Better coding and programming...

Cool Tools update

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Vim Posted: 27 Apr 2011 08:36 AM PDT Whether I am writing email, creating a web page, or authoring a magazine article, I am communicating with others. I communicate best by practicing and by focusing on the content. I needed a powerful authoring tool that I could learn once and take with me everywhere I go, so I learned Vim. Vim is a programmer's text editor, mostly used by computer geeks. This geeky secret weapon was born many years ago. Vim's interface clones that of a spartan text editor from the 70s called "Vi" (Vim = Vi IMproved). Lately, more and more traditional authors are giving Vim a try. Vim is much harder to learn than a Web browser or email program. It takes practice. Folks that have practiced Vim for a while become fluent, and are able to effectively edit text at a pace which baffles onlookers. I've used the Vim text editor for over 10 years. Having been a long time WordPerfect user back in the DOS days, I was open to the idea that a powerful text-only editor was the best way to author content. Buttons, popups, and updates just distract me. Vim does not do WYSIWYG (graphics, formatting) editing, like Word or LibreOffice, and it doesn't replace tools that do. Vim just does text. But it does text very well. Sure, Notepad does text too, but only just. Notepad is your butter knife, Vim is your Swiss Army Multi-Tool. If you find that most of what you are typing is actually plain text, Vim might be right for you! Vim is free to download. The best place to start is the built-in tutorial "vimtutor". It will teach you the basics of navigating and editing text with Vim. Be ready to memorize a few short keyboard commands, because using Vim is generally easier without using a mouse! When you need help, ask the myriad enthusiasts in the vim live chatroom and mailing list. Vim is "charityware": the author encourages Vim users to donate to needy children in Uganda. Noone will sell you Vim, and there are no Vim advertisements. If someone says you should try it, it's probably because they found it useful. I highly recommend you start writing your first ebook in Vim today! -- Adam Monsen Vim Text Editor Free Available from Vim

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Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Better coding and programming...

Cool Tools update

---

Vim Posted: 27 Apr 2011 08:36 AM PDT Whether I am writing email, creating a web page, or authoring a magazine article, I am communicating with others. I communicate best by practicing and by focusing on the content. I needed a powerful authoring tool that I could learn once and take with me everywhere I go, so I learned Vim. Vim is a programmer's text editor, mostly used by computer geeks. This geeky secret weapon was born many years ago. Vim's interface clones that of a spartan text editor from the 70s called "Vi" (Vim = Vi IMproved). Lately, more and more traditional authors are giving Vim a try. Vim is much harder to learn than a Web browser or email program. It takes practice. Folks that have practiced Vim for a while become fluent, and are able to effectively edit text at a pace which baffles onlookers. I've used the Vim text editor for over 10 years. Having been a long time WordPerfect user back in the DOS days, I was open to the idea that a powerful text-only editor was the best way to author content. Buttons, popups, and updates just distract me. Vim does not do WYSIWYG (graphics, formatting) editing, like Word or LibreOffice, and it doesn't replace tools that do. Vim just does text. But it does text very well. Sure, Notepad does text too, but only just. Notepad is your butter knife, Vim is your Swiss Army Multi-Tool. If you find that most of what you are typing is actually plain text, Vim might be right for you! Vim is free to download. The best place to start is the built-in tutorial "vimtutor". It will teach you the basics of navigating and editing text with Vim. Be ready to memorize a few short keyboard commands, because using Vim is generally easier without using a mouse! When you need help, ask the myriad enthusiasts in the vim live chatroom and mailing list. Vim is "charityware": the author encourages Vim users to donate to needy children in Uganda. Noone will sell you Vim, and there are no Vim advertisements. If someone says you should try it, it's probably because they found it useful. I highly recommend you start writing your first ebook in Vim today! -- Adam Monsen Vim Text Editor Free Available from Vim

You are subscribed to email updates from Cool Tools	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

QUOTATIONS FROM THE FAST AND FRIENDLY CLOUDS!

Feel free to use some TANTALIZING QUOTES related to Twitter and Google for spicing-up your speeches, discussions, and board (bored?) meetings...

From Vogelstein writing in Wired magazine, August 2009:

“Google is big. Very big. Its millions of servers process about 1 petabyte of user-generated data every [60 minutes]...bigness is the very point of Google...its competitive advantage-is its ability to find meaning in massive sets of data. The larger the data sets, the more potential meaning can be derived...”

By the by, one petabyte (PiB) is equal to 1,125,899,906,842,624 bytes (B), and each standard byte contains eight bits (ones and/or zeros). Impressive, isn’t it?

Eric Schmidt, one of the founders of Google, repeatedly reminds his employees that Microsoft could crush Google at any moment. To wit:

“...because Microsoft is a follower, there is a concern that it could use its Windows monopoly to restrict choices”

Here's a couple from Jarvis in his What Would Google Do? book:

“When China’s Sichuan Province suffered its horrendous earthquake in May 2008, people who felt it firsthand shared their experience via Twitter...people in the quake zone would use Twitter to update friends...If I were going through a quake, I’d want to tell family and friends that I was safe, wouldn’t you?”

Note that back then, the Twitter service was only 600 days old – this is a reflection of the significantly swift adoption rate that y'all have for web services that “just work” connect you with your friends and family.

What Would Google Do?:

“...those of us that teach students in rapidly changing arenas...must get better at keeping up with – no, getting ahead of – our students, industry, and society.”

We're standing on the shoulders of Giants, right?

We're enjoying the multitudes of free web applications that are being developed nowadays to "just work," with the software vendor getting out of the way.

How do some of the newer, smaller, web vendors that "give away" free online services pay their employees, though?
The Web 2.0 conundrum...
Any brilliant ideas about this?

I keep hoping that this Golden (Google?) Age of developing free "just work" web applications lasts for a while.

If not, change will be brutally and significantly swift, too.

Talk about these ideas soon, eh?

QUOTATIONS FROM THE FAST AND FRIENDLY CLOUDS!

Feel free to use some TANTALIZING QUOTES related to Twitter and Google for spicing-up your speeches, discussions, and board (bored?) meetings... 

From Vogelstein writing in Wired magazine, August 2009:

“Google is big. Very big. Its millions of servers process about 1 petabyte of user-generated data every [60 minutes]...bigness is the very point of Google...its competitive advantage-is its ability to find meaning in massive sets of data. The larger the data sets, the more potential meaning can be derived...”

By the by, one petabyte (PiB) is equal to 1,125,899,906,842,624 bytes (B), and each standard byte contains eight bits (ones and/or zeros). Impressive, isn’t it?

Eric Schmidt, one of the founders of Google, repeatedly reminds his employees that Microsoft could crush Google at any moment. To wit:

“...because Microsoft is a follower, there is a concern that it could use its Windows monopoly to restrict choices”

Here's a couple from Jarvis in his What Would Google Do? book:

“When China’s Sichuan Province suffered its horrendous earthquake in May 2008, people who felt it firsthand shared their experience via Twitter...people in the quake zone would use Twitter to update friends...If I were going through a quake, I’d want to tell family and friends that I was safe, wouldn’t you?”

Note that back then, the Twitter service was only 600 days old – this is a reflection of the significantly swift adoption rate that y'all have for web services that “just work” connect you with your friends and family. What Would Google Do?:

“...those of us that teach students in rapidly changing arenas...must get better at keeping up with – no, getting ahead of – our students, industry, and society.”

We're standing on the shoulders of Giants, right?

We're enjoying the multitudes of free web applications that are being developed nowadays to "just work," with the software vendor getting out of the way.

How do some of the newer, smaller, web vendors that "give away" free online services pay their employees, though? The Web 2.0 conundrum... Any brilliant ideas about this?

I keep hoping that this Golden (Google?) Age of developing free "just work" web applications lasts for a while.

If not, change will be brutally and significantly swift, too.

Talk about these ideas soon, eh?

WHY AIR MILES ARE NEEDED FOR WEB 2.0

Before Web 2.0 evolved, the concept of "Customer loyalty" was pervasive in the software industry (E.g. "we've only ever used Microsoft Outlook for CRM").



In many people's view, this was the result of a combination of factors including the following:

• steep prices for software, making it prohibitive to buy from another vendor
• unique "killer" features of one title over another
• investment of intensive staff training, and costs of subsequent re-training

With the establishment of Web 2.0 software applications, smaller agile
companies were able to come up with competitive products that were
able to quickly pull "loyal" customers away from the giants. Some of the advantages are as follows:

• low fees for software
• streamlined features to get the job done
• easy-to-learn minimal staff training

Moreover, note that competing companies can copy all of the
functionality, terminology, and marketing from other companies
extremely easily...(e.g. compare the glaring similarities between American Basecamp and the European iTeamwork, for
instance).

In the current environment then, with high exportability of data
records, think about how easy it would be for you to buy one software
title...
use it for a while and then say "nah, there's something better over here..."
....and quickly change vendors
(e.g. people that used Evite from Yahoo now use
Facebook for event management;

Australian Diigo quietly took over Furl for online management of bookmarks;
Delicious is contending with Yahoo and Google Toolbar for bookmarks)!

Did Web 2.0 move us into a world of low customer loyalty, copycat
features everywhere, and high migration?

For instance, there are sooo many vendors for free (and almost free) Web 2.0 software for
task management lists, todo lists, and sticky note applications,
that it boggles the mind which one to choose.
Most sane people likely just "go with the marketing flow."

How do Web 2.0 vendors retain customers? To ponder...

• "Air miles" point / discount programs to make customers reluctant about switching vendors?
• How comfortable are you with the vendor's business philosophy - are you in-tune?
• With more organizations from your industry using the same application, there may be more apt support for your specific needs, right?
• Do you keep buying more and more disparate mini applications, or just get one giant application that is much more robust?

WHY AIR MILES ARE NEEDED FOR WEB 2.0

Before Web 2.0 evolved, the concept of "Customer loyalty" was pervasive in the software industry (E.g. "we've only ever used Microsoft Outlook for CRM").



In many people's view, this was the result of a combination of factors including the following:

• steep prices for software, making it prohibitive to buy from another vendor
• unique "killer" features of one title over another
• investment of intensive staff training, and costs of subsequent re-training

With the establishment of Web 2.0 software applications, smaller agile
companies were able to come up with competitive products that were
able to quickly pull "loyal" customers away from the giants. Some of the advantages are as follows:

• low fees for software
• streamlined features to get the job done
• easy-to-learn minimal staff training

Moreover, note that competing companies can copy all of the
functionality, terminology, and marketing from other companies
extremely easily...(e.g. compare the glaring similarities between American Basecamp and the European iTeamwork, for
instance).

In the current environment then, with high exportability of data
records, think about how easy it would be for you to buy one software
title...
use it for a while and then say "nah, there's something better over here..."
....and quickly change vendors
(e.g. people that used Evite from Yahoo now use
Facebook for event management;

Australian Diigo quietly took over Furl for online management of bookmarks;
Delicious is contending with Yahoo and Google Toolbar for bookmarks)!

Did Web 2.0 move us into a world of low customer loyalty, copycat
features everywhere, and high migration?

For instance, there are sooo many vendors for free (and almost free) Web 2.0 software for
task management lists, todo lists, and sticky note applications,
that it boggles the mind which one to choose.
Most sane people likely just "go with the marketing flow."

How do Web 2.0 vendors retain customers? To ponder...

• "Air miles" point / discount programs to make customers reluctant about switching vendors?
• How comfortable are you with the vendor's business philosophy - are you in-tune?
• With more organizations from your industry using the same application, there may be more apt support for your specific needs, right?
• Do you keep buying more and more disparate mini applications, or just get one giant application that is much more robust?

What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis

Okay, this is one of my new heroes because he authored a brilliant book...


...more ideas at Buzzmachine.com

Teach, market, and work the "Google" way for the next several years with some contemporary concepts!
Warning: some of the innovative and down-to-earth ideas might make some people cringe, perhaps because they are such a true depiction of how people learn nowadays.

This book is an "easy read," and the first half contains very keen insights about how to improve profits (across industries) today through Google.

After reading about the future of sales, I considered how experiential marketing, brand awareness, and advertising is becoming a more essential part of the Google world. I mean, how would anyone know what to type in the search box without marketing?

Oh, while you're at it, have a look at the Popular Search terms box on the top left of my blog. Pretty nifty, eh?

The latter chapters have some proposed models for the way the world might work in the future, and I noted how formal training, education, and continuing education is already changing into a more self-taught "Google" paradigm. Today, education is still a hot commodity - I think it can be kept "hot" with some of the following ideas, for starters:

• integrating WWGD? advice for both learners and instructors
  (like requiring less rote memorization per se)
• motivating institutions to establish creative marketing partnerships,
  especially with respect to helping companies to develop their staff effectively;
  Continuing Education, anyone?
• flexing the requirements for instructors when it comes to
  tenure, research, and field experience
  

Go ahead! Type some brilliant words into the Google box, and you get millions of results for products to buy, topics to learn, and incredible new experiences.



Oh boy, I wonder if the library needs my copy back yet?

What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis

Okay, this is one of my new heroes because he authored a brilliant book...


...more ideas at Buzzmachine.com

Teach, market, and work the "Google" way for the next several years with some contemporary concepts!
Warning: some of the innovative and down-to-earth ideas might make some people cringe, perhaps because they are such a true depiction of how people learn nowadays.

This book is an "easy read," and the first half contains very keen insights about how to improve profits (across industries) today through Google.

After reading about the future of sales, I considered how experiential marketing, brand awareness, and advertising is becoming a more essential part of the Google world. I mean, how would anyone know what to type in the search box without marketing?

Oh, while you're at it, have a look at the Popular Search terms box on the top left of my blog. Pretty nifty, eh?

The latter chapters have some proposed models for the way the world might work in the future, and I noted how formal training, education, and continuing education is already changing into a more self-taught "Google" paradigm. Today, education is still a hot commodity - I think it can be kept "hot" with some of the following ideas, for starters:

• integrating WWGD? advice for both learners and instructors
  (like requiring less rote memorization per se)
• motivating institutions to establish creative marketing partnerships,
  especially with respect to helping companies to develop their staff effectively;
  Continuing Education, anyone?
• flexing the requirements for instructors when it comes to
  tenure, research, and field experience
  

Go ahead! Type some brilliant words into the Google box, and you get millions of results for products to buy, topics to learn, and incredible new experiences.



Oh boy, I wonder if the library needs my copy back yet?

LEARN ONLINE, GET CHALLENGED, AND ADD VALUE!

I've been a member of TrainingZone for several years, and they seem to have more mature insights on the training profession, perhaps because the UK has advanced differently than Canada.
Below are a few helpful articles from 2008.

BIG PICTURE IDEAS ABOUT LEARNING ONLINE
Is e-learning just a mass-market delivery mechanism that offers the prospect of cutting per person training costs? What lessons have been learnt from its use? And how is its use changing and its value being assessed?



ATTENDEES THAT CHALLENGE YOU
How do you manage new employees who criticize your training methods, complain to senior staff and take the induction into their own hands? What training strategies will win back control and keep it?



REDUCE THE EXPENSE OF NO-SHOWS
How do you count the cost of no-shows to training? There seems little in the way of hard facts, but what we do know is they cost money - and lots of it.

LEARN ONLINE, GET CHALLENGED, AND ADD VALUE!

I've been a member of TrainingZone for several years, and they seem to have more mature insights on the training profession, perhaps because the UK has advanced differently than Canada.
Below are a few helpful articles from 2008.

BIG PICTURE IDEAS ABOUT LEARNING ONLINE
Is e-learning just a mass-market delivery mechanism that offers the prospect of cutting per person training costs? What lessons have been learnt from its use? And how is its use changing and its value being assessed?



ATTENDEES THAT CHALLENGE YOU
How do you manage new employees who criticize your training methods, complain to senior staff and take the induction into their own hands? What training strategies will win back control and keep it?



REDUCE THE EXPENSE OF NO-SHOWS
How do you count the cost of no-shows to training? There seems little in the way of hard facts, but what we do know is they cost money - and lots of it.