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Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Review: Learning Java
This is a pretty decent book. I'm new to Java but have an extensive development background.
I appreciated the exercises and examples. The only thing I really struggled with was Eclipse. I haven't used Eclipse in the past and so there was a steep learning curve for me.
I think this is a great book to get a decent understanding of the basics of Java. I will need a different book as a guide as I dive deeper into Java.
* Disclaimer: I was provided a free copy of this book to review.
Friday, June 28, 2013
Review: Bootstrap
As more and more opensource frameworks hit the market, few if any contain documentation on their use. The Bootstrap framework has a great website dedicated to the features and simple use. Most throw code in github and call it a day. For some people, a little instructional help or code example and they will be off and running.
I recently completed Bootstrap written by Jake Spurlock. Full disclosure, I know Jake, but he didn't ask me to review this book. I'm interested in Bootstrap and was hoping to find a great reference. While I like web based reference material, the difficulty lies in needing to refer to the online documentation while you are learning or need help. Having a copy of this book in hand is worth the price of admission.
There's nothing earth shattering or mind altering here, but that is a strength I think. Jake walks you through the framework and gives some great examples and potential uses. I rate this book a 4 out of 5, mainly because 5's mean there is no room for improvement, and everyone should have to stretch. This book should be in your library for sure.
* Disclaimer: I was provided a free copy of this book to review.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Ouya Is Still In Beta Mode
After spending a week with my Kicstarter backed Ouya, I must say, it's still in beta mode. I'm keeping in mind it's a $99 console, but honestly, I didn't want to have to do that. I don't want to make excuses for the device just because it didn't set me back $400.
I let my Son-in-law who is a very avid gamer take it for spin this past weekend, and he wasn't impressed. His first surprise was how cheap-ish the controller felt. Compared to an Xbox controller, he has a point. Second, we tried to play a few games, but they wouldn't load, and we tried to download a few games, but the download speed was so slow that it took an hour to download one game. Again, not impressed.
I'm not calling this device a failure, far from it. I know that it will get better over time. But I certainly thought the software part of the system would be a lot more solid than it is.
Friday, May 3, 2013
I'm Using WordPress, Now What? Starter Edition
Here is the PDF of the presentation on GitHub.
The following is a list of plug-ins that we discussed during the presentation. All links are valid as of this post but not be in the future.
JetPack
Web hosting with BlueHost (*affiliate link)
Editorial Calendar
Security
SEO
Analytics - Clicky or Google
Cache - W3 Total Cache or WP Super Cache
Backup - BackWPup or VaultPress
Social Sharing
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