Well, that just seems expensive. And given the fact that I've thrown out all of my grocery membership cards and refuse to shop at those places because it makes my wallet too heavy...I doubt that people really want to carry that stuff around.
The solution? Use the device we all have with us: our cellular phone. PhoneFactor has a platform that does just that. It's also free to use for an application of your choice. You can set it up for RDP, VPN, or program your web app against it. When your users log in, they get a call on their cell phone and have to press #. If you want to try it out without setting anything up, try getting a free MyOpenId and using PhoneFactor as your authentication mechanism.
Personally, I still think the barrier to entry is too high, what with configuration and licensing and user training and edge cases where it doesn't work...but hopefully good technology options like this will push out the absurd technology options like RSA keys and press the pricing down to the point where it really is everywhere and everyone accessable. Then if we could just get Microsoft and Apple to build it into the OS so that we really can authorize everywhere using easy tools from any provider.
