58125375
submission
snydeq writes:
The programming world's favorite distributed version control system also lets you find, share, and improve code. InfoWorld's Martin Heller offers a guide to getting started with Git and GitHub. 'While there are dozens of get-started guides for Git and users of GitHub see a "pro tip" every time they refresh GitHub.com, it's still not easy to find a collection of useful tips for developers who want to work smarter with Git and GitHub. Let's fix that.'
58098571
submission
snydeq writes:
Google put Amazon squarely in the cloud services cross-hairs today, announcing new features and revamped pricing for its Google Cloud Platform, InfoWorld reports. The platform now includes improved testing and deployment tools and expanded VM support. 'The broad spectrum of changes announced for Google Cloud Platform revolved around a few basic sentiments: simplify the pricing structure of cloud computing; make it easier for developers to use the tools they're familiar and comfortable with; allow for easier (and cheaper) work with large amounts of data; and give developers the freedom to run their App Engine apps in IaaS-style VMs without sacrificing manageability.'
58064001
submission
snydeq writes:
Deep End's Paul Venezia questions whether dyed-in-the-wool data center pros like himself can really find happiness moving toward the higher-level languages of modern programming: 'I've been writing a lot of code recently, more than your normal internal IT tools and widgets. Sizable LAMP apps and API development have been filling my plate, alongside technical project management for several significant development efforts. During the course of this work, I've had a chance to reflect on a number of items related to software development, and I've become even more entrenched in my predilection toward lower-level languages and development frameworks. This may come off much like someone shaking their fist at the clouds, but it is what it is.'
58057031
submission
snydeq writes:
From switching frameworks to turning 23 years old, developers suffer mightily in hopes of the momentary rush that comes from a beautiful algorithm in a few lines of code, writes Peter Wayner in a tongue-in-cheek look at the torturous truisms of programming. 'No one understands the masochism of programming. But then they don't know the pleasure of building a Web app that juggles millions of connections and backs everything up in three disk farms across the globe. They don't get the rush that comes from writing a beautiful algorithm in just a few lines of code. But those moments are insanely rare. Here are 20 hassles and pure tortures we developers endure in pursuit of momentary magnificence.'
57799013
submission
snydeq writes:
From conference call mishaps to misdirected sexy texts, JR Raphael offers seven compromising tales that will make you grateful they didn't happen to you. 'Technology has made it easier than ever to communicate with colleagues and customers from all over the world. It's also made it easier than ever to make ourselves look very, very stupid. Thanks to modern electronics, all it takes is a single split-second slip-up for an embarrassing error to be broadcast globally. No matter how hard you try, that kind of error can never be taken back.'
56539443
submission
snydeq writes:
Programming boot camps are on the rise, but can a crash course in coding truly pay off for students and employers alike? InfoWorld's Dan Tynan discusses the relative (and perceived) value of code academies with founders, alumni, recruiters, and hiring managers. Early impressions and experiences are mixed, but the hacker school trend seems certain to stick. 'Many businesses that are looking at a shortfall of more than a million programmers by the year 2020 are more than willing to give inexperienced grads a chance, even if some are destined to fail. The zero-to-hero success stories may be relatively rare, but they happen often enough to ensure that the boom in quick-and-dirty coding schools is only likely to accelerate.'
56417809
submission
snydeq writes:
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has some advice for Apple CEO Tim Cook: consider offering a phone based on the rival Google Android platform. Speaking at the Apps World conference in San Francisco, Wozniak made the suggestion of an Apple Android device when responding to a question about the fate of the faltering BlackBerry platform, saying that BlackBerry should have built an Android phone, and that Apple could do so, too. 'BlackBerry's very sad for me,' Wozniak lamented. 'I think it's probably too late now' for an Android-based BlackBerry phone. Apple, Woz said, has had some lucky victories in the marketplace in the past decade, and BlackBerry's demise may provide a cautionary tale: 'There's nothing to keep Apple out of the Android market as a secondary phone market.'
56353641
submission
snydeq writes:
Companies are doggedly pursuing the next big thing in technology, but nothing seems to be pointing to the right way these days, claims the legendary Steve Wozniak. The reason? 'You tend to deal with the past,' replicating what you know in a new form. Consider the notion of computing eyeware like Google Glass: 'People have been marrying eyewear with TV inputs for 20 years,' Wozniak says. True innovation, Wozniak claims, becomes more human, more personal. People use technology more the less it feels like technology. 'The software gets more accepted when it works in human ways — meaning in noncomputer ways.' Here, Wozniak says, is the key to technology's role in the education system.
56055381
submission
snydeq writes:
InfoWorld's Woody Leonhard offers up 12 wishes Windows' billion-plus customers would like to see fulfilled after the puff of white smoke comes from Redmond to announce the 'new Defender of the Windows faith': 'No, I'm not going to tell you how to run a bazillion-dollar company with 130,000 employees and a bewildering array of products. You have enough folks with green eyeshades running around already — no doubt with a nasty propensity to tell you, "Yes, sir!" I just want to talk about customers, especially Windows customers. If you can keep us in the fold, we can help you out of this fine mess Microsoft seems to have gotten itself into.'
55923487
submission
snydeq writes:
30 years ago today Apple debuted the Macintosh, an iconic computer that among other things cost Steve Jobs his job. InfoWorld offers a retrospective of all the original reviews of the early Macintosh models, including the Macintosh ('will be compared to other machines not only in terms of its features but also in the light of the lavish claims and promises made by Apple co-founder Steven Jobs'), the Mac SE ('contains some radical changes, including room for a second internal drive and even a fan'), the Mac IIx ('a chorus of yawns'), and the Mac Portable ('you may develop a bad case of the wannas for this lovable [16-lb.] luggable'). Plus insights on the Macintosh II's prospects from Bill Gates: 'If you look at a product like Mac Word III on that full-page display, it's pretty awesome. ... But the corporate buyer is never going to be a strong point for Apple.'
55792429
submission
snydeq writes:
InfoWorld's Dan Tynan offers an inside look at the hiring practices of top startups and dev shops when competing against the likes of Google, Facebook, and Twitter in the escalating war for developer talent. 'One of the worst things in the world you can do is build your first 10 employees with B-level people,' says Steve Newcomb, founder and CEO of Famo.us. 'You will end up with 100 C-level people. That's why we hire very slowly.' Meanwhile, Box SVP of Engineering Sam Schillace has a single word he uses when recruiting candidates who are considering a competing offer from Google: 'That word is "Microsoft." I think Google has had a pretty good run, but it's gotten so massive that it's difficult to be nimble any more.'
55506357
submission
snydeq writes:
InfoWorld has announced its 2014 Technology of the Year Award winners, recognizing the best tools and technologies for developers, IT pros, and businesses. 'There are several tangible objects on our list, but they're mostly hardware that lives in backrooms away from grubby hands. Anyone who buys them immediately hides them away from everyone, so the machines won't get hurt. The rest of the winners are pieces of software, many of which aren't even sold as software, per se. They're packaged as services, which are even more ephemeral and untouchable than the cloud servers they run on.' Included is an image gallery of the 35 winners.
55385567
submission
snydeq writes:
Between complex licensing and the cloud, Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP have lots of ways to hike up prices. InfoWorld's Robert L. Scheier offers tips on how organizations can fight back against sneaky price increases. 'More vendors are building hidden price increases into complex new variations to on-site licensing models, as well as to their newer cloud and subscription offerings. Rather than having "clear-cut, outright, aggressive price increases," vendors are becoming "more subtle and devious," says Jeff Muscarella, executive vice president of the IT and Telecom Division at sourcing consultancy NPI.'
55371965
submission
snydeq writes:
With the four-year anniversary of Oracle's Sun Microsystems acquisition looming, InfoWorld reached out to Java founder James Gosling to rate how Oracle has done in shepherding Sun technology. Gosling gives Oracle eyebrow-raising grades, lauding Oracle's handling of Java, despite his past acrimony toward Oracle over Java (remember those T-shirts?), and giving Oracle a flat-out failing grade on what has become of Solaris OS.
55061151
submission
snydeq writes:
From the Web to the motherboard to the training ground, InfoWorld offers a look at what's rising in popularity among developers, and what's cooling off. 'Programmers love to sneer at the world of fashion where trends blow through like breezes. That's not to say programming is a profession devoid of trends. The difference is that programming trends are driven by greater efficiency, increased customization, and ease-of-use. The new technologies that deliver one or more of these eclipse the previous generation. It's a meritocracy, not a whimsy-ocracy. What follows is a list of what's hot — and what's not — among today's programmers. Not everyone will agree with what's A-listed, what's D-listed, and what's been left out. But that's what makes programming an endlessly fascinating profession: rapid change, passionate debate, sudden comebacks.'
