General Reasons for Cloud Storage

1. Stored Files Are Backed up
   

2. Workload Scalability if traffic increases
   

3. Cost scalability if traffic increases
   

Benefits of Microsoft’s Windows Azure

1. Easy to Learn for .NET Developers
   

I am a pretty heavy Microsoft developer so I more easily learned: how to use it, what the resources for learning it were, etc.

1. Azure Cheaper than Competitors
   

Thirsty Developer: Azure was cheaper than competitors

1. Azure Discounts with Microsoft BizSpark program
   

Azure is heavily discounted for BizSpark program members (Microsoft’s Startup program that gives free software for a 3 year time frame). BizSpark members get a big discount for 16 months, and a continued benefit for having an MSDN membership for as long as it is current (presumably a minimum of 3 years).

1. Ease of use
   

Retrieving and creating stored files is extremely easy for public containers. One can just get the blob from a REST URI.

How this applied to me

Traditional hosting had a very low threshold for data storage (1GB) above which it was very expensive to add on more storage. The same was true for Bandwidth but the threshold was higher (80GB). Instead, with Azure, the cost is directly proportional to each bit stored and/or delivered, so it is much easier to calculate cost and it will be cheaper once I get over those thresholds.

Using Azure for Storage produces the following Download Process

1. When a user requests a video file, he/she receives the web content and the Silverlight applet from my website.

2. Embedded in the web content is a link to a public video from Windows Azure storage.

3. Silverlight uses the link to stream the video content.

The link that my Silverlight applet uses to retrieve the file is a simple HTTP URI, which Silverlight streams to the client as it receives it. This is nice behavior; especially considering the file is downloaded directly to the client browser and does not incur additional bandwidth costs (from my traditional webhost) for every download.

What this means in terms of cost

There are several cost-increasing metrics as I scale my use of Windows Azure (see pricing below). Fortunately, Azure is much cheaper than my traditional web site hosting provider.

Under my current plan, costing roughly $10 per month, my hosting provider allows us to use:

80 GB of Bandwidth per Month

1 GB of storage space

For each additional 5GB of bandwidth used per month, a $5 fee is charged

For each additional 500MB of storage on the server above 1GB, the additional fee would be $5.

Fees for Windows Azure uploads & downloads can be easily predicted using the metrics below.

Azure Pricing (Effective 02/01/2010)

Compute = $0.12 / hour (Not applicable to this example)

Storage = $0.15 / GB stored / month

Storage transactions = $0.01 / 10K

Data transfers = $0.10 in / $0.15 out / GB

An Example

Let’s say that I average 80 GB of Bandwidth Usage per month on a traditional hosting provider. Because I would be using the full allotment from my provider, that would be the cheapest scenario per GB. Let’s assume that half of my $10 payment per month accounts for Bandwidth and the other half accounts for storage. In that case, my cost for Bandwidth Usage would be $5 / 80 GB, or $.06 / GB.

That may seem cheap, but remember that this price is capped at 80 GB per month. If my website sees tremendous growth, to say 500 GB per month then I would be in real trouble. For that additional 420 GB, I would have to pay a total of $420 per month. My total monthly bill attributed to Bandwidth Usage of 500 GB would be $425, or $.85 / GB.

In contrast, the Azure storage model is simple and linear. For the low traffic case of downloading 80GB per month, it would actually be more expensive. However, as Bandwidth Usage grows, the rates do not go through the roof. Case in point, my total monthly bill attributed to Bandwidth Usage of 500 GB would be $75 (assuming all outgoing traffic).

I could walk through a similar example for the cost of storage but I think you see the point. In fact, it would likely be even worse. Since my website collects videos, it would be more likely that the amount of storage used would grow faster than the Bandwidth used.

As you can see, Azure storage and bandwidth is much cheaper, especially after scaling over the initial allotment.

Note: Storage transactions are a negligible contributor to cost in comparison.

Looking back on that wonderful night, I realized that I learned a great deal from planning such an important event. Much of what I learned will help me in my career. Below are the highlights.

1. Prioritize

Often times in America, planning of a wedding begins moments after the excitement of the engagement quells. Coming from a male perspective, this is amazing. We spend our time planning to “pop the question”, and then as soon as we do, it is as if the floodgates of wedding expectations and desires open right up. From that point forward, the giant list of preparative tasks stays at the fore-front of our minds. Ever-growing. Never shrinking.

As overwhelming as the list may be, it can be managed through prioritization, by sitting down with your fiancee and discussing those items that are the most important. This exercise leads to a plan that can save you money and time, by realizing which items can be purchased for less money, which items can be delegated, or which items can be left uncompleted.

In addition to the list of known tasks, there will be issues. For example, the color of my vest that I wore on my wedding day was incorrect. It was white when it should have been ivory. I, of course, didn’t notice until it was too late. It was not a big deal. Things like this will happen in weddings and in your career. As long as it does not affect your top priorities, do not let it stress you out. There will be a time and place to resolve such issues. That time is not during your wedding day.

Think of this scenario in the business world. You and a team are working toward a Big Hairy Audacious Goal and it feels as though processes are becoming disorganized. You feel like you have to do everything or you will be a failure. This is simply not true.

Take a step back and evaluate the most significant goals and tasks with your core group. Focus. Make sure to proceed with only those items that will bring progress to your primary goals. If you can achieve them, you will be successful even though things may not be perfect.

2. Outsource

Most people, when planning for a wedding, still have a life to live. They have a full-time job, a social life, family obligations, school… Time management becomes crucial. When wedding planning, you must realize that your time is important, because only you (and your fiancee) can make many of the important decisions. Instead of performing all the work yourself, you MUST delegate/outsource. In my case, I thought I wanted to have complete control over the DJ’s playlist. However, I soon realized that I just wasn’t going to be able to create a complete playlist and also accomplish my bigger goals. “Leave it to the DJ,” I said. “He is a professional, afterall.”

Hopefully you will find that family and friends offer to help with wedding preparations. Perhaps your initial instinct is that you do not need it. I advise you to find a way for them to help. Practice your delegation skills. Remember, your time is critical. If you can relinquish a little bit of control to allow someone else to help, you will have more time to work on the truly important aspects of your wedding. Besides, if you try to do everything yourself, it’s not going to turn out perfectly anyway, because you will run out of time. At the end of it all, make sure to let your helpers know how appreciative you are that they were able to contribute.

At the workplace, how many times have you found yourself working on a rote task because it was easier to perform yourself than to teach someone else how to do it? Please discontinue this dangerous habit! If you are working toward a tight deadline, you must have enough time to do those things that only you can do. Delegate. Outsource. Allow someone else to concentrate on those tasks that you work on just to get them out of your way. He/She may even be able to do them better than you can.

3. Overcommunicate

An important aspect of outsourcing is communication. Most likely, the biggest reason we avoid delegation of tasks is because we fear that the task will not be completed satisfactorily. This is a valid fear. Vendors, colleagues, and friendly helpers all have their own ideas and biases. Without appropriate direction, they will run with them until told to make changes (which will be too late).

Therefore, when planning a wedding or directing a project in our careers, we must overcommunicate. We cannot assume our helpers know what we want. You may not even know what you want right away either. Just make sure to follow-up with them. Express your concerns clearly and with objectivity. Explain how your tastes have changed. Remember, in most cases, you are dealing with professionals. They are skilled in taking an idea and creating something tangible. However, they cannot read your mind.

4. Disrupt Your Comfort Zone

This one is the most important.

There were many, MANY things that I had to do for my wedding that I simply did not want to do. In other words, if I could have avoided uncomfortable obligations, such as giving a speech at the Rehearsal Dinner or having to entertain during the Garter Toss, I would have. However, I would not have realized at the time how much I was missing. Looking back, the uncomfortable times created the memories and stories worth re-telling. Additionally, the uncomfortable efforts gave me experience doing things I was not used to, ultimately giving me more confidence no matter the endeavor going forward.

Ever since that night I have made a concerted effort to try and push myself outside my comfort zone. The book The Think Big Manifesto refers to this as “Getting Comfortable with Discomfort.” I admit, I have not made as many strides as I would have liked in this area. Why? Because doing things outside your comfort zone is HARD! By definition, it means doing things that are uncomfortable. Then, once you have mastered those so they are comfortable, finding new awkward things to do. Without a catalyst or a deep-rooted goal, most people will slip into a rut of comfort.

In the case of a wedding, finding that goal can be simpler. It might be to “have the best time possible,” to “show our family how much we love them,” or to “actually look half-decent while dancing.” In our career and our life, it is much more difficult to find motivation. I encourage you to do some “soul-searching”. Determine what it is you truly want from life and begin moving forward by living outside your comfort zone. If you cannot settle on a worthy goal, I recommend making a list of things that you feel like you should be able to do but have never done.

Here are a couple things on my list:

• Sell Something
• Talk to a Stranger in a bar (Sober)
• Babysit
• Medium-Sized Home Improvement Project

Perform one a week. Perhaps it will open your mind to new possibilities. I will post my progress on this blog as well.

5. Connect

There is no better time to let someone know how special they are than right now. Ok, so this isn’t necessarily career advice, but it does come into play. If you appreciate someone, let them know. Right now. In person. You will be glad you did. You will feel better about spending many hours at work knowing the people you love know you love them.

Some people find this difficult, including myself. If you are one of these people, or for some other reason you would like to say “Congrats” or “I’m Sorry” or “I Love You,” but you can’t or don’t know how, browse to my website, Viternus, which is exactly for situations like this. Create a message that can be delivered at a later date. Perhaps that will take off some of the pressure.

Conclusion

By the end of it all, we had made mistakes and left things unfinished. But guess what? I still consider the event a success. As long as our core group (i.e. my wife and I) are focused and aligned with what we want, it is possible to have success even though everything is not perfect. I will strive for this type of success throughout my life and career.

I like programming at bookstores. Armed with a laptop and earplugs, I find myself at my most creative and in flow when I am around interesting resources. Browsing a few technical or business books, my mind quickly reaches hyper-active problem solving mode. To play off the ancient proverb, when I find my hammer through reading, I immediately notice all the nails I have to pound.

In the Cincinnati area, Barnes & Noble and Borders are the most predominant bookstores with Joseph Beth coming in a distant 3^rd. Bookstores are nice because they are open relatively late (compared to libraries), have coffee bars with Internet, and have seemingly infinite resources on a variety of topics (as compared to Starbucks). At least, they “had” a variety of resources. It seems over the last couple years these large scale bookstores have been phasing out the acquisition of new tech books. It used to be that I could go to the bookstore and utilize the books to do legitimate technical research. Now, it seems that only the heavily mainstream books are on the shelves.

In late 2008, when I should have been seeing books about the Entity Framework or Sync Framework soon after they came out, I did not find anything except on Amazon. The lack of books on new .NET frameworks continued when ASP.NET MVC came out and no physical copies could be found. My strategy used to be to check Amazon to see when new books were about to be released and then to travel to Borders on that day to perform the research I needed. Or sometimes I would browse the books at the store to determine if any were worthy of buying. For those that were, I then bought them on Amazon because they were much cheaper.

Unfortunately, the trend has continued. I am hard pressed to find any interesting books (or those that I have not read already) in the “Computers – Programming” category. And this used to be the key differentiator to me from the coffee shops on every street corner.

I realize that I may not be the ideal customer in the eyes of the bookstore. I have learned not to buy any books from them and commonly use the free Internet provided. However, I at least make a conscious effort to purchase an overpriced beverage every time I abuse the store’s resources.

With the above changes comes my growing disappointment. I miss having a central place to do research, skim random books, surf the Internet, energize myself with caffeine, and watch people. I don’t believe I can get that just from the Internet at home or a coffee shop. Additionally, I prefer to learn through reading books versus through the Internet, mainly because they tend to cover a wider spectrum of knowledge. Usually, a book goes through the basics to the intermediate and then the advanced. Books tend to contain straight-forward walkthroughs, executive summaries, and theoretical concepts. In contrast, the Internet tends to have very specific blog entries that solve a particular problem. When researching this way, I am forced to “jump right in” instead of following a complete tutorial targeting varying experience levels. It can be difficult to find high-level descriptions about a technology and why it is useful.

Is it useful to complain about a problem for which I am not offering a solution? I don’t know. I assume the bookstores are not making very much money by filling their inventory with programming books. Or perhaps authors are no longer producing content in the form of physical page turners. I just hope they know that the technology and programming books were a small part of the overall experience which caused me to buy their coffee. I guess attracting my “type” wasn’t worth it for them.

Perhaps when I win the lottery, I’ll unleash my solution to the dying bookstore industry. More on this in a later post…

Why do I do it?

When I got my job downtown I was determined to begin taking the bus. The closest stop is ridiculously convenient for me. It is less than a half mile away and I pass my mailbox and a grocery store on the way. I don’t take it every day, but about 40% of the time. There are some obvious benefits:

• Extra exercise
• Good people watching
• Save money
• Reduce stress on my car
• Environmentally conscious
• Learn another valuable transportation resource

The biggest benefits

I neglected to mention the 2 biggest benefits in the above list because I want to write about them in more detail.

Time

The bus is great when it is not crowded, so recently, I have shifted my work schedule to be earlier so that the bus ride is less likely to be crowded. Instead of paying attention to driving, I can zone out, sleep, read, text, get on twitter, etc. I get back my commute time.

This is important because lost time is an important issue. The concept has been analyzed many times in other sources, but as developers our time is valuable and easily monetizable. Even if we have day jobs our time outside of that could be spent freelancing, earning significant dollars per hour. Therefore, if I can save an extra hour a day by not having to drive myself to work, then I have saved X dollars, by freeing up that time to work on something else, like this blog post. Now, if it were only socially acceptable to attend work in pajamas, I wouldn’t have to spend time ironing. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Speaking of being productive, I could only imagine what more I could do with my time if the buses I took provided wireless Internet. Then I could actually do billable work. I know that other cities’public bussing systems provide this, so why can’t mine?

Flow

Another great benefit I have noticed is that by starting to exercise my mind on the bus, I am ready to work by the time I get to my desk in the morning. I do not need to “wake up” for an hour once I get there. I don’t feel the need to catch up on twitter, blogs, or emails because I have already done that on the bus. It is a way to “prime the pump.” By consuming some slightly work-related info in a relaxed manner, I am able to feel like my day is starting at my pace without wasting the time I could/should be productive at the office. By the time I am at my desk, I am able to buckle down and get into flow much more quickly.

My recommendation

Here’s my advice if you currently have a significant commute to work and have not tried the bus system enough to get comfortable with it. You can probably ease into it to see if you like it.

To get started, you can search for your local bus system online. You can usually find it by Googling “[Your City] Transit Authority.”

Find the nearest Park ‘n’ Ride, that’s what the Midwest cities call parking lots that are specifically designed for leaving your car there all day while you commute on the bus. There are 2 advantages to using the Park ‘n’ Ride rather than walking. First, you can drive to it. This way you don’t have to try and time the bus schedule as precisely because the car can get you there more quickly. Driving also allows you to be lazy and takes less effort. Second, if you miss the bus and decide you don’t want to wait for the next one, your car will be right there for you to drive into work that day. The Park ‘n’ Ride reduces risk.

Take the bus 2 times a week for a month. This should be long enough for you to decide if you like it and to understand how to utilize the system should you need it in the future. It can be nice to have the option to take the bus to work in certain cases, such as when your car is in the shop or when you will be meeting someone for happy hour who can drive you home.

As you read more of my blog, you’ll realize I love it when I feel like I am getting the most out of something. I feel that way with my local bus system now and I hope to share the benefits with you.

Attribution: Image by caribb

if ((policy.Type == PolicyType.AutoInsurance && policy.PolicyHolder.PriorAccidents == 0) || (policyPaidInFull && policy.Type == PolicyType.AutoInsurance || policy.IsPremium) || (policy.Type == PolicyType.AutoInsurance && policy.PolicyHolder.PriorAccidents == 0 && policy.IsPremium))

Perhaps that line of code above is the first and easiest way you thought about all the conditions that have to occur in your application’s business logic. You write that line of code, test it in many different scenarios and it works so you think you have done a good job. Well, there are ways to improve upon that line of code by removing logically equivalent Boolean expressions, not to mention some style improvements that might make it more understandable.

We owe gratitude to our dear friends the Electrical Engineers for developing a clever tool, named Karnaugh Maps, to help with this dilemma, usually for cases of no more than 6 variable conditions. Karnaugh Maps (pronounced “car-no” and often simply called “K-Maps”) are a system for reducing Boolean expressions into a more simplistic form. They originated from the need to reduce electrical wiring gates, or circuit minimization, but they are still useful for the high-level software developer.

Benefits of reduced Boolean expressions

1. Increased program performance
2. Increased readability of code
3. Less code results in easier to change code

Reducing our example expression

The 1^st step is to let letters represent each of the conditions in our expression. In our case:

• a :     policy.Type == PolicyType.AutoInsurance
• b :     policyPaidInFull
• c :     policy.PolicyHolder.PriorAccidents == 0
• d :     policy.IsPremium

Then, draw a graphical square like the one pictured below. This represents each possible combination of our Boolean conditions. The boxes are blank because we have not yet entered what Boolean results we want in our resultant expression.

Let’s take the first, simplified condition in parentheses, if (a && c), and put it into the map. The result would look like the below image, because we only need to fill in the boxes where a and c are both 1.

Following this example, we can use the entire Boolean expression to fill out the whole map. The completed Karnaugh Map is pictured below.

Now circle any square or straight line of boxes since they correspond to an expression that differs by only two bits.

Because of the way we have arranged our variables around the outside of the map, we can eliminate variables based on boxes filled with 1s being adjacent to each other. In our example, the vertical “circle” exhibits a scenario where the expression should always be true as long as both the a bit and the b bit are 1, hence the condition ( a && b ). Likewise, the square “circle” exhibits true cases whenever the c bit is 1 and the a bit is 1. Because the b bit and d bit are true no matter if their values are 0 or 1, they can be deleted from the resulting simplified expression, which would be || ( a && c ). We use a similar rule to find the final d condition.

In one sentence, this rule can be summarized as “the circled boxes can be grouped together and the two variables that differ can be discarded.”

The resulting Boolean expression is:

if ( ( a && b ) || ( d ) || ( a && c ) )

which, using Boolean algebra, can be further reduced to:

if ( ( a && ( b || c ) ) || ( d ) )

We were not able to completely remove any variables, but we did simplify the expression quite a bit. The original Boolean conditions can be substituted for our letter variables, and we can rewrite the original expression as below:

bool policyIsAuto = ( PolicyType.AutoInsurance == policy.Type );
bool zeroPriorAccidents = ( 0 == policy.PolicyHolder.PriorAccidents );
if ( policyIsAuto && ( policyPaidInFull || zeroPriorAccidents ) || policy.IsPremium )

Seems easy, right? It is. And I am sorry if my steps went too fast for you. My intention is not to teach how to use Karnaugh Maps for all circumstances but instead to show you how easy and useful it is to simplify your Boolean logic.

For help with different scenarios, find the book Bebop to the Boolean Boogie – an Unconventional Guide to Electronics at your local library, check out this Wikipedia link, or you can even download software to perform the rules for you.

Happy Karnaugh Mapping!

In the mean time, I hope I was able to show you how fun and easy using a system like this can be. Feel free to post questions in the comments.

- Karnaugh Map Images taken from Bebop to the Boolean Boogie – an Unconventional Guide to Electronics

- Digital Logic image created by Garrett Crawford

Photo by CarbonNYC

I ask because this is a particular pain point of mine. Personally, I must admit I am not where I should be with programming securely. However, I am definitely experienced enough to be able to spot obvious security issues in a software application. Not a month goes by, not a month, in which I do not stumble upon some basic security vulnerability in code I am maintaining or have to instruct a colleague why a particular implementation could be catastrophic. Do others feel this way about code I have produced? I hope not.

I practice some of the basics:

• No SQL Injection Vulnerabilities
• No Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerabilities
• No storage of passwords in configuration files
• No delivery of sensitive information in plain text

How can we make sure that any developer who puts new code into production knows these standards at a minimum?

I don’t want to have to teach someone again that in-line SQL is bad or that user input can’t be trusted. I don’t want to be able to look into a database and see actual user passwords strewn about. It’s not that I don’t enjoy teaching others about these things; I do very much enjoy teaching. It’s that I shouldn’t have to. There should be a minimum security skill set that any developer should have before getting paid to program.

My frustrations with this problem have been present for years, yet they have not led me to any solutions. How do we teach young developers about security? Assuming every company hiring entry-level developers had an orientation at which best practices were taught, it would still not be long before the next generation of hacks evolved and new security knowledge would be necessary. Which begs the next question, how do we all stay abreast of the most relevant security best practices?

As noted, I am not a security expert. However, I think I am often able to think about how someone could manipulate a system as I am writing code for it. Unfortunately, I tend to only notice these vulnerabilities because I am intimate with the code. My philosophy is always that if there is a vulnerability, even one that can only be known by fully understanding the code, it is just a matter of time before a motivated hacker would be able to find the exploit.

I know that I need to improve my skills. I need to be able to design software solutions to defend against security vulnerabilities. I need to innately understand secure coding tactics. I strive to be a competent developer in these areas. Where do I go to learn best practices without devoting my entire career to this expertise?

My preference would be to get regular (annual or semi-annual) training on the topics I need to improve or that most concern my industry. It would be great to be sent by my company for an uninterrupted session with security experts. Perhaps even better would be if I was able to work closely with a senior developer who was deeply experienced with security considerations. As I have said before, it is important to work in a job at which there are more experienced colleagues to learn from.

In my past experience, it seems that companies do not prioritize security enough. Sure, the boss may say that any new applications or modules must be “secure.”

The real problem, though, is that a lot of this was beyond developers’ abilities. Any reasonably sized company is going to have many developers who are good enough at writing code, but just do not have the security mindset.

From user “Dan Ellis” on StackOverflow.com

As developers, we must be pragmatic, finding the perfect balance between practicality and principles. In other words, if the boss says that an application must be secure, he or she is inherently making a tradeoff. The developer, with security as a requirement, must spend time researching what makes an application secure, how to make it secure, and then implementing the security. All this for features which are not obvious in the final application. Security features in a product usually go unnoticed (if done right) and tend to instead get deprioritized due to the pressures in the corporate world to write software on time and on budget. Additionally, developers are more likely to focus on things that they already know. Don’t you think the typical developer would be more likely to write “working software” on time with the thought that security could be added in later?

Of course this is a misguided approach, but who is going to be the catalyst for change? In my opinion, it is the responsibility of everyone involved in writing software to make sure it is secure. It is the responsibility of the company to ensure that secure practices are a part of the culture, that developers know security is a priority, and that developers are educated about best practices. It is the responsibility of the developer to ask appropriate questions about security and to raise concerns. The developer should also spend personal time learning about security vulnerabilities and how to defend against them.

I would have thought all the horror stories (e.g. here, here, or here) about software applications being hacked and security vulnerabilities causing chaos would be enough for companies to place a higher priority on security. It hasn’t worked, so I need help. What are the points of discussion to convince software development managers that this is a higher concern? Should I just tell them, “Hey, we need to pay attention to this if we don’t want to get sued?!?!”

Links:

Herding Code Podcast #75: Barry Dorrans on Developer Security

The HaaHa Show: Microsoft ASP.NET MVC Security with Haack and Hanselman

Web Security Horror Stories (slideshow)

3 Highlights I Want to Learn Today about Mobile App Platforms:

• Pros & Cons of different platforms
• Enough knowledge to be able to manage an outsourced app developer
• Insight as to which platform is emerging as the leader

Throughout my career, I have been heavily focused on Microsoft development technologies. Often times recently, I have wondered if I should branch out to other languages and platforms. I have not yet done this, but if I were to move into mobile development (something I have limited experience with so far), it would be an ideal time to jump on the best platform as opposed to using Microsoft without questioning the decision. Therefore, I am happy to take advantage of this training session and glad that the format will discuss 3 different platforms.

What Did I Learn?

The training is over and I have formed some conclusions while generating even more questions. Below are summaries of what I learned.

Pros & Cons of Different Platforms

If I want to sell a mobile application then I need to make a good decision for which platform to build it. Each platform has its own benefits so it is possible that each platform could be best for certain types of applications. Below are the high-level Pros and Cons for each platform:

Android

Photo by Spieri_SF

    Pro

    Quickly gaining popularity

    Open source    

    Con

    Uses Java

    Somewhat limited for game development

iPhone

Photo by William Hook

    Pro

    Most Popular

    Same OS for iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad

    Con

    Development requires a Mac

    Uses Objective C

    Only distributable through the app store

Windows Mobile/Windows Phone

Photo by Brooks Elliott

    Pro

    Familiar tools and language

    Mature – platform has existed for a while

    Con

    No physical devices for new platform version (7)

    Adoption is a downward trend

Enough Knowledge to Be Able to Manage an Outsourced App Developer

Realistically, I am not going to drop all my plans or projects to dive in and write an iPhone application. I have enough wisdom to know that would probably be a waste of time unless I really want to learn iPhone development or if I had a great idea for an app for which I knew there was a market. Therefore, I don’t need to know at this time how to develop a mobile application. I just need to understand the highlights.

I am trying to prepare for the moment when I have that great idea for a mobile application. When that happens, I don’t want to be clueless about the next steps involved. I want to have a good idea for limitations of current platforms, which technologies are emerging, and how to move forward getting the thing developed.

Ideally, I will someday “own” a mobile application. When the time comes, my plan is to hire someone to build it, but I do not want to be ignorant to what is involved. By seeing these demos, I have been introduced to developing mobile applications. If I want to learn the details, I know where to start. If I want to hire someone else to develop a mobile app, I can now intelligently discuss the project and properly vet the person’s credentials.

Insight as to Which Platform is Emerging as the Leader

Perhaps the most important aspect to deciding which platform to develop for is how popular it is. Simply put, the bigger the market that my application can reach, the more sales leads that can be generated. So which platform will the most users be running when my application is finished and ready to be sold?

At the time of this writing, the iPhone is the most popular of these 3 devices. 2^nd is Windows Mobile, with Android placing 3^rd.

Most importantly, iPhone users consume the most network bandwidth out of all smart phone users. I believe this is a testament to the high user engagement with iPhones and consider this a forecast of its future growth. Some industry experts have opined that Google’s Android platform will emerge as the leader given its “open” paradigm is more beneficial to developers. Still Microsoft’s upcoming release of Windows 7 Phones may tip the market share into their favor.

I am by no means an expert, but my bet would be that the iPhone will be the dominant smart phone platform for the next few years. The barrier to entry for users is low and it already has a head start influencing the industry. Everyone that has an iPhone loves it and everyone who doesn’t have one wants one. I don’t know a single person who is excited for any Windows Phone news and only a few who are aware of Android’s developments.

If Apple ever allows the iPhone to be used with wireless networks in addition to AT&T, such as Verizon, look out! They will have removed the biggest barrier left to everyone wanting one.

Which mobile platform do you see emerging? Which platform would you recommend? Your opinion is probably more informed than mine.

My duty today is similar to that of Rosalita’s. Today I warn you about signing employment agreements and other contracts when starting a new job without using the leverage that you have. No Firmen. No sign…

10 years ago, Joel Spolsky posted “NDAs and Contracts That You Should Never Sign.” His basic advice was to never sign Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) that had a non-compete or non-recruitment clause. Much of his advice is still valid.

Think about how you feel on your first day at a new job. Most people get stuck in “sponge mode.” They are absorbing every piece of information and perform every task they are told. At some point in the day, you meet with the Human Resources contact to fill out and sign a collection of paperwork. Among these is the Employment Agreement (also called other names such as Employee Contract or Company Handbook), which may contain the aforementioned clauses. You are in the habit today of following orders, so you read through the paperwork and sign it, despite your conscience telling you not to.

¡No Firmen!

Often times the contract you signed is harmless. You don’t plan to scavenge through your new company and recruit all the best employees for another company. You have never in your history divulged company secrets to competitors for sport. So you think you have nothing to worry about. You figure that you can just sign the document and everyone will be happy.

I have made this mistake before, and to be honest, I still survived. It has caused me some inconveniences over the years though, and I do not like the sneaky, yet fairly standard, methods that companies use to get new employees to sign.

When you are sitting there on your first day hovering over a contract, you probably do not know what you should do if there is language that you would prefer not to commit to. First of all, you should be able to take the document and consult a lawyer if you would like. A company that does not allow this is purely shady. But what if your lawyer instructs you not to sign it? Do you force your brand new company to change it or you will quit? Almost no one I know would feel strongly enough about signing a contract to threaten to quit her job. Most people fear that even making that threat would indicate to their new employer that they are planning to breach the contract, true or not. “How embarrassing would that be?” they think to themselves.

Your employee rights generally entitle you to negotiate employment contracts and agreements. An attorney will help you, if you don’t feel comfortable negotiating on your own. However, some employers might not be willing to negotiate one or more of their standard employment contracts or agreements.

Subsequently, be aware that, although it’s your right, attempting to negotiate an employer’s employment contract or agreement is effectively the same as declining the employer’s initial offer through a counteroffer. If the employer rejects your counteroffer, then the employer might not be legally obliged to again make the original offer.

from “About Employment Contracts and Agreements”

As described above, if you attempt to negotiate the contract, it may void the employer’s initial offer. This is scary territory, territory that I would like all my readers to avoid where possible.

Instead, new employees must use the leverage they have before they lose it. In other words, if you wait until the day you start your new job to review any contracts you might sign, you have waited too long. Your leverage is greatest before you have accepted any offer from your prospective employer, especially if you are currently employed.

“If we don’t do something now, there’s going to be a golf course right where you’re standing.”

After you receive a job offer, a couple of thoughts should go through your mind. Leading the pack might be:

• “Is this the salary I want?”
• “How much notice should I give my current employer?”
• “What does the benefits package include?”

Next in your mind should be “What rights do I have to sign away when starting the new job?”

When discussing your offer is a great time to ask about this. Be up-front with your contact at the new employer and ask if you can see the agreements or contracts you will have to sign when you start. You can then review the contracts and negotiate if necessary. At this point, you have not given notice to your current company, so you have little to lose (even in the worst case) if you choose not to sign the contract. Sure, the new employer could rescind its offer, but at least you can continue working your current job until you find another one. None of your current colleagues or bosses will be the wiser. It sure beats the feeling of helplessness on your first day, doesn’t it?

“No Pen. No Write. No Sign!”

By asking to see employment agreements up-front, you can reduce your risk of being trapped in a clause that concerns you. I see no downside to asking a company for this information. However, I do not necessarily recommend disputing any contract you might disagree with. You must weigh the benefits versus the risks of renegotiating any contract.

With that in mind, please help to spread this knowledge to friends and colleagues, especially those that have technical careers. Employees get “tricked” into signing unfavorable agreements often, yet it only takes a little preparedness and forethought to avoid them. And since you’ve already committed to reading this blog post, I need you to go ahead and sign my petition below. Don’t worry about the consequences. It’s harmless.

image by Kapungo

Update: For more information regarding employment contracts, see this great article
What Every Employee Should Know About Non-Compete Non-Solicitation Contracts.

Photo by Gerriet

The Big Idea

Here’s the weird thing, being away from a computer for a week is not relaxing given my current perspective of the world. The best vacation I can have right now obviously includes spending quality time with loved ones. However, I spend so much of my life trying to carve out time to work on side projects that a part of me feels like this week should be no different. Given that the resort has free Wi-Fi and my wife is taking her laptop, I have several types of tasks in mind that should make it easier to be as productive as possible without neglecting the opportunity to experience Mexico.

• Work on the soft tasks
  • I am writing this blog post on a piece of paper on the plane
  • Think about/write down marketing message
  • Think about what kind of influencers I need to contact about my product
  • Refine my elevator pitch
• Brainstorm
  • Interact with and observe people
  • Print out blogs that I have been meaning to read (often times, reading something short provokes creative ideas)
• Get Feedback
  • I’m spending a week with my family, so guess what, they’re going to have to hear about my ideas at least once
  • Listen to their feedback
• Work on the product (if possible)

Many of these tasks do not require anything more than conversation and time for reflection. Others only require a pen and paper. But when can I work on product development and/or communication with the outside world via email and the Internet? How can I make sure that I appropriately limit when and how I perform this work?

General Strategy 1: Limit Alcohol Intake

Maybe I sound like a party pooper but I plan to heavily restrict my alcohol intake this week. It is time to make the decision that I would rather feel all the time than to feel great while enjoying a buzz but tired/worthless the next day. The ultimate goal of this decision will be to harness as much energy as possible and to be awake when other family members are taking naps, etc.

General Strategy 2: Take Advantage of the Inequity of Preparation Times

Let’s face it. In most circumstances, men are able to spend less time getting ready for a night out than women. It is certainly true in this group’s case. My plan will be to get ready quickly and then get some work done while I wait.

General Strategy 3: Leverage the Cell Phone

Our resort ostensibly has Wi-Fi throughout its campus. I will therefore use my cell phone to access my e-mail and perform simple Internet queries through Wi-Fi access. This will limit any exorbitant roaming charges and will allow me to look less like a Dufus while surfing the Net by the pool-side.

Results (1 Week Later)

I must be honest. After a week of trying the above strategies, the report is that I did not have much success. I was hoping to be able to use my wife’s computer for some development work but technical difficulties quickly thwarted that goal. This left the soft tasks to be accomplished, which did not occur either. Believe it or not¹, when I was lounging around the pool-side in the sun, with extremely easy access to fun, alcohol, and jovial conversation, I was not exactly writing down any golden blog posts nor stellar website copy. In summary, peer pressure worked this week.

There were some accomplishments. I focused my plans going forward and broadened my perspective. I also was able to read The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. Somehow, reading a book by the pool was much more acceptable than sitting in the room on the computer. It gave me some great ideas on how to push forward as well as the confidence to do it.

Surprisingly, my cell phone received a good 3G signal, allowing me to send multiple productive emails and to stay up-to-date on twitter. This was nice given that the Wi-Fi was choppy anywhere that was not my hotel room and that I was then able to perform these tasks in taxi cabs, etc. [Update March 17: I should not have been tempted to use my data plan Internationally even though my phone gave me no indication that I was roaming. It cost a considerable amount of money which is what I was trying to avoid. Lesson learned.]

Looking back, I tried to attack the week with an intense level of energy that would allow me to enjoy vacation but to also be productive with “spare time.” The other vacationers in my family had no intention of exhibiting such energy level and were somewhat hurt by my attempts to get away. I have not learned much about how to be self-motivated and productive while also being engaged in the vacation with my family. Do you have any ideas about how I could have done this better?

¹ Note the sarcastic tone beginning now.

In this post, I discuss some of the perks of the Zappos work environment.

During the tour, I found myself checking off items in my head from my imaginary list of things needed in a dream workplace¹ :

Image from 37Signals’ Ta-da List

They provide the essentials for sure. You will definitely see me write about many of these key components of a great work environment throughout my blog entries.

Allow me to start with my favorite perk of working as a developer at Zappos, Adjustable Desks. I hope you can make out the picture that I took from my phone. In it, you can see a worker that is standing while working. I did not see anyone adjust his or her desk, but I understand that this can be done easily.

I can only imagine how much more comfortable this must be while working. One of the biggest drawbacks to being a developer is the health issues that can arise from sitting at a desk in front of a computer for long hours. Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, limited physical activity, and bad posture can be at least partially alleviated by Adjustable desks. Perhaps I am especially sensitive to the adjustable desks because I am fairly tall (6 feet 4 inches) and am often defaulted into using disproportionate desk furniture. Corporations do not want to purchase custom chairs and desks for each individual worker so a one-size-fits-all strategy is taken, which is no help in creating comfort. I can understand the need for saving money in this way. Alternatively, Zappos has made the definitive statement that they care about employees’ comfort by allowing the flexibility to work on a desk of any height. If I had this opportunity, I would sit comfortably before lunch and stand while working after lunch, helping me to both keep good posture and to stay awake. I appreciate a company that felt this was important even knowing that employees will occasionally be tempted to dance while typing.

My commonly observed theme was a high level of interaction between employees. Although there are numerous obvious benefits to this, my original notion was that it would be extremely difficult to get much work done on an individual level, as I alluded in Part 1 of this blog post. After all, to accomplish great work, knowledge workers need time without distractions:

We all know that knowledge workers work best by getting into “flow”, also known as being “in the zone”, where they are fully concentrated on their work and fully tuned out of their environment. They lose track of time and produce great stuff through absolute concentration…trouble is that it’s so easy to get knocked out of the zone. Noise, phone calls, going out for lunch, having to drive 5 minutes to Starbucks for coffee, and interruptions by coworkers — especially interruptions by coworkers — all knock you out of the zone. If you take a 1 minute interruption by a coworker asking you a question, and this knocks out your concentration enough that it takes you half an hour to get productive again, your overall productivity is in serious trouble.

—Joel Spolsky, Fog Creek Software
(from Where do These People Get Their (Unoriginal) Ideas?)

What I had not realized is that I had this thought before seeing the development department, which was in a second building detached but right outside the main building. In my opinion, this separation was a crucial element to Zappos’ success.

Many departments work differently. Some require heavy collaboration and outright noise. Others are responsible for cheering whenever a tour walks by. A development department cannot survive if such distractions are omnipresent. It will never be as productive as it should be.

I cannot say I got the full experience of what the development department was like just by walking through it. However, in general, the second building was much quieter than the main. Employees working in the second building receive the best perks from both buildings because it is still easy to hop over and get a fix of the different energy of the main building when necessary. Whether it be the need for a game of ping-pong or reflecting with Dr. Vic, it must be nice to know that these options are available but do not get in the way of day-to-day work habits.

Beyond gaining productivity from existing employees, Zappos’ excellent and interesting culture affords them a giant benefit: Top-Notch Recruits. How many potential employees take the tour or hear about Zappos’ unique culture and soon after take a look at Zappos job postings? I would imagine this occurs frequently, as I know at least one other blogger that I talked to on Twitter did this. By garnering extreme interest in the company, Zappos has a huge pool of candidates to choose from when deciding to hire, which inevitably gives them a pick of some of the most talented workers around. Not to mention, Zappos is headquartered in Las Vegas, NV, a vacation hot-spot and genuinely exciting city. Many talented individuals would consider relocating to Las Vegas for a great job opportunity, at least for a few years.

With all the obvious benefits that Zappos has created with its corporate culture, why doesn’t every company strive to be like them? The only answer I can come up with is a fear of employees taking advantage of the company’s policies. At “normal” companies, we submit equipment request forms for bigger monitors and ergonomic keyboards, we are required to be at the office between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm, and we are our responsible for directing our own personal growth. At Zappos, these things and more are offered as part of the employment package, allowing them to recruit the best of the best. As always with the best of the best, superficial concerns about work habits can be relieved by knowing that great work will get done, period. Also, with such a unique experience, employees that value it know that it cannot be recreated anywhere else, helping with employee retention.

If every company tried to create an extremely unique and happy culture, it would not work. Zappos falls into the perfect fit of culture with aptitude with industry. Encouraging collaboration and outgoing personalities helps them “deliver WOW through service” which makes them a successful retailer. As more and more companies attempt this, it will require “culture innovation” to stay unique and to continue to attract talent. Kudos for being at the leading edge of this trend, Zappos, I can only hope our paths will meet again.

1: A supremely neat novelty that Zappos had in the office was an industrial-strength blender. When we were walking through the tour, we watched them emulsify random office items like a foam ball and a pencil. I don’t know what the purpose is other than to relieve stress and to give outsiders something to talk about.