Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Review: Sourcetrail


If this is what I think it is, then this is AMAZING! Every development team given the insurmountable task to migrate old code into new code (i.e. modernize a behemoth, outdated software system) should take a serious look into using Sourcetrail. It is a cross-platform source explorer (i.e. code source explorer) that analyzes unfamiliar source code and creates visual aids to help a developer (or anyone looking into the unfamiliar source code) understand at least the design structure of the source code. This is extremely useful considering how many software systems either have no documentation or outdated documentation.

I'll have to look into this more later, but definitely happy to be aware of this tool.

Read More

https://www.sourcetrail.com/blog/open_source/

Watch Video Intro





Review: Top Ten Software Skills by 2020

I still don't see anyone publishing the push for managers to upgrade their thinking and leadership for development teams to keep up with the global tech competition. Specifically, many developers have families and can't afford to spend all of their time developing. That's just a part of life - to have a family. Instead, I see managers still *encouraging* developers to learn to keep with the rapid changing pace of technology without providing the means necessary to stay relevant or leap ahead.

Anyhow, thankful for this list stating the next top ten things that developers should master.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/19/these-will-be-the-top-10-most-popular-tech-skills-of-2020.html

Top 10 Software Skills by 2020

  1. Python
  2. React (web)
  3. Angular
  4. Machine Learning
  5. Docker
  6. Django
  7. CompTIA - skills that certify cybersecurity, IT, etc
  8. Amazon AWS - or any popular cloud certification
  9. Deep Learning
  10. React Native (mobile)

Happy Coding!

Review: Cloud Info Model vs Open Data Initiative

Like every big wave of advancing technology, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the two different options of data centralization and accessibility (i.e. how I see this 'data' game construct being played in the market). Linux initiated the Cloud Information Model (CIM) and has partners signed onto their team. Microsoft initiated the Open Data Initiative (ODI) and has partners signed onto their team. I guess one of the differences is that CIM focuses on storing data in the cloud whereas ODI allows more flexibility as to where to store the data yet enforcing a common metadata structure.

Quick look at ODI


Quick look at CIM


I need to do more research. I'm curious to know where the data developers stand on this like those who worked on MongoDB, Oracle, MS-SQL, and the MySQL community.

References
https://www.zdnet.com/article/whats-next-for-the-open-data-initiative/
https://www.linuxfoundation.org/press-release/2019/11/amazon-web-services-genesys-salesforce-form-new-open-data-model/
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/open-data-initiative
https://www.cloudinformationmodel.org/

Review: IBM's 'Code and Response' Docu film

It's always refreshing to see the good work that coders are doing to make the world a better place. Thank you @ibm for making this documentary!


Read More
https://thenextweb.com/artificial-intelligence/2019/11/18/ibms-code-and-response-documentary-proves-developers-can-be-superheroes-too/

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Review: NoOps



I agree, for the most part, with this author on NoOps.

I think the term itself is completely misleading, but simplified for non-techies. An operation actually exist, but it's just doesn't have any manual interventions because the entire operation is automated. A better term although not as appealing is "AutoOps". Anyhow, to close up my thoughts, all industries will continue to increase its automation and figure out a way to make things better, faster, and more cost-efficient. On the technical side, it'll be great to focus more on innovating rather than maintain.

Here's a NoOps reference from the article:
https://buddy.works/

Cheers!

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Review: Azure Dedicated Host

Microsoft now has dedicated hosting with Azure. I'm looking forward to trying this out soon!
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-azure-dedicated-host/



Meanwhile Azure is stepping up with their hosting services, they are also stepping up in the security realm.

Tech Giants getting Smarter with Public Testing

Google has already been using the public to test their products and services - which is such a smart approach before and after releasing software to the...um, world! Of course, if you're storing private data like Facebook or GMail, then you probably want to actually invite experts like Microsoft is doing to test your software and be sure to label your software in "Beta" version.

Review: GitHub Actions


GitHub Actions?!

So, yeah, I feel old. After reading this article and not being in the loop on GitHub Actions, I can't believe I'm not on top of this area of DevOps.
https://github.blog/2019-08-08-github-actions-now-supports-ci-cd/

Matrix Builds

I mean - Matrix Builds, wow! This is phenomenal to test multiple builds of your software especially considering that not all customers will upgrade at the same time. In addition, some of these customers who actually want the latest offerings (or solutions) are in-house customers and/or early adopters.

Live Logs

Although "live logs" is nothing new, it seems that GitHub is saying they already have the display of live logs available to those who use GitHub Actions. That's actually pretty cool. I can push my code and instantly see a build run while showing any errors.

And More...

Basically, it's kind of like an IDE in the cloud but seems to also connect and deploy to a live server. I haven't looked into the pricing yet. Maybe one day I'll catch up and start using something like this instead of doing everything on my local?


Thanks GitHub!

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Review: An Entrepreneur Story from CrowdTrust to Bowery Farming

As I was learning more about Bowery Farming (which I'll blog soon about), I learned that the founder Irving Fain had created another company called CrowdTwist beforehand.

CrowdTrust



But what really caught my attention isn't the company or the product (at least not for CrowdTrust), but the story entrepreneur Irving Fain in starting his first company. He was working a good job in a corporation and had an idea with one of his colleagues. Together they took a risk and got accepted into the TechStars NYC program where they actually got funded for a few months to *prepare* to pitch their prototype.

TechStars NYC

Wait? They possible accept teams with new ideas but without even a prototype of their product? Well, that's what I understand, surprisingly. See, here's a snippet from the TechStars NYC website:



Learn more about TechStars by watching this video.

Irving Fain - Successful Entrepreneur

I also learned a lot from his interview on Cornell Tech.




Yep, and just like that, I'm a fan of Irving Fain. Great thinking and doing, Mr. Fain!!

Bowery Farming

Now, back to Bowery Farming.

This is definitely changing the future of food and I'm looking forward to it. It is even going to change how people grow their own gardens at home.

An Employee's Story Inside Bowery Farming




Rethinking the entire Food Supply Chain




Good, healthy stuff - thanks, Mr. Fain!

References



Review: From Testing to Transparency

I like this article although this message seems to never get old. I like this author's point that could help businesses with socially-conscious cultures. #transparency

"A better first step could be providing more transparency to consumers, with publicized details on testing standards and processes for various new tech products. In other words, how was this product tested, and how many iterations did it go through? What were the results? This way, if consumers choose to buy a poorly tested product, they at least know the risks going in—and companies that do spend the extra money and take the extra time for more thorough testing get rewarded with higher customer appeal, even if they’re late to market."

https://thenextweb.com/podium/2019/07/30/better-testing-could-solve-most-tech-problems-so-why-arent-companies-doing-it/

Recode: SpringBoot vs other frameworks

I'm coding up another backend application for an outdated system and using the recommended SpringBoot since the client's demand is in Java. I don't know a lot about any specific framework, but I'm learning a lot about SpringBoot during this project. Having already worked on other frameworks and creating my own fun samples at home in JavaScript and Python, I can't help but wonder why this Java framework doesn't already have something so essential during today's programming: a component generator.

Most frameworks that I've used in JavaScript, Python and even Ruby (Rails), have a component generator via CLI. I notice that SpringIO has a Spring Initializr, but it's GUI doesn't provide options to create a standard web application with security for users. I won't go too deep here, but the point is - I'm tired of creating an MVC (where the View is actually just a API page). I just want to generate components from a list of known models and be done (so I can start having design meetings about what the client really wants me to program).

Anyhow, I just wanted to say this on a black and white page. It's another reason why I think need to look for software development opportunities outside of the Java world. But then again, I just need to do some more research. Hey, maybe even try JHipster and see what the hype is all about!

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDhumjWApl0  (Spring Initializr - YouTube)
https://raygun.com/blog/popular-java-frameworks/

Friday, July 19, 2019

Review: Google's Byteboard (A New Way to Interview Tech Talent)

Many developers, technical hiring managers, and even recruiters have heard of "Cracking the Coding Interview" by Gayle Laakmann McDowell. From my experience of interviewing for coding and testing jobs, I've learned that the recruiting process will change as the demands for talent also change. Naturally, it's time to see this process change with the landscape of new talent (even if big businesses continue to lag behind). With many new start-ups and small businesses looking to take their share of the market, the next generation of talent should consider their opportunities and no longer feel intimidated by recruiters or the recruiting process. In my opinion, the interviewing process has always been talked about mutual benefits but in reality have mostly, if not always, benefited the interviewer. But, how would talented interviewees shift more of the benefits to their side of the scale in an interview process?



Taking quizzes on HackerRank is cool. Throwing up all over a Whiteboard to showing code matching algorithms for problem solving is classic. Flexing a GitHub of finished projects is nice. However, none of these show a developer's team chemistry on a new feature which is now essential. And, many technical interviews are now happening online (rather than in-person). Teams don't automatically increase productivity due to talent alone. So, could Byteboard be the answer that talented teams and developers are looking for? Time shall tell.

Read Article

https://www.blog.google/technology/area-120/byteboard-interview-measures-for-essential-engineering-skills/

A Comedy Skit on Job Interviews - Enjoy!



References



Reminder: Security is actually implemented, or not, by Developers

This is a good article from a Security Engineer at Microsoft. I agree with this author that any security in an application should be the responsibility of the development team and not the security team. The security team is to *help* and *guide* network implementation, application development, and programming of operating systems. Now, if we can only get users to be aware of this.

https://msrc-blog.microsoft.com/2019/07/16/a-proactive-approach-to-more-secure-code/

Review: New Director of Paul Allen's School of CompSci and Eng at UW

The University of Washington's Computer Science School is already well known. Having a strong partnership with Microsoft (thanks to Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft) has been a tremendous boost to this institution's recognition as a prestige and innovative. Once again, this incredible school blazes a new trail by promoting internally a new director: Dr. Magdalena Balazinska


Read Article

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

Review: The Rise of Women's Soccer

I know this isn't related to software development, but I think this journey ought to be studied in comparison to lifting up minorities in a field dominated by the majority. In this case, the majority is men; minority is women. See my thoughts after this video clip which does a great job in summarizing the reason behind US Women's Soccer. The same needs should happen within the world of technology. But like women's sports, minorities in tech will only prosper by taking the initiative and building platforms that the next generation will grow well.

Why the US Women's Team is Great at Soccer





But, the US Women's Soccer team aren't the only ones who surprised the world. There were plenty of other teams in the World Cup 2019 that amazed the fans from Sweden's Jakobsson to Brazil's Marta (a legend!).

Netherlands vs Italy

Take for instance the Italian Women's Soccer team. They actually dominated the field against the European Champs, the Netherlands, but lost the game. In my opinion, they didn't lose the game due to lack of skill. On the contrary, the Italians lost due to lack of patience and lack of strategies. Italy's mistakes on the field in scoring plus attitude with the referees gave the Netherlands the opportunities to score - and, with great composure like Johan Cruyff, the Orange did! More blues for the Blue.

France vs USA

Take another instance with the French Women's Soccer team. In my opinion, they had more talent than the US Women's team. However, the French lost due to lack of coaching and strategy. Majri was getting stopped easily by the US defenders. Renard should have been used like Klose (in German Men's Soccer team). After all, Renard was the tallest player on the field and could have scored some easy headers (if coached well). Then, there's the skill and quickness of Diani, my goodness! They should have played her at attacking midfielder, not on the wing!

World Cup 2023!

I watched almost all of the World Cup games and could give my breakdown of each team, but nobody has time for that. The point though I hope is clear - European soccer clubs for women are also on the rise. The next World Cup will be even more exciting and perhaps even more exciting than the Men's World Cup.

Professional Players at Home

So, why haven't these countries compensated these talented players like their male counterparts? #equalpay? If they created these programs and events, doesn't it also makes sense to pay them professionally too? On the Jimmy Kimmel show, Jimmy makes a good point that these champs should actually be paid more than equal - right? And why is the NWSL still having games during the Women's World Cup? Same with the men's Cups (from African Cup to Gold Cup)? Yet, despite the disrespect that these talented players receive, they still show more passion for soccer than any other player. Thank you, soccer queens for never giving up!

Articles

  1. https://www.dailywire.com/news/49375/us-womens-soccer-team-accused-snubbing-star-player-hank-berrien
  2. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/jul/11/usa-womens-world-cup-nwsl-victory-parade
  3. https://youtu.be/Ei6cPcQWph0 (Jimmy Kimmel Live with Morgan and Rapinoe)


Monday, July 15, 2019

Review: Facebook's Hermes

Wow, look at FB becoming more involved with the developer community eco-system! This makes sense because FB is more concerned about their mobile app experience for users. So, they are doing whatever it takes to make their mobile apps the best for all users no matter the device used. Specifically, they seemed to be focused on mobile devices, smartphones in particular. Hence, why they are creating code solving mobile app issues on smartphones including ReactJS and GraphQL.

Thanks to the author for this article:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/facebook-just-released-a-new-open-source-javascript-engine/


Facebook's Hermes

Website - https://hermesengine.dev/
Code - https://github.com/facebook/hermes

Conferences

Chain React Conference 2019 (Jul)

https://infinite.red/ChainReactConf

GraphQL Summit 2019 (Oct)

https://summit.graphql.com/

Facebook Developer Conference "F8" 2019 (May)

https://www.f8.com/

References

https://venturebeat.com/2019/07/12/facebook-open-sources-hermes-javascript-engine-to-improve-react-native-android-app-performance/

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Review: Tips for Code Review by Red Hat developer

Nice, quick read on Code Review tips. Thanks, David Lloyd (a Red Hat developer).

Enjoy!

Reminder: Tech Giants providing Future of Education

Just in case you are like me and still wondering how long public schools (or any school in some states) will take to catch up with restructuring their schooling system to the workforce demand, here's a resourceful website by Google on Education.


Google isn't the only one, however. Microsoft has their own resourceful website focused on One Hour of Code. Apple has Everyone can Code. For young students specifically, Apple also has an education site called Teaching Code. Even Amazon is aware of the educational crises and creating their own online schooling resource: AmazonInspire. Of course, the other tech giant Facebook has their own with Facebook Education.



Rather than wait for our government or public sector to provide the skills and education that our world demands, I think I'll take the initiative with using resources from such leading companies and encourage my family, friends, and neighbors to learn ahead. After all, home schooling is on the rise and many families are supplementing their social education via faith institutions, sport clubs, city clubs, etc.

In Addition

From this GitHub post, I can even see how hackathons boost the learning levels of students better than coursework in computer science. If students begin to take on this project-based assignment (i.e. learning skills through projects rather than test-based assignments), then students will end up not only learning more but also remembering more. This could spark a new kind of homeschooling or custom learning path. Why not just learn on your own at your own pace and then pass a universal, online high school exam for a degree? Wouldn't that be nice?!

Monday, July 8, 2019

Review: MIT's New AI Programming Language

In a field that continues to grow and gain lots of media press, I found this article very interesting. Like, why would a top tech institution create a new programming language for artificial intelligence when other tech giants have already worked hard to perfect existing programming languages for artificial intelligence? Perhaps I need to play with these programming languages more to understand?


Read Article

https://interestingengineering.com/mit-says-their-new-ai-programming-language-makes-ai-more-accessible-to-everyone


List of Existing AI Programming Languages

I don't all of the programming languages out here, but I know about these:

https://www.python.org/
https://lisp-lang.org/
https://www.swi-prolog.org/
https://www.haskell.org/

References


Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Review: Google's Fuchsia OS

If I ever begin writing software for embedded systems, for example a spaceship, then I probably want to give serious consideration to Google's new Fuchsia. I'm not at the level yet, but making note of where to find the Getting Started guide.

https://fuchsia.dev/

Cheers!

Technology - 3D Printing & Manufacturing

3D printing technology for the common man. This industry will continue to grow and this technology will continue to advance in ways that will surprise us. There are already major companies in China taking advantage of producing hard products quickly, especially for specific software makers in robotics and machine automation.

"Ready to make anything"
https://www.autodesk.com/
Read more on my thoughts @ https://g2coding.blogspot.com/2019/06/review-hackrod.html

"Make your own machine"
https://www.vention.io/

Checkout an inside scoop into Shenzhen regarding its hardware making industry.

Review: Microsoft Azure mostly serving Linux

This article was cool to read. I'm glad to see that the new Microsoft continues to support the Linux world. More so, to see that they support the open source communities. This provides great insight that any Microsoft Servers will eventually be no longer supported. On the other hand, if developers (and IT) don't already know how to work in a Linux environment, then it's time to start learning and practicing.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-developer-reveals-linux-is-now-more-used-on-azure-than-windows-server/

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Reminder: Bill Gates's Work Philosophy

I've read about Bill Gates and his work philosophy plenty of times. Even watched plenty of YouTube videos capturing his life through interviews and news specials. This article by TechCrunch was a great reminder in knowing that the software world is a really tough place to build a business. There is absolutely zero room to allow for competitors to sneak in. This isn't to say that the software world can be dominated in all areas by one company. Of course not. But considering Microsoft's mission, they only had one competitor: Apple. Until early 2000's, and then Google, Amazon and Facebook came along. Each of these founders had similar work philosophies. Stay focus, hustle hard, and win the market.

The article is based on the interview from Village Global with Bill Gates.




Also, another good read:
https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/16/village-global-fund/

Related Articles

Nigeria becoming the 3rd most populated country in the coming years to rank with China and India.
https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/25/africa/africa-population-growth-un/index.html

Relearn: Downloading Streamed Video to Mac

Recently, I needed to download a video stream to replay later with some edited clips to an audience. I haven't done this in a long time (via Firefox extension using Video Downloader on my old PC). Now I have a Mac and am using Google Chrome (but Video Downloader has restrictions via Chrome).


I went to this site which is probably good for PC users. But, I need a Mac solution.
https://www.videodownloaderultimate.com/en/?cid=chrome

So, here's an article I found helpful.
https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/download-video-mac-3681116/
https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/record-screen-mac-3527168/

Instructions

  1. Open the screenshot toolbar by pressing Command + Shift + 5.
  2. You can Record Entire Screen, or Record Selected Portion. Pick the one that you require.
  3. If you select Record Entire Screen just click on the Record button that appears beside Option.
  4. If you have more than one screen click and hold on this button and you will see the option Screen 1 and Screen 2. 
  5. If you want to record a portion of the screen, select that area before triggering the recording.
  6. When you have finished what you wanted to record, click the stop button that appears in the Menu bar (beside the timer), or press Shift+ Command + 5 again and press the stop button in the menu that appears.
  7. The recording will appear in the bottom right corner of your screen. Click on it to open the video in Quick Look.
  8. To edit your video clip, click on the trim button that appears beside Done. 
  9. To trim the video clip, click on the yellow hold points at the beginning end of the recording and drag them inwards.
  10. Click Done.
Cheers!

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Review: AT&T cuts "surplus"

So the new word in business to lay-off people is "surplus", hunh? The politics of business is getting quite embellished (or beautifully indirect). But, why aren't businesses this creative as in their language of firing people as in re-training or transforming these "human resources" to develop new skills in demand? Is there really no way to help current employees gain new skills in demand to satisfy the next needs of the business?

Obviously, I think the demands that business executives put on technical talent should also be applied. There is a solution that works well for all sides and makes the business profitable. Let's figure this out instead of wasting time with the same old business model (which no longer works for supporting today's families and societies).

Read Article
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/06/att-cuts-another-1800-jobs-as-it-finishes-fiber-internet-buildout/

Monday, June 17, 2019

Review: JetBrains Developer Ecosystem 2019

I'm still amazed that Java is the most popular language used on the job. I wonder if it's because so many companies have adopted it since the 90's and don't want to try any other languages. Or, if it's because Java is still outperforming other languages. Or, is it because of SpringIO?

Something that surprised me about this survey is that machine learning is more developed as a hobby or in one's free time. Why aren't companies investing in machine learning and contributing back to open source? Especially with all the big data talk?

Anyhow, thank you JetBrains because these surveys are good to know:
https://www.jetbrains.com/lp/devecosystem-2019/

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Review: Thinking about using Kubernetes

Eventually, it's probably in every developers best interest to learn Kubernetes (if you don't already know). Here's an article that I like and found insightful. Many thanks to the author.

https://www.hpe.com/us/en/insights/articles/adopting-kubernetes-these-guidelines-make-the-transition-easier-1906.html

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Review: HackRod - Custom Designed Hot Wheels

I was watching this video clip on Hello World and was fascinated to see this company/vision called HackRod.



Very cool and fitting name! If you know "hotrod" and "hacking" then you might know where this is going. I think this group of visionaries are on to something though. I love their idea and their leading steps to changing manufacturing (and doing it in such a cool, useful way).

A Good Read

https://www.autodesk.com/customer-stories/hack-rod

A Good Watch




Happy Learning!

Friday, June 7, 2019

Review: Self-Driving Trucks

There's a lot of talk about self-driving cars, but how much do you know about the industry for self-driving trucks?

I didn't know much until now - after watching this video (below). It's already here - i.e. there are already autonomous, self-driving trucks on the road right now. And for your convenience, I have add more video clips regarding the top two companies producing self-driving trucks: Embark & TuSimple.

In short, people will no longer need to drive trucks. Since trucks pose a large risk to people's lives on the road, I don't think these trucks will be 100% autonomous, self-driving. There will be a person from the trucking company's headquarters (or somewhere) supervising the trucks and ensuring these trucks on the road are driving carefully and safely. Something like remote control driving. And that means cybersecurity will be even more important (which I can't wasn't mentioned in these videos). It's one thing to talk about robots (including self-driving trucks) will function well and safely, but it's another thing to talk about robots having security without being manipulated by hackers.

How Amazon Demand Drives Autonomous Truck Tech (by CNBC)



Embark



Tu Simple



Could driverless vehicles spell the end of the road for truck drivers? (by PBS)


References

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Review: Red Hat Summit 2019


I watched this recap and it seems the improvements were more for server-side technologies than anything else (with a strong emphasis on OpenShift and Cloud Computing, Cloud Development).

I may need to look into more articles and videos to learn if I missed anything transformative in tech.



On the business side however, their partnership with Microsoft and being acquired by IBM are two big things for the open source community. The direction with such leadership will be interesting for all things open source supported and promoted.

Microsoft's partnership with Red Hat

Interview with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella




IBM's acquisition of Red Hat

Interview with IBM's CEO Ginni Rometty





Read Summary

Here's a good article to read a summary of this summit.
https://hub.packtpub.com/red-hat-summit-2019-highlights-microsoft-collaboration-red-hat-enterprise-linux-8-rhel-8-idc-study-predicts-support-for-software-worth-10-trillion/?utm_source=all+updates&utm_campaign=6dccc7274b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_05_09_01_11&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c970747b22-6dccc7274b-173383461&mc_cid=6dccc7274b&mc_eid=e79d6c1eb8

References



Review: Apple's WWDC 2019

Yeah, I'm not amazed with anything that was announced at Apple's WWDC. It's tough to beat such conferences where Steve Jobs would come out and surprise the world with a new device that, without question, changed the way people lived: iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc.

But, I'm glad to see they have lots of enhancements.

One thing I did like was the person standing (seemingly) in the virtual room. That was cool and different.

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Review: WebAssembly vs JavaScript for barcode scanning

For barcode scanning, leverage WebAssembly moreso than JavaScript (but not replacing JavaScript).

Interesting Read

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/replacing-javascript-with-webassembly-how-ebay-made-a-web-app-50x-faster-by-switching-programming-languages/

Review: Google, Microsoft with Brilliant for Quantum Computing

If you are looking for a place to practice programming in quantum computing, then you probably would like this article.


I haven't had a chance to look into this, but I'm sure I will once quantum computing rises in my list of priorities. Overall, I think just hearing about this is great!

Cheers!

Review: Microsoft Teams application

TL;DR: Watch this - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/videoplayer/embed/RE1LGec?pid=ocpVideo0-innerdiv-oneplayer&postJsllMsg=true&maskLevel=20&market=en-us

New Way for Team Productivity

If you haven't already watched Microsoft announce its new application for team collaboration called Microsoft Teams, then I strongly recommend checking it out. At first, I thought this will compete against Slack. After watching the full demo however, I easily can envision how this tool will replace email. (This is where Slack is slacking - in promoting their tools as the new business tool for all professionals to get work done.) 

No longer will people communicate via email and manage work via email. No, people need to work faster and smoother instead of waiting to be driven by email conversations. So I think what Microsoft has done here is AMAZING! If a professional can maximize this application (office tool), then s/he will be a game changer at work.

Microsoft Teams - Demo





Microsoft Teams - Vision Promo (2016)




If you also take a look into their pricing plan with using Teams, then you'll see how this tool just makes better sense than continuing with email, email configuration and management, and email support.

Useful Links

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Review: NativeScript, Flutter, and other mobile app dev tools

I'm just now learning about NativeScript and am impressed. So what other programming languages and development tools for mobile development have I been missing?

Well, I heard of Flutter, but how does this compare with NativeScript? I hear both of these can be used to developed mobile apps for both, Android and iOS.

Of course, one advantage that Flutter is proclaiming is their ability to show the app not just on mobile devices, but on desktops and all other devices. So, an app developed with Flutter will display beautifully on a computer and tablet just as much as a smartphone or iPhone. Flutter is also backed by Google whereas NativeScript is backed by the open source community (which gives an advantage for Apple developers and perhaps non-Googlers too).

NativeScript

Well, let's hear the introduction for using NativeScript.




Flutter

Now, let's hear the introduction for using Flutter.




Learn More - Different App Tools

To learn more about the different tools for developing cross-platform applications, I found this article to be insightful. No need to repeat what someone else has already searched and reported on, right?


Here's a quick snippet from the article that I found very useful.



Whether or not the framework is best among the others is something that I think is debatable and also depends on who the main targeted audience is. Do most of my users use an iPhone? If so, then I'm most likely focused on which framework produces that best look on an iPhone and secondly on other smartphones. If the app that I'm developing is primarily for Facebook users, then I'm going to heavily consider developing using ReactNative. So, I think the choice lies with the user-base and not the developers.

Awesome Table Summary by CodeBurstIO



Mobile App Development for non-Developers

There are also plenty of platforms for non-developers to use in developing a mobile application. I have add these in the references below.

Reference


Friday, May 24, 2019

Review: GitHub finally has "Sponsor Me"

I'm really happy to hear GitHub finally have this feature of letting people conveniently sponsor each other (i.e. financially supporting each other) because we like the work a person (or group of people) are doing.

Happy Coding Indeed!

Read Articles



Thursday, May 23, 2019

Review: The Infinite Game - How to Lead in the 21 Century

tl;dr: See summary below.

Even in the world of technology, it's important to understand how to lead. Else, you'll get left behind. Now, this doesn't mean that you have to lead everyone and become the next Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg. But, this does mean that you should want to become the next point guy on your team or even an adviser to your team lead when a decision pertains to a specific context like, for example, "optimizing team ergonomics for better team collaboration."

But, how do you lead in a world filled with leaders? How do you become a leader when the whole world is promoting leadership? Furthermore, how do show leadership when many recruiters are looking for experts who can lead?

If you don't already know the answer, then I'll direct you to Simon Sinek.



My Summary

"In an infinite game, there is no such thing as win or lose; only ahead or behind." - Simon Sinek

The only real competitor in an infinite game is - yourself.

5 Things to become an Infinite Game Leader

  1. Just Cause
  2. Trust in Teams
  3. Worthy Adversary
  4. Existential Flexibility
  5. Courage to Lead
Happy Leading!

My Side Note

Simon Sinek antagonistically quotes Milton Friedman saying, "He said, 'the responsibility of business is to maximize profits within the bounds of the law.'"

"If businessmen do have a social responsibility other than making maximum profits for stockholders, how are they to know what it is?" - Milton Friedman (more quotes , movie)

This kind of mindset (and lack of heart) is really bad. If I may and I'm no Simon Sinek, then I would like to add one more thing to his points on becoming a person with an "infinite game" mindset. When leading, know that your team will have high-performing times and low-performing times. Although corporations still push for a single performance review, know that it's unrealistic to believe that each individual will function at the level of high-performance, always. A good leader recognizes the high performing days and the low performing days while accepting the whole person (i.e. team member). A good leader encourages his/her team to focus on team performance rather than individual performance. After all, no business survives on an individual.

If interested, see Adam Smith's original vision for Capitalism.

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Review: Robinhood the app


"democratize America's financial system..." - Baiju Bhatt (co-founder of Robinhood)

This is great - to see how the FinTech industry is finally creating a channel for Main Street to challenge Wall Street. Even if Robinhood fails, it will be for the betterment of society and show other fintech companies how to continue empowering the average American.

The American Economy

Far too long, banks have been the middle man of the American economic system and controlling the middle class (as well as the poor class). If you're like me, then you too were also pissed about how our federal government bailed banks out of the crisis they caused back in 2008 during the housing bust. And banks had no reviving method except through America's hardworking taxpayers' money (i.e. taxes). So, our American government continues to support an outdated financial system that doesn't help each American citizen. In the same way politics is starting to reshape, it's about time our economy also reshapes in interest for the American people (and not just American rich people).





The Global Economy

Even though this is centered on America, like most technologies this will become an international influence and make other national economies figure out how to empower citizens and advance the international economy including laws with international trade. After all, the world is more globally integrated and it's time our governments figured how to let people buy/sell without having to worry about import/export regulations (which in many ways don't really protect people but only super rich people). Economic justice needs to be practiced. It's already in demand.

Cheers!

References


Review: Facebook's F8 2019

"The Future is Private." - Mark Zuckerberg




Security, Privacy, Virtual Reality, & "Personal" Social Services

Per his words, "this is the next chapter" in the world of technology. Although FB is focusing more on privacy and have even outlined 6 new principles that the company will apply to all FB technologies developed, I do like how they are advancing the world of virtual reality (like Microsoft) especially in gaming and how they are trying to enhance the social services on platform like FB like the SecretCrush. On Instagram, people will be able to shop. On WhatsApp, people can send payments. On Messenger, SMS will be much faster and secure. There's also Spark AR and Portal.

Addressing Concerns

To some, these technologies may sound damaging on the perspective of encouraging people to have face-to-face interactions. This concern is valid considering that humans are not only social species but also a physical touch species. As such technologies intend to advance how humans interact and steer society (including in political elections), humans will need to figure out how to live with these technologies and use them as substitutes for the necessities of well-being.

Cryptocurrency (and Blockchain)

Another area I found interesting is Facebook Payments (via WhatsApp) and an announcement after F8 Conference called Libra (i.e. the FB cryptocurrency). Here's a short clip by ColdFusion TV although I don't agree with the author and believe that in some countries this currency will actually benefit society (i.e. countries that struggle with currency regulations).



FB 2019 - Six Principles

If you're interested, here are the principles of FB vision in 2019:
  1. Private Interaction
  2. Encryption
  3. Reduced Performance
  4. Safety
  5. Interoperability
  6. Secure Data Storage


Cheers!

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Review: Data Science replacing Film Studies in Sports

Disclaimer: My post here isn't to diminish the importance of gender equality in the workplace especially in sports, but to emphasize the significance of data analytics in sports.

Sports use to function purely on the brains of coaches and even some general managers. However, today many sport franchises are building and relying on a team of "brains" especially data scientists.

Here's a wonderful story telling the role of data science in professional sports.



Data Science replacing Coaching Film Studies

What I love most about this story and new trend in sports strategy is my first memory seeing this in action by my head coach in football. My high school head coach would spend hours analyzing film on opponents to catch any advantage that our team could use to win the games when we played our opponents.

Example

Specifically, there was one team that had one specific offensive lineman that would position his stance according to the offensive play. If the team was going to RUN the football, then this lineman would position his right foot slightly behind his left foot (although still squared up to block) indicating he was ready to run and block any defensive lineman. If the team was going to PASS the football, then this lineman would position both feet directly squared indicating he was going to sit still and block (i.e. prepare for pass protection which is more reactive in blocking). Our defense captain even called out the play (whether it was a "run" or "pass") which created more confusion and frustration for our opposing team. Clearly, we beat this opposing team when we played them.

Rising Potential

In the NBA, we are seeing a lot of the advantages with data science especially with the rising numbers of scoring three-pointers. I'm sure there are other advantages being studied currently but I'm curious to know the defensive advantages which have yet to be highlighted like rebounding.

Let's see where else data science will become the "brains" behind the "brawns".

Happy Coding!

Review: Google's Glass, FB's Oculus Quest, and MS prediction

A few years ago, Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella made a profound prediction on the next three technologies that will revolutionize our worlds. The first one was on virtual reality (VR) including mixed reality and augmented reality (AR). In this review, I'll quickly give an update on how I believe Mr. Nadella's prediction is spot-on.

Microsoft

If you have watched the Microsoft Build 2019, then you will have seen the mixed reality highlight where multiple people collaborating on a project were sharing the same "Spatial" (as Microsoft called it). In this Spatial, a mixed reality allows people on various devices to experience a discussion around a project while not having to be physically present in the same room.

Facebook

If you're keeping up with Facebook, then I hope you have seen this video clip below where FB is making big advances in the gaming and entertainment world with connecting friends even more than just on social media. They are providing a fun experience in addition to the social aspect. How cool is that?



Google

If you're wondering where Google is, then you should check out this article. What was once thought (and advertised) as a project discontinued - is actually a surprise to consumers as this Glass product is re-announced in its next version.

Read Article

https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/20/18632689/google-glass-enterprise-edition-2-augmented-reality-headset-pricing

Conclusion

So, whether we like it or not, virtual reality seems to be the first next technology that is making advances to reshape our society. Stay tuned and I hope you get to experiment with these technologies before it becomes mainstream. Ready Player One is closer than we think.

Get Ready, Player!

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Review: Google I/O 2019

In my previous post, I spoke a bit about the Microsoft Build 2019 and their amazing updates (mainly in respect to business and gaming). Here I'd like to give a little insight into the highlights of Google I/O 2019. Most of Google's amazing updates has evolved around the mobile world and its Pixel smartphone. Take note of their impressive user controls with respect to user security and privacy.

Google I/O 2019 Highlight (by CNET)



Happy Googling!

Review: Microsoft's rise in the world of Blockchain + MS Build 2019

I am caught by surprise to read this article.
https://www.coindesk.com/microsoft-launches-decentralized-identity-tool-on-bitcoin-blockchain

Apparently, Microsoft is making big moves in the world of blockchain technology - and I didn't even see this coming. I know they announced it at their Build 2018, but the follow through is incredible. See below for the introduction on Microsoft Build 2018 - Intro to Blockchain.

The fact that a foundation was created with Microsoft as a founding member to begin addressing the identity problems in blockchain technology is a great sign of advancing the blockchain world and it's great for Microsoft's future.

Learn more at Decentralized Identity Foundation.

Here's a term I'll need to add into my memory: "decentralized identity (DID)".

Well, in addition to this great news is the recap of Microsoft Build 2019.

Microsoft Build 2019

Vision Keynote Highlights
Full Vision Keynote




Microsoft Build 2019 - Fluid Framework




Microsoft Build 2019 - Spatial




Microsoft Build 2019 - Teams




Microsoft Build 2019 - Four Platforms

In case the videos flew over your head or you just need a recap quickly, here are the four platforms that Microsoft will focus on in the coming years.

  1. Microsoft Dynamics 365 & Power Platform
  2. Microsoft 365
  3. Microsoft Gaming
  4. Microsoft Azure




Microsoft Build 2018 (Refresher)

Microsoft Build - Introduction to Blockchain




Voting Technology

Microsoft's Partnership in "Free & Fair" (Voting Technology)



Happy Inventing!

References

  1. https://www.coindesk.com/microsoft-is-pushing-new-blockchain-id-products-but-theres-pushback-too
  2. https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/solutions/blockchain/
  3. https://seekingalpha.com/article/4263360-microsoft-starbucks-ethereum-blockchain
  4. https://www.forbes.com/sites/darrynpollock/2019/05/14/microsoft-looking-to-build-decentralized-identity-network-on-top-of-bitcoin-blockchain/#8baaeb71de5b
  5. https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/06/microsoft-aims-to-modernize-and-secure-voting-with-electionguard/  (Election Guard)
  6. https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/06/microsoft-launches-visual-studio-online-an-online-code-editor/  (Visual Studio Online)
  7. https://techcrunch.com/2019/06/10/microsoft-power-bi-platform-update-aims-to-put-ai-in-reach-of-business-users/ (AI Builder)
  8. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/windows-terminal-preview/9n0dx20hk701?activetab=pivot:overviewtab (Windows Terminal)
  9. https://techvibes.com/2019/04/09/five-years-to-the-top-microsofts-software-boss-julia-liuson (Julia Liuson - MS VP Developer Division)
  10. https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-demos-electionguard-technology-for-securing-electronic-voting-machines/ (Voting Technology)