Entries Tagged 'Cool News, Links & Reviews' ↓

Why Bother Having a Resume? - by Seth Godin. It touched a nerve because I’ve noticed that the more I accomplish publicly (i.e., writing articles and code that are not hidden away inside the walls of a corporation), the less I need a resume, and the less I respect the resume as a tool to communicate a person’s achievements. I haven’t updated mine since 2004. Someone asked for my resume the other day and I was insulted. It feels like an antiquated way of evaluating my accomplishments, when my real accomplishments are far more important than whom I worked for at what time. The things you do that don’t take front and center in a resume are the ones that set you apart.

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Many of my favorite podcasts appear to be on permanent, unannounced sabbaticals. I started listening to podcasts a year ago and found some great content right out of the gate (by “great” I mean intelligent people talking about startups and software development).

I found a number of podcasts through friends and search engines, and would run through the backlog in about a week and wait impatiently for each new episode. Late last year many of them suddenly stopped broadcasting.

Here’s a list of my favorite podcasts that have (mostly) gone off the air:

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“Obviously, there’s no magic bullet. First, Google is investing in brains. Every company has a bell curve, right? It’s different here. The odds are pretty good that if you bump into someone in the cafeteria, they are world-class at something.”

- Google Engineering Director David Glazer in a recent Fast Company article

If you apply for these jobs tell them Rob sent you!

(Palo Alto) Social Gaming at Hive7
The first 3 openings are for a startup social gaming company (they are funded) called Hive7 in Palo Alto. They have over a million users, run on .NET, and are in need of a lead web designer, a lead DBA and a web games developer. Check out the job postings for more details, but their main selling points are:

• Massive amounts of creative freedom
• Insanely flexible working environment
• Great team of mad technologists, elitist designers and prima-donna artists with healthy bent on world domination

(Greater D.C. Area) Counter-terrorism Software at Abraxas Applications
The other opening is for a startup technology company in the Greater D.C. Area called Abraxas Application (3 developers and growing). They are a .NET (C#) / SQL 2005 shop developing a counter-terrorism application. Relocation assistance is possible for the right candidate.

You have to love the job title: Do Stuff That Matters (Software Engineer).

Bob Walsh has released his eBook MicroISV Sites that Sell! - Creating and Marketing your Unique Selling Proposition. I read an early review copy and it’s filled with information that will save you gobs of time.

Definitely worth $19 if you are thinking of launching your own software product.

A Career Path in Pictures - Very clever. Several of these pictures hit close to home.

Tiger Woods: “The greatest thing about tomorrow is, I will be better than I am today. And that’s how I look at my life. I will be better as a golfer, I will be better as a person, I will be better as a father, I will be a better husband, I will be better as a friend. That’s the beauty of tomorrow. There is no such thing as a setback. The lessons I learn today I will apply tomorrow, and I will be better.”

And finally, a reply from a colleague when asked how he felt about the upcoming launch of a large application that his team has spent the last year building: “The only thing worse than having users is not having users.“

The Bootstrapper’s Bible Free in PDF
My favorite Seth Godin work. Solid, real advice about what being an entrepreneur is and what it isn’t. I thought I’d heard most of what there is to say about starting companies, but this 10 year old manuscript is filled with brilliance. Highly recommended reading for Micro-ISVs.

The Great Big Leaky Micro-ISV Sales Funnel
How 1,000,000 people turn into 500 customers.

Project Euler
Suggested by one of my clients (thanks, Noah!), Project Euler is “a series of challenging mathematical/computer programming problems that will require more than just mathematical insights to solve. Although mathematics will help you arrive at elegant and efficient methods, the use of a computer and programming skills will be required to solve most problems.”

Have you ever read Steve Pavlina’s story of graduating college in three semesters?
Unbelievable. I can only hope to one day be so cool.

Coding Horror: Are Features the Enemy?
Another insightful post from Jeff Atwood. If you’re not reading his blog you are missing out.

IT Conversations
Really cool IT Podcast. Am I the last person to find this?

I received an email about a job opening for a software developer in West Africa. I’ve never posted a job opening from a recruiter before, but it’s for a non-profit, and I have a soft spot for West Africa that you can read more about in my article Using Technology to Fight Poverty.

Here is a snippet of the job description:

“I am looking for a Software Developer/Trainer who is willing to make a two year commitment to a non-profit project in West Africa. The project’s goal is to train the local students on producing commercial software and helping them become entrepreneurs in starting up their own technology firm. This is an exciting opportunity to make a difference. They will be very well compensated in US dollars, housing will be provided, and relocation assistance will be given.

This position will start in January 2008. The company that is funding and leading this project is a multinational company with its headquarters in Europe. They are truly seeking dedicated, energetic, passionate people to fill this role. It is a great way for someone to give back to the world using their technical capabilities.”

Email if you are interested: rob -at- software by rob dot com.
Update: This position has been filled.

In my recent post on the One Laptop Per Child Project (OLPC), I mentioned they were selling the laptops to the general public for a limited time starting November 12th. I purchased mine the morning of the 12th, and am awaiting its arrival in mid to late December. You can still purchase one at the OLPC website.

This week someone sent me a link to an audio slide show on the BBC where Nigerian pupils and teachers explain how the $100 laptop project has helped education in Africa.

If you have doubts about the program’s viability you should watch this well-executed video from the founder of OLPC.

Finally, I received an email today welcoming me to the OLPC community. Here are some excerpts:

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Amazon.com: “Marvel Digital Comics!”
560 issues of the Amazing Spiderman for $40 on DVD? How am I not buying this right now?

Virgin Charter
Chartered flight is perhaps the last huge markets in the U.S. with no major player. Richard Branson is out to revolutionize it.

100 Resources to Attract, Retain and Use Rock Star Programmers - HR World
A good list of resources on hiring developers. Looks like I have around 10% of the links.

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