Netizen

Sunday, July 21, 2013

One Gig Is The Real Deal

Image representing Cisco as depicted in CrunchBase

Israel's 1Gbps fiber will show the world what superfast broadband can really do: Cisco CEO

Chambers predicts the network will bring in major changes: healthcare where doctors are connected instantly to providers' and hospitals' databases, with all records kept electronically and updated constantly; an education-anywhere system, where students can learn at home, in class, or elsewhere, communicating with teachers and fellow students over the internet; safer roads and streets (a major issue in road accident-prone Israel), with traffic authorities able to keep better tabs on speeders and unsafe drivers; and a proliferation of "internet of things" technology, with sensors keeping air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, front doors, and more connected to systems than can enable better and more efficient allocation of electricity and other resources. In a few years, all of this should be in place, according to Chambers...... unlike most other places, Israel "is truly a start-up nation". ..... "Israel is second to the US in the sheer number of startups, but because of the population differences, Israel's 'per capita startup' ratio is much higher," he said.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Finding Software Projects

Image representing oDesk as depicted in CrunchBase

Image via CrunchBase

Places to find free software projects who need developers/project managers?

It's absolutely true that FOSS projects also need tasks completed that normally fall under the category of 'Project Managment', but I'm aware of no FOSS project actively looking for a person to fill specifically and only that roll. I think the perception of it being a separate beast from coding is largely a paradigm of the corporate world, which doesn't hold as true for FOSS.

How to find leads for outsourced software development projects?

There's also contracting web sites (my preferred as an employer is ODesk), but the competition is very high on those..... Aside from basic lead generation such as websites, blogs, and social media, I would try monitoring developer and tech communities for individuals/companies who may be looking for a developer. It always seems to me that there's someone "looking for a developer" to help them build an application, or at least give advice. .... The competition is large. Sites like Odesk, Elance and Guru have thousands similar to you. .... I would look for a way to make friendships or partnerships with western companies. .... Hanging around at answers.onstartup.com and helping others with useful answers might be one good strategy. Go where your potential customers are and make yourself useful. Get a reputation and leads will follow.

How do I get software development projects?

Sites like guru.com focus mostly on small websites ..... joining the local user groups, meeting the other nerds in your area, and making a significant effort to find local folks with interesting development projects in your area .... local nerd meetup, linux meetup, etc, will help you network. Check out meetup.com for your area. ..... you need to anticipate being extremely busy (sometimes) and extremely worried about the mortgage (pretty often). .... you might need some of those small projects to build your client base. If you do a good job on a small projects, they're more likely to call you back for help with a bigger project ..... I've found all my clients but one through word-of-mouth. The one not through word of mouth was through craigslist. Craigslist has been pretty good for me, though ..... Most of my contracts come from former co-workers who have moved on or word of mouth from those folks, so maybe you need more time to network (as suggested above) but also to have a larger pool of colleagues to call upon. At points I've had way more work than I could do (and have passed on to other former colleagues) all from work contacts. ..... Make sure you have a well-tended profile on sites like linkedin.com. Linkedin is the professional side of facebook-type networking ......... In my own freelancing career I've found that a lot of companies like to outsource work to people in their local area with whom they can meet face-to-face. It's worth researching the businesses of all sizes within easy travelling distance that do the kind of work you'd be interested in pursuing. Call them for a chat if you can, and arrange to visit when they're not too busy. Explain that you can bring in additional expertise if necessary. A face-to-face meeting is your chance to impress these people with your professionalism. Leave them with a comprehensive resumé/CV and follow any meeting up with a call a week later. A lot of businesses seem very reluctant to farm out work to unknown individuals on the internet - that fear can be used to your advantage. ........ Make sure you have a professional-looking web presence - not necessarily to bring in work, but to add to the overall appearance that you're a serious, professional freelancer/contractor. ..... the briefest glance at the going rates on bottom-scraper sites like elance, rent-a-coder, etc should instantly confirm that they're a waste of your time. ..... the vast majority of my work still -- even a decade after I went freelance -- comes at least indirectly via people I worked with back when I worked in an office. This is by far your best bet, especially if you want to be working on larger projects than are commonly available on job boards. ....... enterprise-level work tends to go more to contractor agencies than to lone freelancers. (And IMHO working for a contractor agency is not dissimilar from just working directly for the corporation.)

AuthenticJobs
Projects2Bid
Outsource Software Projects
How to Get a Software Development Job

Seek available software development jobs on company websites

How to Get Freelance Software Development Jobs

The easiest way to find software development jobs is to search freelance jobs websites. Most of the major job boards include a category for software development that you should bookmark and check every day.
Softdevjobs (www.softdevjobs.com)
IFreelance (www.ifreelance.com/Freelance-Jobs/Software-Design-Freelance-Jobs/)
GoFreelance (www.gofreelance.com/software/)
Flexjobs (www.flexjobs.com/jobs/web-software-development-programming)
Indeed (www.indeed.com/g-software-developmepnt-&-Design-jobs.html)
Freelance BBS (www.freelancebbs.com)
You'll also be more competitive if you can include a link to your online portfolio for employers to view. Don't procrastinate with submitting an application when you find jobs, because your competitors may get jobs for being among the first qualified job candidates to apply. ...... Make and establish contacts at large corporations, and ask for work. It's easier said than done ... Use social media to engage in conversations with those who outsource work
Attend a local seminar or lecture put on by the corporation and network with employers
Send a letter of introduction and a business card and ask for a telephone meeting ...... Don't expect them to give you work the first time you ask, but you'll be top of mind if you stay in contact, when there's a need for your skills.

Friday, July 19, 2013

41 Megapixels Are Really About Zoom

Vintage cameras, not for sale (Photo credit: Soumyadeep Paul)

A smartphone is a wonderful thing, except it has a lousy battery. A smartphone camera is a wonderful thing - I don't use a real camera anymore - but the zoom on it is ridiculously poor. The photo quality is fine with eight megapixels. Enter 41 megapixels. Are photos now going to be five times sharper? Maybe, maybe not. But I think what is more likely is photos of objects five times as far are going to be just as good. And I like that idea.

A Welcome New Feature In Gmail

I began this day by seeing a welcome new feature in my Gmail account. Having multiple Gmail inboxes is going to make life easier. Otherwise my first instinct when I log into Gmail at the beginning of a work day is to pick messages to delete. It should not be that way. My first thing to do should be to read and reply to important emails.