The Pete On Software Podcast: Recent Episodes
Pete Shearer
A podcast focused on modern application development technologies, the business of software, and technologists that drive our industry. Topics will include .Net, Mobile Development, Soft Skills, Front End, Back End, and everything in-between! (Podcast Complete)
In Episode 51, we go back to our interview roots and have our first returning guest (who was also our first guest, period), Matthew Groves. Matthew is a Developer Evangelist for Couchbase, Inc. I've been following what he's been doing with Couchbase since joining the company and I was interested to find more about the product. It turns out that Couchbase has some pretty nice features and you'll want to listen to this episode and find out what's new.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Couchbase
Cross Cutting Concerns
Couchbase Blogs
The CouchCase
CodeMash
Matthew Groves' Original Pete on Software Episode
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I figured with the year coming to a close that I would take a look back at the goals that I made on this podcast at the beginning of the year. As I went to pull up that episode to find out what I had promised "exactly", I found out a sad fact.... I made that episode in 2015! Soldiering on, I take a look at those goals and talk about what my goals are in 2017 and even if it is worthwhile to make goals if they are going to change. It all culminates in a little Wes Bos lovefest ;-)
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Episode 31
Social Network Movie
Episode 33
Wes Bos' React for Beginners Course
2 Keto Dudes Podcast
Wes Bos' Site
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In this episode, I take a look at one word that you might be using that is making you look like kind of a jerk. Did I just call you a jerk? Maybe a little, but honestly this episode is mostly about how I might have inadvertently been being a jerk for quite some time.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
The O-Word
Simple Programmer YouTube Channel
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In this episode, I take a look at a question that I ran across, "Is Coding the Easy Part?" I engage that question and take a look at everything that developers need to do to create quality software and try to figure out where the actual "writing code" part falls in the rankings.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Quick Draw With Google
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The World Wide Developer's Conference (WWDC) is like the Super Bowl for Apple Developers. Thousands of developers vie to get a ticket and even those without tickets still go to San Francisco and attend ancillary events. As I've done the last few years, I watch the keynote and distill it down for you so you can trade 2 hours of your life for about 15 minutes of wrap up ;)
Links Mentioned in this Show:
NES Classic Edition
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I recently finished reading a book by Dan Lyons called Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble on the recommendation of my friend Dustin Rogers. This book is an inside look at a company called HubSpot that - according to Lyons - exhibits some of the worst and most stereotypical traits of Silicon Valley companies. In this episode, I review the book and talk about some of the things that drive me nuts about these kinds of companies.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Disrupted on Amazon
Dustin's Podcast Episode
HubSpot's Rebuttal to the Book
HyperDev Announcement
HyperDev Site
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In today's episode, I interview Erik Dietrich from Daedtech.com. Erik wrote a blog series about something he called "The Expert Beginner". When I read that, I felt kind of convicted because I was worried that I was wreaking havoc all of the city with "Expert Beginnerdom". Listen in to find out what an Expert Beginner is and if you are one or know one!
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Erik's Blog
Erik on Twitter
The Post that Started it All
Erik's Books and Pluralsight Courses
Pick of the Week: SwiftNinja.io
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This past week, someone's comment that they "don't blog, they solve problems instead" really struck a nerve with me. Not only because I'm a blogger, but because I know just how many times a day that my problems are solved because someone blogged the solution at some point in the past.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
The Original Tweet
The Blog Post that caused the comment
John Sonmez Blogging Course
Soft Skills Book (affiliate link)
Dial2Verify
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Why is the average age of a developer so much less than the average age of a professional worker in the United States? Is it because the industry as a whole is striving to keep people out? Are companies replacing people as soon as their salary starts to get higher with people who make half as much and will work twice as many hours for the same salary? Check out what I think about it in this week's episode.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Developers Fear Age 30
Older Workers are More Knowledgeable, but Harder to Find
Where do all the Old Programmers Go?
Silicon Valley's Dark Secret
Neural Network in the Browser
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In episode 42, I don't have the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything, but I do have thoughts and reactions to Microsoft's 2016 Build conference. I cover Bash on Windows, Ink, Bots, and Free Xamarin for everyone!
Links Mentioned in this Show:
XKCD Thing Explainer
Cleartext
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Last time, I was looking for some feedback about how this show should go in the future (and if it should go on at all). You guys responded and I talk about that response and what to expect from me in the future. I also start talking about the left-pad NPM module that "broke the Internet" and a blog post I found about it. Then, I get a little worked up about it and go on a little rant of my own ;-)
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Haney - Have We Forgotten How to Program?
Azer - I've Just Liberated My Modules
Kik - A Discussion About the Breaking of the Internet
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In this episode, I come back from my almost seven month hiatus to wonder about what this podcast should be and if I am putting out the kind of content that my audience and the audience at large is looking to hear. I talk about my original plans for the show, what I see in the podcasting space as a whole, and where I could go in the future. In the end, though, I am looking for feedback.
Leave a comment or tweet me @PeteOnSoftware and let me know. Should I:
- Keep it up
- Change it up (become more narrowly focused... if so, on what)
- Give it up
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Gimlet Media
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Today, I heard about Warren Buffett's "Two List Strategy", also known as the "25 and 5 Rule". I don't know if the story is apocryphal or real, but I think the lesson is just as valid. When I got to my picks of the week, the first one went the normal way. But then I started talking about Amazon Underground and apparently I hit a hot button with myself. I ended up talking about Amazon Underground for about as long as Warren Buffett's strategy. We go where the muse goes ;)
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Warren Buffett's Two List Strategy
David Smith's Twitter
Do Not Let Your Users See Spinners
Amazon Underground
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It has been a little while since I posted a new episode, so when inspiration struck me while waiting in the car, I didn't pass up the opportunity to record Episode 38. I used my phone as a voice recorder and shared a kind of stream-of-consciousness rant. Some things had really piled up on me recently, not the least of which was my disgust with much of the development community at large. Major targets of my focus include judgement of new developers, judgement of people by their technology of choice, my dislike of "Why I'm Leaving X" posts, and how being yourself doesn't mean that you need to be a douche when interacting with others.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
21 Management Things I Learned at Imgur
Asciinema.org
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Earlier this month, I saw a tweet that kind of got me fired up. It was pushing the same tired arguments about why companies that don't allow remote working are backwards and dumb. Everyone knows the benefits for the developer in a remote working situation and most people know how having a distributed force can help the company. But, can you turn around and see things from the point of view of companies that don't allow remote workers? In this podcast, I do just that.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
The tweet that got me started
Andy Adams in Episode 32
Hanselman's Latest Remote Working Post
What to do when you're the dumbest person in the room
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Recently, I found two "open letters" on the Internet. Episode 36 has me examining their contents and pointing out where I find fault with each. The letter that started it all was from a PM and was aimed at telling developers how to do their job. The rebuttal, from a Developer to a PM, was written to explain how the PM was wrong and how they should do their job. There is actually plenty of wrongdoing in both letters and we'll take a look at that with the aim of behaving better and having better attitudes in the workplace.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
The Letter from the PM to the Dev
The Letter from the Dev to the PM
Fired
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In episode 35, I cover the Apple Watch Event. Of course, the two-hour event was not just about the watch, but that's all most people cared about. I talk about what new things that we learned about the watch, some of the apps that are going to be available at launch, and what it is like to actually develop for the thing yourself. I also answer the most pressing question... will I buy one? Check it out and let me know what you think.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Official Apple Watchkit Site
As I Learn WatchKit
WatchKit at RayWenderlich.com
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Episode 34 is a little shorter than my normal solo podcasts, but it is a topic that I have been thinking about for a bit and I just wanted to get it off of my chest. Design Patterns aren't like Duct Tape - the more you use, the better it is. In fact, they actually won't all work together if you go in 100% on them. Today, I talk about 2 of those examples and then talk about how you should go about discovering good software design.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Stack Overflow Question on how to write a library, giving possibilities across the DRY/Coupled spectrum
InfoQ - DRY Code and Coupling
TopTal Videos, the pick of the week
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Last Monday, Rob Eisenberg released Aurelia.js. This was a culmination of sorts of a whirlwind of activity that was kicked off when Rob left the Angular 2.0 team at Google. A lot of people wondered what he was up to (including me!), so I asked him to be on the show to talk about what's been going on. We talk about SPAs, why he left Google, what's special about Aurelia, how to handle learning all of these frameworks, and much more.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Aurelia
Rob's Leaving Angular Post
Rob's Twitter
Rob's Blog
Aurelia vs Angular Round One
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Andy Adams wrote a blog post about how to price yourself as an independent software developer. It was so good that I made it a pick of the week. Andy started to see traffic from my site and we struck up a conversation. Right away, I knew that I needed to have him on the show. We talk about how he became an independent, how he sets his rates, how to find customers, some of the perils of creating your own products, and whether you even want to be an independent developer in the first place. It is a fantastic interview, check it out.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Andy's Company
You Can Charge More, by Andy Adams (the post that started it all)
Andy's Twitter (genius Twitter handle! ;-) )
Ask HN: How to get started with paying side projects?
Podcast Episode 30, where I featured Andy as a pick
Podcast Episode 17, my episode on Going Independent
Gail Goodman - The Long Slow SaaS Ramp of Death
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2015 is kicking off with Episode 31 of the Pete on Software Podcast. In this episode, I talk about the difference between how I see "resolutions" and "setting goals". If we all are treating our careers like small businesses, we need to make SMART goals in order to propel ourselves forward. I go over my goals for 2015 and ask for your feedback to see what you have planned.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Forbes' Article about New Year's Resolutions
Dim Sum Thinking Podcast about not telling
Derek Sivers on not telling
Learn Scrivener Fast Course
John Sonmez's Soft Skills Book
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For my last episode of 2014, episode 30 has me giving my opinions on what makes someone a programmer. Moreso, what classifies someone as a "professional" programmer. Is it merely "programming for pay", or is there something else to it? People on Quora and other places on the Internet have no shortages of opinions, so - of course - I have to weigh in with my own!
Links Mentioned in this Show:
The Question that started me thinking
You Can Charge More, by Andy Adams
Codewords Quarterly
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In Episode 29, I take some time to think about the roles of a leader and a manager and how those intersect and how they differ. I not only share from personal experiences of when I've had to lead and manage, but I also share some wisdom from my father on the subject. (He's a lot smarter about it than I am). I also talk about the importance of followers and how following isn't a dirty word.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
The Pete On Software Podcast on Mentoring
Dash
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Here in Episode 28, I was inspired by Episode 380 of the Podcast Answerman podcast to consider whether or not tech podcasters, bloggers, writers, and speakers were actually narcissists. And, of course, there is no better place to start with those questions than in your own back yard. So, I do some evaluations on myself and share some thoughts about those results and how I believe they compare to the community at large.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Cliff's Narcissism Podcast
Narcissistic Personality Disorder Symptoms
The Quiz I took
APIs.io
Explain Visually
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Episode 27 finds me on a business trip and being a little introspective with this podcast. In this episode, I give my answers to two questions that I found on the web. First, "I work at McDonald's but I want to be a professional programmer. Is it possible?" and Second, "What differentiates a programmer and a really good programmer? How is the code considered good or bad?".
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Podcast Episode 15: Is College Worth It?
Dimecasts
NSScreencast
Watch Me Code
Pluralsight
Codecademy
Iris Classon
Stackshare
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This time, in Episode 26, I interview Rondale Williams. Rondale is a freelance mobile developer new to the development space. During the course of our interview, Rondale talks about what it is like to be self-taught, why he started to go back to college for CS, and what his advice would be to other people just starting out. We also talk about RxJava, Android Emulators, the Android vs iOS development ecosystems, and whether or not he's found the community to be friendly.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Rondale's Blog
Rondale's Twitter
Rondale's LinkedIn
RxJava
Genymotion
Lynda.com
Pluralsight
The New Boston (Bucky's World)
Udemy
Udacity
Meetup
RemoteCoder.io
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Episode 25 is all about increasing productivity. It isn't about getting into the "zone" or getting into the "flow". It isn't even productivity hacks like "Listen to all podcasts at 2x speed" (which is a good tip and I do it every day). This episode is full of useful "rubber meets the road" practical tips that you can use to become a more productive developer.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Trello
.Net Rocks! - Getting into the Zone
Parkinson's Law
Entrepreneur On Fire
James Altucher - How to be a Super Human
John Sonmez
Pomodoro Technique
Music to Code By
GitHub Student Developer Pack
ReadMe.IO
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Episode 24 was planned to be timely, but it ended up being super timely. Originally, I wanted to have Wolfgang Goerlich come on and talk about application security after the iCloud photo leaks. But, between the time that we recorded the interview and the time I'm releasing this episode, the Shellshock bug/vulnerability came to light as well. Listen, folks, writing secure software is hard! Wolfgang talks about the average day in the life of the good guys, what mindset makes a good security expert, how developers can write more secure code, why the Internet of Things might be a security nightmare, and why you shouldn't "poke the bear".
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Brakeman
Visual Studio Code Analysis
Converge Conference
OWASP Detroit
misec
OWASP
Viopoint
Wolfgang's Twitter
AFNetworking v2.0 Dimecast
JSONPlaceholder
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This time, in Episode 23, I recap the September 2014 Apple Launch Event. During this event, Apple launched iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, along with Apple Pay and Apple Watch. I wasn't really enthusiastic for this event going in because I don't like big phones, I couldn't care less about NFC payments, and I'm not excited about wearables. However, by the end of the presentation, I was excited for 2/4 of the products. Either I'm a sucker for marketing, or some of this stuff might actually be pretty good. Listen and find out which it is.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
The OK Go Story
Samsung's Ad
Tommy aka Scarf Guy
Dimecasts
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Episode 22 finds me talking about Stored Procedures. Stored Procedures have gotten a bad rap not just recently, but for over a decade. Stored Procedure apologists don't always help the matter and misinformation abounds. In this episode, I take a look at stored procedures and why it isn't the worst thing in the world if you use them.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Rob's Original Post
Frans Bouma's Reply
Rob's Rebuttal
Jeff Atwood's Post
Ayende's Compromise
Zip Locate
Gooey
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In Episode 21, I spend a little time on the significance of episode 21 before getting into the main topic. Our topic this time is about people who worship the language that they are using like a religion. Far too often, I've encountered the attitude from developers that people who aren't using what they are using are luddites, heretics, and not worth their time. In my opinion, that has no place in today's development landscape and I explain why.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
You Are No So Smart or Go Here and scroll down to see the non-podcast ones
Chesscademy (Yes, I know I kept saying Chess Academy in the podcast, Chesscademy is hard to say!)
1Password iOS App Extension
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Episode 20 brings us another interview podcast and this time I'm talking with Russell Patterson. Russell is the author of Simple Lookups, a .Net library for dynamically handling CRUD operations for your "type" classes. Along the way, we talk about Simple Lookups, what it was like to make a NuGet package, decisions you make when you know that people you don't know will read your code, and how he got to where he is today.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Russell on Twitter and his blog
Simple Lookups on NuGet
Hotel WiFi Test
Code School
Building Cloud Apps with Microsoft Azure
ReviewCast
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This week, in Episode 19, I talk about Imposter Syndrome: what it is, what it means, and how to deal with it. If you've ever felt like you aren't qualified to do your job or that at any minute that people could find out that you have been fooling them, then this episode is for you.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Hanselman Phony Post
Podcast Answer Man Imposter Syndrome
Imposter Syndrome @ Geek Feminisim
The Don Cheadle Line that I referenced (48 seconds in)
Hacker News Tools of the Trade: 2014 Edition
A better way to ask "how much would it cost to develop this app?"
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This week, in Episode 18, I recap the recent 2014 edition of the Google I/O conference. I run down all of the changes that are announced in "L", as well as the changes to Chromecast and Chromebook. In addition, I cover the new products announced during IO: Google TV, Google Auto, and Google Wear.
I do contrast some of I/O against WWDC, but for the most part, the bulk of the announcements are independent. Android really wants to run on everything, while Apple seems content to run on their little sphere of the world. I suppose that the market will ultimately decide which way they prefer.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Google Design Guide
Android TV
Interviewing.io
Google Cardboard
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In Episode 17, I talk about what it takes to go independent as a software developer. After taking a moment to give all of the provisos that I'm not an expert offering legal or financial advice, I spend this episode talking about what my journey has been like. How did I come up with a name? How did I find work? What about health insurance? What about rates? I cover all of that and more in this episode.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
SCORE
Dublin Entrepreneurial Center
Michael Eaton's Deep Fried Bytes Episode Announcement
John Sonmez's Course
John on .Net Rocks! and on The Polymorphic Podcast
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In Episode 16, I take a (belated) look at the 2014 WWDC Keynote. I cover the new changes to OS X being released in Yosemite and the new iOS 8 features. I also talk about the new Developer features, including the surprise of the show - the brand new Swift language.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
The Swift Programming Language
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Here in Episode 15, I examine what value a College Degree (specificially a CS degree) holds for programmers in the Enterprise space. I'm sure that I'm probably sharing a controversial opinion, but I do back it up with facts and real-life anecdotes.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Episode 6 of the Podcast - James Altucher's Choose Yourself
Iris Classon's Blog
Accredible
The Economics of Writing
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For episode 14, I give my thoughts on mentoring. In the software community, we think that we have mentors all around us, but I explain why they may not actually be mentoring us and how in the end, we may be barking up the wrong tree.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Coding the Movies - Don't Fake It
You Are Not the Average User
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Here in Episode 13, I interview T-SQL Legend Itzik Ben-Gan. As I talk about in the episode, Itzik's work has had a huge impact on my career and I'm very honored to have him on my show as a guest. We talk about T-SQL features that are underused, features that are powerful, and ones that are outright missing from the product. Along the way, Itzik points us to some great resources.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Microsoft Virtual Academy - Boost your T-SQL With the APPLY Operator
Microsoft Connect - SQL Server
SolidQ Home Page
Itzik's Site
Itzik's Twitter
Heartbleed Tool
LastPass
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In episode 12, I talk a little about my Stir Trek speaking experience and I also cover what are the best reasons to move on from your job.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Portia
The Expert
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For episode 11, I interview Ron Carter about what it takes to be a CIO of an organization. We talk about the role of CIO and the skills and knowledge that developers would need to reach the role if they saw it as their career path. Other topics include team building, building trust, advice for new CIOs, and remote work.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
2048
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In this episode, I talk with Interactive Design guru Dustin Rogers. We talk about the tension between developers and designers, how to get through creative roadblocks, the importance of communication, the nature of inspiration, why infographics are awesome, and the exciting promise of mobile.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Dustin's Website
Dribbble
Quit Charge on Twitter
Quit Charge on Instagram
Quit Charge on iTunes (version 2 with a fresh redesign is coming soon!)
Test Fairy
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In this episode, I talk to Craig Schwartz about product planning and marketing. We not only talk about how to know if you have a viable product and how to promote it, but we also talk about self-promotion and how to get along better with the "creatives" over in marketing.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Craig's Professional Site - Gecko Jones
Craig's Side Project - Improving Sports
High Rise - a CRM product from 37 Signals (due to recent changes at 37 Signals, this product may or may not be limited)
Solo.im
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In this episode, I talk about what good speakers should be doing to prepare to give a presentation. I make application, though, to everyone who might need to speak in public and give the #1 key to be successful. (Hint: It is also how you get to Carnegie Hall)
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Scott Hanselman's The Art of Speaking
Slide Share
Toastmasters
Font Prep, a recommendation from Jeff Meyer
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In this episode, I talk with Paul Bergeron about his very useful TextQL application, his theories about the right language for the job, and distributed systems in the cloud.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
TextQL
Rhod (also here)
Paul's Blog
Licecap
Hemingway
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In this episode of the podcast, I talk about how well received my last podcast episode was, share some news about where I'll next be speaking, and it all leads into a review of James Altucher's latest book, Choose Yourself.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Stir Trek
Direct link to my Stir Trek Bio and Session Info
Choose Yourself Book
James Altucher's Blog
Runnable
The James Altucher Show
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In this episode, I talk with Matthew Groves about Aspect Oriented Programming. Matt has written the Manning book AOP in .Net and he shares with us about what AOP is, why you'd need it, and how to get started.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Matt's Book, AOP in .Net (listen to the show for a 42% off Promo Code!)
Matt's AOP Blog
Matt's About Me Page (links to Twitter, Github, Blogs, etc)
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In this episode, I discuss my recent encounter with the Not Invented Here syndrome and get a little of my frustration around the situation off of my chest ;) I conclude with my ideas around when it is right to reuse and when it is right to build your own.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Joel's Not Invented Here Article
My Boneheaded Crypto Mistakes (2 posts)
10 Ways to Get Inspiration as a Programmer
Sneak Into Tech Through the Back Door - Danlio Campos
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In this episode I talk about a Mashable article entitled "Why Non-Tech People Should Apply for Tech Jobs". I give my (mostly unfavorable) opinion and share my picks of the week.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
The Mashable Article
Can I Use
Semantic Merge
App Icon Creator
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In this episode, I expound on the second question that I ask during in-person interviews, "How do you stay current?". I talk about what I do to stay current and the things that I think that all developers should be doing.
Links Mentioned in the Show:
NSScreencast
iOS Dev Weekly
Black Tie
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In this episode, I introduce myself and my podcast and then talk about my interviewing style.
Links Mentioned in the Show: Regexper
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