Unless you tell us otherwise.

We've decided to stop writing this newsletter. I've found that I rarely read the newsletters I get anymore. I subscribe to a handful, and as more and more material crosses my desk, I have less and less time to read it all. I keep each newsletter for a while, intending to read it later, but never find the time. We're thinking most of you probably do the same.

Now, we're going to stop sending the newsletter, but I'm not stopping writing. The technical articles will appear in my blogs, and I'll tweet about the items I now cover in TechCheck. I'll move the Teaser to Facebook and actually post a teaser every week – answer to follow the next week Instead of subscribing to TechConnections, all you have to do to keep current is get on Facebook and become a fan of SemCo Enterprises.

We're doing this because we think this will be easier for both of us, but please let us know if you don't agree.

Here's the schedule or you can view the complete schedule on our Website:

CSTA Web sessions:
April 14, 15
May 26, 27

UITJ (Understanding IT Jobs) Web sessions:
May 27

TR Web sessions:
April 21
June 16

Keep in touch - I love hearing from you - and keep up with technology!

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TechKnowledge

Cloud Development - PaaS

We're all getting used to the cloud, and references to applications running in the cloud. The simplest explanation is, of course, the cloud is the Internet. We execute applications through browsers rather than operating systems. If we're honest, we'll admit that things run slower, but we really see no difference when we use cloud applications. There are differences though, especially to those who develop the applications.

Google always seems to be in the picture when talking about online anything, and Google Apps is one of the major cloud environments. It indeed is a marketplace. Google encourages anyone to develop corporate applications they think they can sell and run them on Google Apps. Or, develop online apps for their own company and run them on Google Apps. Google supplies all the software to develop, house, and run the applications, and it's all home grown – developers have to learn new things to develop for Google Apps. Google Apps Engine is a PaaS (Platform as a Service) with many parts. First of all, it contains development tools including an App Engine SDK (Software Development Kit), support for Java, the full Python language and most of the Python standard library. Then there are runtime or deployment tools which support dynamic Web serving, persistent storage, automatic scaling and load balancing, APIs for authenticating users and sending e-mail using Google Accounts, That sentence contains lots of buzz words that developers understand, but you get the picture. The development is in the cloud, the application is in the cloud, and the execution is in the cloud.

Other PaaS systems work completely differently. Amazon's EC2 (Elastic Cloud Compute) doesn't use development or deployment programs written by Amazon. It allows developers to use the skills they might already be using on the job. They can pick from:

Operating systems: multiple Linux distributions including Red Hat, SUSE, Debian, Ubuntu, OpenSolaris, and Windows Server;
Databases: Oracle 11g, Sql Server 2005, MySql Enterprise;
Web Servers: Apache, IIS;
Application development: Java Application Server, JBoss, Ruby on Rails.

They choose what operating system the application will run under, what database will be used for the data (Google has its own proprietary database technology), and what deployment tools will be used. Developers can develop online or back at the office and then upload the applications.

You can get lots of discussion on which is the better way to go, but the bottom line is that both approaches work.

Another area cloud development addresses is who does the development. Yes, most cloud apps are developed by corporate employees for their employer. Some apps, however, are created by self-employed techies, or by a garage start-up trying to start a software business. Look at iPhone Apps. This is an entire marketplace of applications developed by - well, anyone who has a program they think other people could use. The app has to be accepted into the marketplace, and it can be offered as a free app (I have one that turns my iPhone into a flashlight) or for a fee. This is happening in the cloud for business applications. Google Apps Marketplace was just launched in March, and it carries iPhone Apps to the corporate level. Vendors such as Intuit and Box.net have already posted applications. Intuit provides Intuit Online Payroll for small businesses, and Box.net is the name of the vendor and an available content management system. Google Apps customers can purchase applications which will automatically be integrated into their Google Apps domain.

In fact, some cloud applications are developed by the users themselves. Force,com (the PaaS offered by SalesForce.com) is the environment that allows SalesForce customers to write their own enhancements and add-ons. And, if they have a good program they can include in the the AppExchange so other SalesForce customers can also use it. Force.com is similar to Google Apps in that it has its own tools including Apex (a programming language), VisualForce (used to builds the user interface), and AppExchange (a library of thousands of applications that users can try and install in their own systems). Most of these tools are written by the IT department within SalesForce's customer companies, but some are written by the actual users; the business men and women themselves. Even non-programmers can now create online applications. And, this will keep growing.

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TechCheck

1. What's the significance of $1337 to Google?

2. Which of the following does not belong?
Android
Driod
Droid Aris
Nexus One
Supersonic

3. Is Amazon's Kindle the only eReader available?

4. Here's another number that keeps popping up. What's 508?

5. Have you ever gotten 100% on TechCheck?

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Updating UITJ AGAIN

I have to add the "again" because this is constant. When you work with IT you have to be current, which means constant updating. UITJ (Understanding IT Jobs) has to change when the jobs change.

The "specialties" area has been revised. As the Internet becomes more and more dominant in the IT world, Internet jobs have become a complete specialty. Developers who work on eApplications have different skills – they use different languages, different design tools, and have different ways of testing. Techies cannot easily move from developing corporate, in-house applications to developing programs to run in the cloud. And, vice versa.

We've added additional specialties to each section. As IT grows, so does the body of knowledge. And we've included information from Dice on what they see as the hottest certifications, and 2010 predictions for hot skills and tech trends. It's always fun to add this information.

Check out the dates for these programs. And, follow the links to course descriptions.

UITJ  (Understanding IT Jobs) May 27   
TR Program (Technical Recruiting)   Apr 21,  Jun 16     

Remember – UITJ is included in TR Program (Technical Recruiting) so this information is covered in both courses. And, if you've taken CSTA you can take either of these within a year at a discounted rate of 50%.
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Answers to TechCheck

1. That's the amount of the "bug-bounty" that Google will pay to people who find significant flaws in the Chrome browser. More minor errors will reap $500. $1337 is a reference to "leet," a kind of geek-speak used by some researchers; there, "leet" is rendered as "1337." Leet is an abbreviation of elite and means "the best of the best."

2. a)does not belong. Android is Google's operating system for mobile devices. The other four are smartphones that use the Android operating system.

3. Not only has the Blio eReader been demonstrated, the iPad is being sold as an eReader. In face, this category is expected to show huge growth.

4. Government regulation that requires electronic and information technology purchased by the government is accessible to people with disabilities, including employees and members of the public. It states 16 items which must be followed in order to be compliant with the section and knowing 508 is often a requirement for Web development.

5. If you have, absolutely let us know! We want to brag about you.

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