Jul 27, 2007 . Comments (5)
In the June issue of Business 2.0 I read an interesting article about Moo.com and how they allow you to create personalized mini cards. I was in the market for some new business cards so I decided to give moo a shot and get something different than the norm.
The cards turned out perfect, exactly what I wanted. I'm not meeting people everyday, constantly swapping cards, so a box of 100 cards for $20 bucks is perfect. Ordering a box of 1000 regular business cards just doesn't make any sense, they would go stale long before I ever used them up. Plus with the Moo cards, the cost is so low, and the customizing process so simple, I can order up a new unique batch whenever I want something new, without feeling like I've wasted a bunch of money and paper.
Jul 20, 2007 . Comments (3)
For more years than I care to remember I have almost exclusively used IIS as a local development web server. With some various tools and hacks I have been able to simulate domain names for local testing, but it has been painful. I recently started using WAMP5 for local development on a project and quickly discovered I have wasted a great deal of time with IIS. Using Apache virtual hosts is a snap and makes local development of many different sites under different domains a breeze.
Since I do a lot of work with Coldfusion I decided to try and make the switch complete and run Coldfusion through the Apache server instead of IIS. Good idea ... rough implementation. I had a nightmare trying to get Coldfusion 7 and Apache 2.2.4 to run together ... numerous head slaps, desk slams and a day wasted. I think the biggest problem was the fact that I was running WAMP instead of a straight Apache install so the Coldfusion configurator was having issues. I found a few resources explaining some processes to try to resolve the issues but nothing worked. I ran across a post that mentioned Coldfusion 8 and WAMP working together so I decided to install the beta of CF 8 and give that a whirl. It worked like a charm.
The only issue I had was that when browsing to the CFIDE administrator I kept getting the prompt asking what to do with the index.cfm file, save it or open it with a program. If I changed the url from 'http://localhost/CFIDE/administrator/index.cfm' to 'http://127.0.0.1/CFIDE/administrator/index.cfm' then everything worked perfect. I think that problem was something related to my host file though, because now it works perfect.
Overall the setup of Coldfusion 8 and WAMP5 seems great, I can not imagine ever going back to IIS now.
Jul 17, 2007 . Comments (3)
I just read the post that Ted Patrick wrote about the shortage of Flex developers and how to find them. Ted makes some very valid points but one point he misses is where companies should be looking for Flex developers. The reality is the workplace has changed dramatically over the past few years. No longer is it necessary for workers to be located at some central office hub for 9 hours a day, 7 days a week. The outsourcing boom of recent years gives us a good glimpse into the future of how some industries can operate when looking for talent (especially developers). Companies don't have to look overseas for developers, just outside of their backyards.
I have spent the last two plus years working remotely for companies around the U.S. and even overseas, but I have never left Toronto (Canada) to perform any of the work and I have not had to travel (period) to meet with the teams I have worked with, it has been 100% remote. I have not had a remote project blow up, end horribly or fail. With some good planning and expectation setting on the part of myself and the companies I have worked with the entire process has worked quite smoothly. Now I realize remote working will not work for every project and team but I would argue that it will work for a great number more than is currently the case.
If companies are having such a difficult time locating good Flex talent (not to mention development talent in general) then why not consider all the options? What are the factors making it hard to find talent in the local area or getting talent to relocate to the local area? Hmmm, high cost of living, long commutes, insane hours. Take a look at Silicon Valley, sure the pay for Flex devs is good (easily 100K + for some experience) but a decent home is completely out of consideration at that pay. LA, one word .... gridlock. NYC, maybe if you really enjoy life in the big city, but it's not for everyone. Pretty much all the major centers have at least a few knocks against them when trying to get talent to relocate there. So why not relocate the work to the workers?
My daily commute is 26 steps. The cost of living in my area is significantly less than the major US centers, which means I can discount my rates more than someone living right there, but still have a very comfortable lifestyle, and the company saves some dough. I work from home so I actually put in more hours than I ever did in an office (there is no down time, it's much easier to balance work and family life, and if I need to pull long hours, my family is right upstairs so I'm not feeling as stressed about being 'stuck at the office'). Overall I'm more productive, less stressed and happy, that's what every company should want for their talent, because that is what makes the talent stick around.
So what are some keys to success for remote working?
- Set expectations. Just because you are working remotely doesn't mean you can slack off. Set goals, hit them. Set deadlines, meet them. Nothing keeps you more focused than knowing where you need to get.
- Have daily check in's to see how everything is going. You can't just pop into someones office when they are 2000 miles away but with IM, phone and video chat you can do the next best thing. It keeps everyone on the same page and helps to foster a sense of team.
- Find the right person, remote working is not for everyone. It can be a big adjustment for someone who is accustomed to working in an office (it took a while for me to adjust). For the worker, have some outside contact, get out of your house, get involved in something with some physical human interaction to help keep your sanity.
- Realize it's not the same as working in an office. The environment is different, the setup is different, the interaction is different. That doesn't mean it's bad, just different, so the rules to play by are different, and both sides need to be aware of that.
- Have a dedicated, fully functional work area. Have all the equipment necessary to run an office: computer, phone, fax, copier, filing. Keep it separate from your main living area if possible. It allows you to close a door and leave work behind at the end of a day.
So to all the companies looking for Flex developers, keep hunting, just change your strategy, and to all the Flex developers being offered fantastic sounding relocation packages, consider your options and see how flex-ible a company can be.
Jul 04, 2007 . Comments (1)
After a brief hiatus I am diving back into Flex and Coldfusion development. With the beta releases of Flex 3 (Moxie), AIR (Apollo) and Coldfusion 8 (Scorpio) this is an absolutely great time to be developing web based applications. 
Before I go to far I need to show this image of the first thing that came to mind when I heard the codename for Flex 3. My roommate in college loved this stuff, personally I thought it tasted like swill but hey, the name was (and is) cool.
Ok, back to the real story. There has been a lot written lately about RIA's for web, desktop, mobile, you name it. Since the original web explosion in the late 90's much has been promised for what applications on the internet could do, but for the most part I would argue it has been mostly sizzle and a little steak. For developers we have always been asked to deliver cutting edge solutions while being handcuffed by technology limitations. With a lot of pain, frustration and hacking the solutions were delivered but often key functionality and features had to be left out or dumbed down, and much pain and suffering was endured to make it work. With many of the recent technology releases I think those handcuffs are finally starting to come off.
Just a quick look at the ease with which an application can be developed in Flex, integrated to back end systems using remoting and Coldfusion, and then repackaged and rolled out as a desktop application using Apollo should convince most web developers that life certainly has taken a turn for the better. Adobe's technology doesn't make developing cutting edge solutions easier, what it does is allow developers to spend valuable development time working on the wow features, the functionality that puts an application over the top, the robustness that user's expect but often never get.
Time saved from the monotonous minutia of things like cross browser compatibility, server integration, and developing frameworks, features and components that any decent language should include by default can now be properly spent on doing what application developers do, developing applications. I can only imagine how many developer years have been lost cobbling together hacks and solutions for things that should have been hands down easy to do. I know it is all part of the maturation process for technology, it can not be perfect from the start, but man is it nice to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Adobe picked the perfect code name for Flex 3. 'Moxie': skill, know-how, pep, nerve. Will developers have the moxie to run with these great technology tools that have been made available? What applications are waiting around the corner, finally able to see the light of day because of what can now be done? How far can the envelope be pushed? Personally I can not wait to push and be pushed. Bring on the big ideas, the impossible concepts, the wow projects.
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