Gennady Borukhovich (gboruk)

joeminock: dw31: SQL injection for defeating speed...

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:15:39 -0400

dw31:

SQL injection for defeating speed cameras

Ha ha ha! Score one for the coders… SQL Injection for beating that speed camera ticket!

Just thought this was humorous… this is why @dens is...

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 09:41:31 -0400

Just thought this was humorous… this is why @dens is awesome

joeminock: This picture is priceless! I love it. When working...

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 11:53:38 -0400

joeminock:

This picture is priceless! I love it. When working on “BuyJoe.com” a few years back, I sent out an email to our local prospects asking if they had any extra phone books laying around. The response to my message was astounding. I ended up with a ton of useless phonebooks and a few new clients :-)

Thanks to charliecurve for sharing this!!!

(via charliecurve obsoletethebook)

"Flash was designed for PCs using mice, not for touch screens using fingers. For example, many Flash..."

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:26:49 -0400

“Flash was designed for PCs using mice, not for touch screens using fingers. For example, many Flash websites rely on “rollovers”, which pop up menus or other elements when the mouse arrow hovers over a specific spot. Apple’s revolutionary multi-touch interface doesn’t use a mouse, and there is no concept of a rollover. Most Flash websites will need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices. If developers need to rewrite their Flash websites, why not use modern technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript?”

- Steve Jobs’s thoughts on Flash, he agrees with me: http://bit.ly/bdxy7b

"Me: how do you get into the business of selling baloons? Maggie: I don’t know, maybe after you..."

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 15:28:43 -0400

“Me: how do you get into the business of selling baloons? Maggie: I don’t know, maybe after you retire from being a clown, you start selling baloons. I mean you’d know the market!”

Why hiring a GREAT developer is crucial

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:00:00 -0500

I’ve had the pleasure of working with some great developers and the misfortune of working with some crappy ones. I’ve seen a developer who makes over $100k cost a company over $250k of rework and customer support because his work sucked so bad! I’ve seen a developer who gets paid peanuts (he was straight out of college) save a company over $500k because he was so good! The similarities: both knew Java extremely well and could churn out code like crazy! The differences: the good knew he was young and wanted to learn, the bad one thought he was the almighty and didn’t want to learn or play nice on the team he worked on. At the end of the day, I’d prefer to work with a kid straight out of college who knows how to code but who wants to learn more than anything, and who is flexible than a seasoned “senior” developer. In fact, I cringe when I hear someone say “oh he’s a senior developer so he’s good” that’s bullshit! What makes him senior? That he’s been in the field for many years? When did we stop judging people on results and start judging people on years in a job?

What makes a good developer?

A good developer:

Will look out for pitfalls in a design, not just be a code monkey
Understands that he/she is employed in order to provide business value
Will try to understand the big picture of the project he/she is working on
Will have at least one side project in a technology unrelated to the job (shows me that he/she wants to learn more than what he/she is doing on the job)
Understands the difference between at least 2 software methodologies and preferably loves Agile (fine, I’m biased)
Understands the value of clean code and practices techniques that help him/her keep their code clean & efficient
Knows the difference between test driven development and writing unit tests
Knows how to research solutions to problems (i.e. how to use google, stack over flow, ebooks, etc.)
Doesn’t just code the “happy path”, but also considers as many edge cases as possible/necessary, yet knows when to stop dwelling on edge cases and move on
Communicates well with others
Understands that everyone’s code has bugs; when someone says “Gennady, I’ve found a bug in your code” he doesn’t say “no you didn’t” and instead goes to investigate the issue. (bonus point if he/she writes a unit test that fails based on that bug first and then makes it pass.)
Can translate geek speak to business speak with ease
Detail oriented
Will try hard to solve a problem by themselves, but knows when to ask for help

What are the costs of hiring just a warm body?

the code will be dirty, buggy, and unmaintainable, resulting in a liability instead of a money making (or saving) asset
having personnel issues because the person will disrupt the team
*he/she will most likely spend time building features that will never get used, that cannot be re-used, and will only cost you more time and money

Conclusion

A “senior” developer is not necessarily a good developer! Hiring a developer (contractor or fulltime) should not be because you need someone to code for you, it should be about bringing someone in who can generate real business value without generating a liability. Make sure that you and your team can work well with this person and that he understands why he’s there getting paid. A developer is an investment, not a commodity!

what is this?

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:06:29 -0500

You can have people ask you questions

Stop building websites

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:56:46 -0500

The mobile revolution is here, it’s growing, and I think we’ve yet to scratch the surface of what will happen and what innovation we’ll see in the next 3-5 years. I’ve already given you my predictions for the mobile OS market in 2015. So why are companies still so focused on designing websites and web apps? Because today, and for a long time to come, the eye balls are on the web. However, going forward, we’ll be more and more focused on mobile uses of every application online.

While re-designing the site for my venture, My Grocery Buddy, we’ve decided to focus on the mobile apps. The website will have all the important features (I don’t disagree that the web is still where the eyeballs are), but we are designing it with the iPad, and any Android tablet that comes out, in mind. The mobile apps are the drivers of our requirements, not old web paradigms. We’re not doing any hover state or onMouseOver actions. If you can’t touch it with your finger, we’re not doing it. We’re also going to try to replicate the design in our iPad app. That’s right, the cat’s out of the bag, we’ll be building an iPad app. This is not a huge secret. If you’re not building an iPhone app or an iPad app or both for your business, you will fail. That’s all!

So I put a stake in the ground and challenge anyone who is designing, or re-designing a web application to STOP! Stop now and design a user interface that you can create on both the web app and a native iPad app (or Android tablet). A user will have the same if not identical user experience on both and they will be happy!

I initiated the chat from a buzz that @balanon started…...

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:42:37 -0500

I initiated the chat from a buzz that @balanon started… this is super google #fail

balanon:

Google Buzz fail. Warning: Do not use Google Chat through Google Buzz.

Blackberry should give up and profit more

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:00:00 -0500

The mobile device and OS market is on fire and, I for one, am super giddy about it! Between the iPhone and Android, there’s some exciting stuff going on. In the media, as it relates to the mobile market, iPhone and Android are all the media is talking about. It used to be that Windows Mobile, Blackberry, the occasional Palm device were the “smartphones” people used to hear about. Now? iPhone, Android, and the occasional Palm device. As far as I can see, Windows Mobile has to aquire someone in order to stay in the game… Palm? I recently wrote a post predicting what the Mobile OS market will look like in 2015. Conspicuously, Blackberry was not included in the pie chart. I do, however, think RIM/Blackberry has a HUGE opportunity right now, but they need to take advantage NOW!

RIM has valuable assets

RIM has millions of loyal customers; business, consumer, and government. They make tons of money on both devices as well as the Blackberry Enterprise Server (over 175,000 organizations have an installation!!) and they have awesome apps on their devices that their customers love including the blackberry messenger (BBM, which only blackberry users can use to IM each other instead of text), and Brick breaker. I use these on my work phone and they’re great! I’m new to blackberry so I may have missed a few nuggets that sets RIM/Blackberry apart from the rest. Therefore, RIM needs to reflect a little and really ask “What do our customers love about our devices and software?” Hold that thought. I want to switch gears for a second, but I’ll get back to this point.

Good Bye Blackberry OS, Hello profits

RIM should give up. Right now… On their OS. RIM should take Android (after all, it IS open source), and build at least one Blackberry that runs Android… RIGHT NOW! What will this get them? Well, they can save money by NOT continuing development on an OS based on over a decade of old paradigms. They can embrace the user experience of the Android, that people really like. RIM can take advantage of the hype of a growing app store and allow Android apps to run on Blackberry devices. Again, as per my prediction, the Android Market will be just about as big as the iPhone app store. Finally, they can port their existing gems, that I just talked about, to Android! It’s all Java and the underlying code should be very easily portable; mainly the user interface piece of the apps will change. They can port, brick breaker and sell it on the Android Market (maybe even for a price). They can, and should, figure out a way that only Blackberry Android devices can run the android version of the BBM, and make it so that only the Android Blackberry can talk to already existing and new installations of the Blackberry Enterprise server for Microsoft Exchange!! Or they can license the Blackberry Enterprise server client to other Android manufacturers. Apple says they’re pleased with enterprise adoption of the iPhone, so the sooner RIM nips this one in the bud, the better!

All in all, Blackberry can use their already extremely strong brand and attach it’s name to the growing strength of the Android brand while saving money on continued Blackberry OS development to mold it into something it’s not. By saving money on Blackberry OS development, they can easily raise their margins and maybe even sell MORE phones and increase sales. The problem with this, is what do they do with all the engineers that currently work on the OS? Well there’s lots of porting of code that needs to be done, plus lots of opportunity to innovate in this field today!

Bottom line, give up the OS game, embrace new UX, Android Market, and the hype… Oh and make more money.

Thoughts?

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler” And I could not agree more!"

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:16:00 -0500

““Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler” And I could not agree more!”

- Albert Einstein

Mobile OS market share (Circa 2015)

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:05:00 -0500

Web 3.0 is upon us and it’s not semantic web like some have thought it would be, it’s all about mobile. The numbers are in for 2015 mobile OS market share with Apple still leading with 45% of the market share and Google Android biting at Apple’s heels with a solid 37% while Symbian has fallen to an embarrassing 8%.

Well clearly, folks, it’s not 2015, and the RIM OS is not on this pie chart, but this pie chart is not far from what I think we’ll see in only 5 years. As I said, mobile web will be the essence of web 3.0. Having the world at your finger tips on various mobile devices (mobile phone, slate, laptop, etc.) will be the norm and we’ll see people in old folks homes rocking their iSlate to play a game of Bridge.

I’ve been putting off writing this post for a while now, but with the iSlate coming out tomorrow, I really had to buckle down and write this. The following are my predictions of what web 3.0, the mobile web will look like.

Mobile native apps and appstores

As the chart above shows, the iPhone and Android will be, by far the two dominant platforms, so you can’t talk about that fact without talking about where the app stores or app markets will be. Both app stores will be almost identical. The Android market will rapidly catch up to and mimic the Apple app store. Apple will be forced to somewhat relax their standards but the Android app may even have more apps. Uncensored apps will account for the difference.

What kind of apps will we have? We will see a lot more apps which run on both platforms that talk to each other. What I mean by this is that apps like the Knocking Live Video app that’s currently available for the iPhone, will also be available for Android, and an iphone user will be able to share video with an Android user. (I’m actually working on an app that will work in a similar way :-D… Sorry for the shameless plug). In fact, I’d assert that app interoperability will be a very common feature!

Devices

Well up until now the mobile market has been laptops, PDA’s, and cell phones. The Apple tablet (iSlate?), UPDATE #1 APPARENTLY, IT’S CALLED THE iPad. the Android tablet, e-readers, and other mobile devices will join the group. This is not rocket science. Amazon just released an their software development platform so that developers can develop apps for the Kindle. They see this trend and are jumping on big time! Within the next 5 years, having either a tablet, slate, netbook, as well as en e-reader (if they haven’t merged completely yet) will be a standard accessory much like just about everyone has both a laptop and a cell phone today.

One question I have, though, is, what hardware will we use to do actual work? It is not feasible to write tons of code, develop websites, work on huge financial reports, etc. on a tiny 7-10” screen while on the go. This is why I don’t think laptops are going anywhere anytime soon. UPDATE #2 with the introduction of iworks and browsing full web pages (think google docs), doing work on the tablets seems more viable. What a difference one little announcement from apple can make.

The tablets, or slates, that everyone will be carying will either allow you to run the mobile apps that you’ve purchased already or will allow you to run the laptop os (Chrome OS, Mac OS) as a host and the mobile OS as either an emulator or virtual machine. This is still very hairy, but the potential is there.

Hardware Accessories

I was a bit surprised that with the introduction of iPhone 3.0, we did not see more hardware accessories and apps that work with external hardware that gets plugged into the iphone. With that said, I don’t see much of a future here. People will want to minimize how much hardware they carry around, not maximize. This is a bit sad from a business point of view as these devices may have commanded some high margins for producers.

Conversely, more and more, we’ll see apps on our mobile devices be a gateway to our everyday devices. Forgot to turn off the iron?… There’s an app for that. Need to pre-heat the oven?… There’s an app for that. Need to feed the dog?… There’s an app for that. Etc.. Oh and Apple should and probably will trademark “there’s an app for that”!

Microsoft

So where does big Redmond fit into all this? They have missed the boat BIG TIME! However, they will buy someone. My Guess is that they’ll either buy Research in Motion, Palm, or Motorola’s mobile division. They’ll spend billions on this aquisition and will be part of that 10% in the pie chart above. WIth that said, look to Microsoft to build some bad-ass mobile enterprise applications that only run on their own devices but are interoperable with Android devices and iPhones. Also, please watch for an upcoming post on what direction I think Blackberry should be taking in the very near future.

Should I switch from iPhone to Android?

I’ve posted about this before, and I’ll say it again. Today, the game is not to convert iPhone users to Android, it’s to get people who don’t currently own an iPhone to buy Android. Well for now anyway. In 5 years, the battle will be full throttle and the two will be fighting to convert the other’s customers. Watch for subsidized apps you already bought on the other platform, unlocked devices being the standard, etc.

Conclusion

I can’t wait to see how all this plays out! I’m stoked!

What do you think? I’d love to see your comments on this one!

My Invitation to the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting haha

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 23:15:07 -0500

My Invitation to the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting haha

Ooooo yeah! Dilbert 2010 calendar!

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:28:55 -0500

Ooooo yeah! Dilbert 2010 calendar!

"I’m Paraphrasing: “a number of years ago, a press release was 2 stapled pages then it..."

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:03:40 -0500

“I’m Paraphrasing: “a number of years ago, a press release was 2 stapled pages then it went to 1 page then a short email, now it’s 140 characters on Twitter” - Lloyd Trufelman (Trylon SMR)”

My grandma left me a voicemail last week in Russian and google...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 08:06:55 -0500

My grandma left me a voicemail last week in Russian and google voice translated it and transcribed it!

Things startups do and don't need

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 12:26:00 -0500

balanon:

cdixon:

Things startups do need

Sunny office

Windows that open

Democratically controlled music system

Two forms of internet access

Beer on fridays

EVDO cards

Video game system

Good coffee maker

Proximity to public transportation

Proximity to park

Heating that goes all night

Health care plans for everyone

Mac laptops with second monitors

Plants

Lots of in-person interaction

Gmail and Google docs

Soft lighting

Things startups don’t need

Fancy (Aeron) chairs

Expensive art on the walls

Vacation policy

PR firm

Dress code

Private offices

COO’s and GMs

Business cards

Microsoft products

Dental plans

Free lunches

Central air conditioning

Doorman

Phone system

Set time you need to arrive in morning

Meetings

Carpeting

“Success is an accumulation of successful day.”

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:49:00 -0500

“Success is an accumulation of successful day.”

This is what #inboxzero looks like :-D

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:30:06 -0500

This is what #inboxzero looks like :-D

NYC Subways: To be or not to be (on the local train)

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:45:35 -0500

The NYC subway is crowded, dirty, old, rodent infested, the list goes on. But it is, undoubtedly, the best and most efficient way to get around New York City. Every weekday, over 5 million people take to the underground to avoid ever rising cab fare, weather, tourists and traffic. Patrons include corporate CEO’s, the homeless, tourists, hipsters, students, everyone!!!! Even Bloomberg himself takes the subway… kinda. The MTA gives you a great map to help you get around and most lines within Manhattan have at least one express train to help New Yorkers get to where they need to go faster.

The one thing that the MTA doesn’t give you are rules to live by for using the subways. After years of riding the subways to work, meetups, coffee shop meetings, and restaurants, I’ve come up with a few simple guidelines for choosing whether to wait for the next express train or jump on the local train The one kicker is that due to the inherent uncertainty that comes with waiting for a New York subway train, it takes some discipline to over come the temptation to just get on the next train and not follow these guidelines; especially after a long day at work when you just want to get home.

So here are my guidelines for when you are faced with the choice between the express train and local train:

1. No-brainer: If you get to the platform and there’s an available express train or the next train that arrives is an express, jump on it.

2. If you actually physically saw the last express train leave as you’re racing down the stairs, or if it’s rush hour and the side of the platform for express trains is just about empty, GET ON THE NEXT local train! Don’t hesitate thinking you’re going to outrun this local with the next express. That almost never happens!

3. If you think or know that it’s been a little while since the last express train and you’ve missed the local that came after the last express, DO NOT get on the next local!!! This is crucial. Resist the temptation to get on “the next train”. Wait for the next express train. If you get on the next local, you WILL find yourself stopped at the next stop looking out the window at the express train flying by with thousands of happy faces (if it’s not going too fast for you to see them) while you’re stuck between Harry, the smelly bum, and Leopold, the hipster from Williamsburg (no offense, I have much love for the hipsters, just saying!).

This one comes with only one single exception: Get on the local if, and only if, you’ve been privy to information that the express line has some unusual delays.

So there you have it, my rules for choosing between local and express!

Disclaimer: I have zero scientific, mathematical, or statistical data to back up these guidelines. These come strictly from my frustrations, boredom, and obsession with trying to be more efficient in everything I do. If you agree, disagree, have your own guidelines that you follow or anything to add to this, PLEASE comment below!

ONE FINAL REQUEST. If you have any tricks that help you come out of the subway less sweaty and gross on your way to the office in the morning, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE share below, send me an @ mention on twitter to @gboruk, or e-mail me at gboruk@gmail.com. I beg you!