Web developer with a preference for Ruby on Rails
... idea books. Think of it as topical journals. I currently post everything into the one journal, but I do leave a few things out as I feel they should be elsewhere. Taking a note of this to try from next month.
Seriously, who can't write two sentences every day? That's all it takes to keep a journal for yourself going. Just two sentences. What's stopping you from keeping a journal?
Is $5 the magical number when it comes to pricing your product in the SaaS market?
Here's my current list of subscriptions:
I have other subscriptions as well that are on an annual price that I haven't listed here, but it's safe to say that most subscriptions fall in and around the $5 mark. Don't just set a price though, do some background work on your product and market and get feedback on what your customers are prepared to pay. It might surprise you.
via Ahmet Alp Balkan
Fix it on, ride your bike, take it off again.
Today's essential reading comes from Patrick Rhone.
I have come to believe that the best and most cost effective technology upgrade that one can make is to themselves. I’m not talking cyborg implants here. I’m speaking about knowledge. That is, increasing your skill, aptitude, and understanding when it comes to any device, application, or tool.
— The Best Upgrade Is You by Patrick Rhone
The FBO V3. Allows you to make notes from your books without writing in the margins of said books.
Nothing like an Apple product launch to get a hacker debate going. Me, I can take it or leave it. I've grown increasingly immune to these product launches over the years. And I'm glad I have. I've come to realise that it's not the tools (computers, netbooks, tablets etc.) that are the most interesting thing here, but the end product that you have made with those tools. That's a much more interesting story.
Jeff Atwood uses his brain, Curtis McHale has thrown away some of his list and I've completely deleted mine. Is this the end of the todo list?
As I analyze, reflect, and write, I found myself scratching out my own list; my own criterion for what I want from this finicky thing I’ve been given, this life. Wandering around the world, writing, running, thinking, touching, laughing, dancing: what’s most important? What is not important? What should we be doing? Or rather, what are we doing? And if given the choice, how will I live? Are there any criteria that resonate across all that I do?
— How To Live by It Starts With
A deep and thoughtful analysis of life through writing.
Marco Arment, the man behind Instapaper, has a new venture called The Magazine. It's a fortnightly magazine for people who love the internet and technology.
After reading the articles from the first edition with the free trial, I immediately subscribed. It's that good.
I know the Kindle Paperwhite isn't out in the UK yet, but I'm reading the reviews to see what others think. After Scott Hanselman's review I thought it wasn't for me, but John's review is a bit more favourable of the new Kindle.
Freelancing has been on my mind recently. If I start going down this path, then I will be taking it a lot slower than I previously did.
This doesn’t mean new problems shouldn’t be tackled and new techonologies should not be invented. It applies mostly to reinventing wheels. That is, a project starts with level 1, not level 3 or 4. Apply a technology and improve it before you push the edge. In fact, you must push the limits of an extant technology before level 4 is the right answer. No skipping allowed.
— The Real Adam Invent The Right Thing by Adam Keys
A solution to a problem or level one according to Adam's post. That's how it all starts and that's how Journalong started. I needed a way to keep a journal in my Dropbox without needing a fancy app or special editor to write the journal entry.
I suppose you could say we're at level two at the moment based on Adam's levels. It integrates with Dropbox and uses it as a storage facility for your journal. As for level three, I don't think I'm at the stage where I can call Journalong a better journal than say Day One, but it's different. It's minimal. And that's what I wanted when I initially scratched the itch for a plain text journal.
Maybe one day, I'll take Journalong to level three, but for the moment it works and that's enough for now.
I gushed over the new Kindle Paperwhite when it was released a few weeks ago, however after reading Scott Hanselman's review of it, I'm glad I've not been able to buy one yet.
It's fine. OK, it's "fine." But let's be serious for a second. Every technology site is gushing about this device. They're saying this is the e-reader to end all e-readers. It's glorious, it's perfect. Friends, it's not. And this is from a Kindle Fan.
— Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 3G WiFi Review by Scott Hanselman
Read the rest of Scott's review if you're considering the Paperwhite. Scott goes into more details than many of the so-called technology sites.I can see me holding on to my Kindle Keyboard for as long as it's serving up my books. I too like the physical buttons for page turning and the keyboard does come in handy for taking notes on books (which I do a lot of). I don't know how I would get on with a button-less Kindle.
Nicholas Bate gets us geeks. It's a shame that others don't.
Organisations love to use the term geek in a derogatory manner. Often dismissive. Often excluding. And yet when we have a problem be it IT, medical or simply plumbing we would love to have access to a geek. A person who is so good that they understand the simplicity the far side of complexity. They look at the problem and they know what to do.
— Instant Business Speak 38 - Geeks by Nicholas Bate
This type of riding by Martyn Ashton would sure as hell shake up the Tour de France if it had a trials stage. Maybe we need a stage like this to combat the dopers? After all, you can't get bike skills like this through doping.
via BikeRadar
How appropriate for today's massive tech companies.
Rode to work on the fixie this morning. I would have preferred drier roads this morning, but the Scottish weather gods demand that our country gets rain for most of the year.
I am looking forward to more autumn mornings like this where I can walk the boy to school and then jump on the bike to the office, taking the back roads for a leisurely cycle. It won't last long though, winter is just round the corner, and with it comes a new set of riding challenges.
It's been good getting back on the bike, just riding about.
This post has it all. Tolkien, words stats and a smattering of programming fu.
Nicholas Bate's Instant MBA is now free on Amazon.
Read it.
... with Nicholas Bate.
The trick, I think, is to make a better shared space for a remote/local team than the physically shared space they already have. A space that is just as fluid, fun, and useful as a physical space and
available anytime, everywhere is more compelling because it affords its occupants (aka team members)
more hours in their day (no commuting, flexible hours) and permits all sorts of non-traditional work locations (coffee shops, trains, sofas at home, a summer trip to Europe).— A Better Shared Space by Adam Keys
Locking in your team to a particular time and place is a real constrain on getting the most from them. And it's not just about location and time. The way your team communicates over different locations and timezones is just as important.
Given the vast number of SaaS products on the market that allow teams to manage projects, clients and meetings, why do teams and companies find it so difficult to let go of the traditional "everyone in the office between 9 and 5"?
