I was just reading TechCrunch, and I noticed the piece by Erick Schonfeld discussing the startup visa. It can be found here. I was unaware of this idea being floated around until reading this. I realize the bill was just introduced yesterday.
Visas are always a hot topic in the field of technology. And, this bill is a great way to reward individuals with green cards that are successful in getting their startup off the ground. There is always fear of us losing our entrepreneurial edge. This helps keep that spirit alive. It is what differentiates us from many other nations around the globe. In addition, immigration is what built this country. Therefore, you add immigration to rewarding individuals with being successful entrepreneurs, and we get back to the core values of this nation.
Let's hope this bill gains momentum. Nice to see potential progress on some issues in Washington, instead of watching both sides of the isle bicker back and forth at one another.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Mobile Area Is Surging - Open Source Leading The Way Within It
Developers with mobile experience are seeing a surge in opportunities available to them. Not surprising given the success of the iPhone. But, within the sector, open source is thriving. The number of devices running the Android OS has assisted greatly. And, according to this RCR Wireless article, web development is the leading subcategory in the mobile space. The language that dominates that area just happens to be PHP.
Therefore, if your interest lies in the hot mobile market, having an open source background can prove to be very beneficial.
Therefore, if your interest lies in the hot mobile market, having an open source background can prove to be very beneficial.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Importance of Corporate Open Source Activity
A lot has been made recently about Twitter having a page on its site that lists the open source projects it has released or contributes open source code to. A list of those projects can be found here.
One of the more interesting blog posts on this came from Dana Blankenhorn at ZDNet. It can be found here. In it he contemplates whether or not, by Twitter having a page on its open source contributions, it assists in recruiting top-notch engineers to the organization. It is a very interesting question, and one I am sure a lot of corporations think about.
Ultimately, I think it is a very wise move on Twitter's behalf to announce these contributions in plain view. Engineers that are involved with open source software tend to believe heavily in the principles behind the movement. They enjoy the fact that they can take existing code and continuously improve on it, and provide those changes back to the bevy of open source engineers that will continually do the same. In the end, it provides the best chance of building as solid a piece of software as possible. That is the idea at least in layman's terms. And, it seems to be working pretty well to this point.
Therefore, for a corporation to think and behave much like its engineers do is a benefit come recruiting time. You tend to see it time and time again. Much of the top open source talent that exists is employed by an organization that tends to view open source software favorably. Thus, they allow these engineers to continue to release code to projects in which they are active. In the end, it is a win-win for both parties. Engineers are happy that they work for an organization that shares their beliefs; and at the same time, the corporations are benefiting from the software that they are utilizing for their operations being continuously improved upon by the open source community.
One of the more interesting blog posts on this came from Dana Blankenhorn at ZDNet. It can be found here. In it he contemplates whether or not, by Twitter having a page on its open source contributions, it assists in recruiting top-notch engineers to the organization. It is a very interesting question, and one I am sure a lot of corporations think about.
Ultimately, I think it is a very wise move on Twitter's behalf to announce these contributions in plain view. Engineers that are involved with open source software tend to believe heavily in the principles behind the movement. They enjoy the fact that they can take existing code and continuously improve on it, and provide those changes back to the bevy of open source engineers that will continually do the same. In the end, it provides the best chance of building as solid a piece of software as possible. That is the idea at least in layman's terms. And, it seems to be working pretty well to this point.
Therefore, for a corporation to think and behave much like its engineers do is a benefit come recruiting time. You tend to see it time and time again. Much of the top open source talent that exists is employed by an organization that tends to view open source software favorably. Thus, they allow these engineers to continue to release code to projects in which they are active. In the end, it is a win-win for both parties. Engineers are happy that they work for an organization that shares their beliefs; and at the same time, the corporations are benefiting from the software that they are utilizing for their operations being continuously improved upon by the open source community.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Novell and Canonical Up the Ante
Novell and Canonical have updated their certification offerings. Novell has partnered with LPI (Linux Professional Institute), with the hopes that the collaboration will increase the number of Linux certified professionals. Canonical has increased its offerings to include hot areas such as Cloud Computing. A great review of these updates can be found in a summarization article by The VAR Guy.
It is good to see competition continually evolve in the certification space. There is no question that Red Hat is the market leader in this area. As I have mentioned before, we see more interest in the RHCE than any of the other Linux administration certifications. And, it is not even that close. As a result, I have always recommended the RHCE as the best way to get ahead, especially for less experienced administrators. With that being said, it would be wonderful to see others join the fray in a meaningful way. There have been a number of certifications that have been around for some time, but they have not been able to put much of a dent in Red Hat's armor. Perhaps with the moves that Novell and Canonical are making, that will slowly start to change.
It is good to see competition continually evolve in the certification space. There is no question that Red Hat is the market leader in this area. As I have mentioned before, we see more interest in the RHCE than any of the other Linux administration certifications. And, it is not even that close. As a result, I have always recommended the RHCE as the best way to get ahead, especially for less experienced administrators. With that being said, it would be wonderful to see others join the fray in a meaningful way. There have been a number of certifications that have been around for some time, but they have not been able to put much of a dent in Red Hat's armor. Perhaps with the moves that Novell and Canonical are making, that will slowly start to change.
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