We continue the Holiday week of episodes by dishing out some of what we are thankful for. It is beneficial for all of us to occasionally sit back and revel in our blessings. This episode shares our list of reasons for thanks and food for thought as you enjoy this week. Read more
There are many traits of a team that can be fostered or part of their make-up. The speed of completing tasks accurately is one such trait. A team can focus on creating velocity by defining a proper level of risk and assessing the cost of mistakes. The Weakest Link We look at some analogies to build a case for pushing your entire team to accept some level of risk. This can be instrumental in avoiding analysis paralysis and generally getting decisions made sooner. Thus, we see that creating velocity is a direct result of shortening the decision process. Individual team members can contribute to creating velocity. However, there is a lot of the team dynamics and the general environment that... Read more
It is that time of year again. We talk about appreciation and thankfulness related to the year we are wrapping up. In the busy schedule of our modern lives, this seems to be more critical than in the past. We fill our daily planners with tasks from the moment we awake until we crash into sleep. This hectic approach is excellent for productivity. However, it can suck the life out of us. When we take a step back and appreciate what we have, it can be cathartic or even energizing. Of course, this being developer-focused, we will look at reasons for developers to be thankful. Windows Related Thankfulness I have to start with an almost religious statement. We can be... Read more
Affiliate marketing is a popular form of passive income. You just put out content and hope that visitors take advantage of your partners. This approach can be improved by offering the latest deals from your affiliates to your community. The passive part of income can be less so during the Holidays as retailers turn to weekly and even daily deals or coupons. The good news is that this time of year should provide you a boost over your typical affiliate revenues. Build On Your Affiliate Marketing Relationships There are many ways to work with affiliates. For example, make sure your advertisements and special offers are up to date. This path may require you to build some automation into your advertising process. ... Read more
Cloud storage is one of the most game-changing products in recent decades. We have seen the cost of storage drop on a regular basis, and these tools are amazingly affordable. These applications combine with high-speed connections to make it almost invisible to store data on the cloud instead of your device. Many Cloud Storage Options The product landscape for these tools is full of players. However, a few have distinguished themselves from the pack. Nevertheless, we have found a more extensive list of examples in case you want to learn more or find other options. You can see those options here: https://beebom.com/dropbox-altenatives-cloud-storage-services. The Features At first glance, you might not care what differentiates these products outside of price. Space is space,... Read more
In this episode, we look at the facade pattern. This is one we have likely run into when we have dealt with complex systems. In general, a facade pattern is an interface that summarizes a group of interfaces or objects in a functional group. Without further ado, let’s take a look at this simplifying pattern. The Facade Pattern Defined As always, we will start with the “Gang of Four” intent to set the stage for our discussion. “Provide a unified interface to a set of interfaces in a subsystem. Facade defines a higher-level interface that makes the subsystem easier to use.” That last bit of the intent is the most import. They saved the best for last. The goal of the decorator... Read more