When the code starts to get (really) complex, it gets hard to keep track of errors coming up. In a compiled, statically typed language the extra nagging from the compiler really really pays off, as you know EXACTLY what the problem is and where to expect one. Then the debugging really comes down to hunting nulls and what-if scenarios. In PHP you basically have to keep track of almost everything having the right type etc.

I grew up as a Java person (even got meself the SCJP) and I then had to cope with PHP on my work enviroment. I came to appreciate how you can do a lot of things really quickly, but now I spend my time hunting for errors that start appearing once the code passes a certain level of complexity (even though I did take care to design things in a proper OO manner). It's simply hard to keep track of things.

Object orientation kinda sucks in PHP, btw and I have yet to come up with a viable solution to the "include" mess. In Java you have your packages and subpackages in specific folders. You add the right dir in the classpath and you're sorted. In PHP... most things are relevant to the location of the entry file. And packages... basically don't exist.

Coming to which... I'm now trying to squeeze my way into J2EE... it's the "right" way for anything large scale but it's a bit daunting to begin with. And that's what's kept me so far from delving into it.

Then I hear a lot of good things about the ZK framework, which I'm currently looking into and it seems quite promising. So, from what I've seen so far it looks like a technology well worth investing into.

Somebody just SHOOT the OP in the head!!!

This was my first programming language and thank God I never went to VB after that. (my path was Lisp, prolog, c, java, haskell and so on - yes, I did a CS course)

Why the hell would one want this "programming language" on the iPhone? It's like starting a Ferrari with a hand-crank

You don't learn how to program even with VB (this we were told quite emphatically at uni on Programming 101, so to say), let alone BASIC.

We have more than enough "beginner" languages as it is, and BASIC - I think you will all agree - is pretty much the worst there is -sorry, WAS-. There's Python, Ruby, Go and a ton of other newly-minted languages-for-the-masses out there to get you started. But BASIC??? That's 2011 man, not 2001. But if you want something that will run on the iPhone and you want to cleanse yourself for this disgraceful question, go over at PhoneGap and start learning their kit.

It's late in the night on this part of the globe. I really hope I'm having a bad dream and I wake up in the morning and realise that I never actually read this question...

... I would definitely recommend any book by Eckhart Tolle.

The Power of Now has changed my world view entirely and let me see the whole life-experience thing in a totally different light. The book talks about the Ego each of us carry and how this affects our lives.

A bit further down the road I would definitely recommend "Stillness Speaks", which is an accumulation of wise sayings meant to "ring some bells" in the inner you.

Happy reading, whatever your choices

I quite disagree with your first sentence.

The powers that be (PTB) actually think very long-term, but the environment has never been a factor in their equations. They live in a micro-world where all that counts is sales factors, profit margins, pie charts and all that. And in the bottom line, they don't give a shift. They think that they can buy for themselves the right quality of life (and the right environment??? hmmm). The people... we are thought of enough in order to be kept complacent and in good working condition. Other than that, we're only stats and polls.

I was hearing on various fringe sites that 2012 would be the end of this paradigm for how the world works. Since I heard it 3 years ago, the only thing I've been seeing is the PTB doing their best to bring this dead-end sooner than later: the "debt crisis", the environmental issues, the wars brewing in the Middle East etc. So... what is to pass, let it pass. We'll be a lot happier with a new paradigm where material wealth is not the world's motivating factor. Good riddance then

Mr Kent,

It's 13.6bn dollars that would affect the Canadian super-rich companies, not the average Joe Canadian. If the wealth were equally distributed, maaaybe.

Such populisms are old tactics and it's not exactly flattering for you to use such an old impression stunt...

It's not just about the extra 7K plus the shorter distance.

- What about the career prospects in either company? If you're not talking about "career" yet, will the other company offer you anything that will make your CV look better? (certifications / experience / brand name)

- What about the people in the new company? You know the people in your current job, but what about the new job? I wouldn't want to lose my mates so as to enter a highly paid viper pit with everyone back-stabbing everybody else.

- What about the companies themselves? Any solid roadmap? You wouldn't want to join the one company that is doing very well right now but the CEO is short-sighted or has a(n apparently) totally wrong grasp of where the market is going. I'd stick with the company where the management was more insightful and knew what they were doing.

I saw this dilemma from the manager's side just two weeks ago.

I'm an IT consultant for a rail operator and I'm leading a small group of developers within the company, where we're essentially building its IT infrastructures from scratch (and that's LOTS of software, among other things). There's tons of work but the hours are flexible, the atmosphere is relaxed, friendly and informal, the salary is good and overall we're more friends than co-workers. Although this is Greece, the business outlook isn't *that* :) bad for anyone who stays as the consolidation plan we've been implementing is beginning to pay off and the boss knows what he's doing.

Just two weeks ago one of our developers jumped ship to join a big international company mainly known for its database product (and for upsetting the OSS community at large the last year or so :). Sure, it looks like a safe bet from miles away given the circumstances, but there are *always* pitfalls, so we wanted to make sure he had all the questions straight before he moved on. Hence, we had a very similar conversation to this, on a friendly, person-to-person level.

Now that's scary.

Hacking is going to be waaaaaay more fun with this thing... And lots of people are now going to have a go at it just for the fun of it.

Hmmm

The key thing about laptops, methinks, is being portable and still having enough oomph to do your work when out in the field.

I've done thousands of miles with my work during the last 5 years and my 15 inch 2.5kg vaio feels like a stone already. Wherever I may go, there's always a monitor one can spare for a couple of hours, if the necessity arises (and most tv sets have a VGA-in anyway).

For me the perfect balance is to be found in the Macbook Air (or equivalents). Especially after today's update to i5/i7 processors. And a 1440x900 resolution is quite enough, especially given that the whole damn thing is 1.35kg. (stick the new 27" TB display alongside and we're talking! )

Mac Mini???

I started off with this thing as a secondary development workstation and now it's the only one I use, running photoshop, netbeans and all. (Did upgrade the RAM to 8GB tho).