Google Groups has proven itself far less accomodating than I had anticipated. It quickly became clear that we needed a more complex solution in order to streamline and simplify the learning experience for individuals. So we've moved to a full forum-based solution.
The new site is located at CodeLearners.com
Things like specific methodology are still being planned. We'll have an IRC channel on Freenode and more functions will be added to the site as the project progresses. If you're interested, please do not hesitate to get involved. This developmental phase depends heavily on the input of people new to programming, web dev/design, and computer geeks who wish to learn about other computing technologies (such as Linux). The forums can be expanded to cover many different things.
I'm still looking for more people who are interested in learning about programming, particularly with Java. I've got a Google Group account set up for some collaborative learning. Google Wave should be very useful. It's more robust than Etherpad was, and I found Etherpad to be immensely helpful for discussing code.
Anyone who's interested should contact me.
I'd been growing tired of my previous OS configuration, regarding both a heavily customized Ubuntu 9.04 install and Windows XP (both 64-bit). So I formatted both drives and installed the new Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Long-Term Support). Since this is an LTS distro, it will be actively supported for 2 years, compared to the 6-month cycle of non-LTS versions.
I'm happy with it, for the most part. There have been some positive changes, but there have been some regressions. Xinerama seems a bit more problematic than in 9.04. I don't particularly like the new purple default theme, which really isn't a big deal since it can be changed very easily. Flash is still much more CPU-intensive than it was in Windows, much to my dismay. But I believe that to be an Adobe problem. Being that HTML5 is likely to provide an alternative to, and in some cases replace Flash, I'm hoping this won't be much of an issue in the near future. Of course it would be nice if Adobe worked on a better Flash plugin for Linux anyway.
I'm hoping updates will fix some of the quirks, but even if they don't, I'm much happier with Ubuntu than I was with Windows.
Well, I finally got things started, and we're currently at 18 members in our Java learning group. I've developed a schedule for members to follow, using Youtube tutorials and weekly projects that are based on the week's tutorials. This schedule is subject to change, according to the needs of the group. If people feel it's moving too fast, I'll adjust it to a slower pace. If people feel it's too slow, I'll pack more tutorials into each week. If there's a clear split between opinions on that matter, I may fork the schedule and have two different groups within the group.
Several other members have expressed interest in learning other languages after Java. I have great interest in learning Python, but I'm willing to go along with whatever the group wants. Due to mixed backgrounds in programming, I wouldn't be surprised if the group ended up splitting into two other languages. Some popular mentions are: PHP, SQL, Python, C++. All of those interest me, as well as C, C#, D, Javascript, Visual Basic (VB is only for the sake of understanding other people's code). But like I said, it's about what the group wants.
Of the 18 current members (there are several more pending) I'd say about half seem to have significant programming experience already. Some of the more experienced members have offered to help out if newer members need it. I'm really looking forward to this.
If this sounds like something you'd like to get into, you're welcome to join in. It requires a Google account (Gmail, etc), and access to Youtube. We'll be starting Monday, June 28th. But it shouldn't be too difficult to catch up if anyone wants to join late.
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Dating... No, not as in "going out". Dating as in displaying the date something was created. Like web pages, articles, etc. I absolutely cannot stand when people do not date their web pages when the page contains time-relevant information.
I was reminded of this when I was looking up methods of writing text files with Java, and wanted to know if a page that had code which did not work correctly for me was outdated. Of course, the person who wrote it didn't date the article. As is to be expected, I flew into a furious rage; jumping out of my living room window, smashing cars, throwing trains, and creating rock quarries with my fists. Yeah, this really pisses me off...
Anyway, I remembered that there is an HTML meta tag to indicate a page's creation or modification date. What's that mean? It means some pages (especially those generated by software) may have a date of creation/modification, even if it's not shown on the page.
Here's how you check it. (Shortcuts may be different in other browsers, but this works with Firefox and Chromium, the linux version of Chrome.) On most pages, you can hit "Ctrl U" to view the source code, then hit "Ctrl F" to use the Find feature. Type: meta name="date" and hit enter. This should highlight that portion of the date meta tag, which is next to something like: Content="2009-12-10". Remember, international date format is the proper standard here, so it should be xxxx-xx-xx Year-Month-Day format.
You can also usually just right click the article and choose "View Page Source". Some pages don't even have the date meta tag, so there's no guarantee either way.
But if you catch a webmaster failing to date his shit, smash his face. If it's a chick, just call her really bad names.
I'm still looking for more people who are interested in learning about programming, particularly with Java. I've got a Google Group account set up for some collaborative learning. Google Wave should be very useful. It's more robust than Etherpad was, and I found Etherpad to be immensely helpful for discussing code.
Anyone who's interested should contact me.
I'd been growing tired of my previous OS configuration, regarding both a heavily customized Ubuntu 9.04 install and Windows XP (both 64-bit). So I formatted both drives and installed the new Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Long-Term Support). Since this is an LTS distro, it will be actively supported for 2 years, compared to the 6-month cycle of non-LTS versions.
I'm happy with it, for the most part. There have been some positive changes, but there have been some regressions. Xinerama seems a bit more problematic than in 9.04. I don't particularly like the new purple default theme, which really isn't a big deal since it can be changed very easily. Flash is still much more CPU-intensive than it was in Windows, much to my dismay. But I believe that to be an Adobe problem. Being that HTML5 is likely to provide an alternative to, and in some cases replace Flash, I'm hoping this won't be much of an issue in the near future. Of course it would be nice if Adobe worked on a better Flash plugin for Linux anyway.
I'm hoping updates will fix some of the quirks, but even if they don't, I'm much happier with Ubuntu than I was with Windows.