Archives
December 6, 2017
I’ve been using video to send bug reports to my developers for years. That said, I’ve been doing it the hard way with screen casting software, and manual uploads to cloud storage, to share my videos with the developers. With BugReplay, it takes care of all that for you … and it’s super easy!
What is BugReplay?
BugReplay is a browser plugin that makes it easy to record bugs, and send video reports to your developers. It is a huge time saver for web app developers.
Here are some of the highlights:
- Browser recorder with developer console logs (JavaScript logs), network traffic
- Facilitates communication between devs and non-devs; and between companies and their end-users
- Available as a Chrome extension and Firefox add-on- very simply browser extension install and quick setup
- Network requests and responses are synced with the screencast
- WebSocket data is displayed alongside HTTP requests
- All the environmental data is there so you don’t have to ask the basic questions to get the information you need (e.g. what’s your browser, operating system, geographic location, system memory, are cookies enabled, etc, etc)
- Unlimited screenshots (and you can add helpful notes to them)
- Integrates with Slack, GitHub, JIRA
- You can create a shareable URL for the video bug report and share with anyone (they don’t have to have a BugReplay account)
- With Feedback By BugReplay, our consumer-facing product, you can also send requests to your customers/end-users, and they can very easily submit video bug reports without creating an account
- Unlimited users (we don’t charge per team members)
Thanks!
Stefan
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November 21, 2017
In 2018 C++ is still a very viable programming language to learn. In fact, many programming languages are worth learning in 2018:
- JavaScript
- Python
- Java for web apps or Java for Andriod
- PHP
- C#
- Swift
- C++
- C
… And others. Although, the above would be my top picks.
The key to choosing a language comes down to two things: market viability of the programming language and what KIND of programming you want to do.
Kinds of Programming
You have many choices in terms of marketable programming languages … there is plenty of work for the languages listed above. Each language though, means a different kind of programming, and that often means a different type of person would enjoy programming language ‘A’ vs programming language ‘B’.
For example, C++ programming is a low level language, and that means you will be writing code that requires lots of management by the programmer of little details. It reminds me more of math.
On the other hand, JavaScript is much a higher level, meaning you don’t have to concern yourself with low level details that you do with C++. With JavaScript (and other high level languages,) very little code gets a lot done. But, at the cost of speed of processing and control over the finer details of how your program runs.
Choosing your language
I could write 10 pages on this, and still scratch the surface. Regardless, the key is to explore a little on your part, check out which TYPE of jobs you get with C++, and which type of jobs you get with Python … and the other languages. Again, different programming languages mean a different type of job.
The good news is that you don’t need to worry about your choice too much because you can always switch languages later. It’s easy to switch over, because all the above languages share about 90-95% of the same principles and concepts. The code looks different, but learning the code is the easy part.
Suggested first programming languages?
I would suggest either Python, JavaScript or PHP. All 3 are powerful, and have lots of jobs open to them. But, they are easier to learn than Java, C# and especially C++.
Hope that helps!
Stefan Mischook
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November 18, 2017
Hi!
I am happy to announce that my new course on starting a business is now open for EARLY ACCESS. What you will learn:
Chapters:
- The categories of business
- 10 business ideas
- How to pick your business
- Finding your niche
- How most rich people get rich
- Bootstrapped business vs raising money
- Stef’s Top 3 Business Truths
- Partners or no partners?
- Working at home vs working at an office
- Hiring people to work for you
- Buying equipment for your business
- Developing business workflows to increase profits and reduce headaches
- Long term money management
- How to bill clients, how to get paid
- Psychology of an entrepreneur
- Business Myths
- Principles of FYM
In a nutshell, you will learn everything I WISH I knew when I started my first business at 18yrs old.
Stefan
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November 14, 2017
Because of technology, it has never been easier to start and grow a business. Tech is a key tool of business, and especially small business owners need to understand how, what and when to leverage tech. In my own entrepreneurial career, an understanding of technology has been invaluable.
Every business has to use the Web, whether it be a website or a social media presence:
- Facebook
- Instagram
- LinkedIn
- Snapchat
- YouTube
Entrepreneurs need to use these tools. To fully leverage technology though, you need to understand it.
Do Entrepreneurs need to become coders?
Short answer: NO.
… But it wouldn’t hurt!
A friend of mine who runs a successful business (does $2 million/year in sales,) has told me repeatedly, that one of the best things he did, was to learn the basics of web design … specifically, learning HTML and CSS.
His core business has nothing to do with technology, but like so many companies out there, the company website is key to sales and marketing. Understanding the basics of web design allows him to make better business decisions about the website.
Knowing the basics of HTML also makes it easy for him to understand his web developers and web designers … this saves time and money since there is better communication.
Conclusion
Because technology is now a key tool in all business, entrepreneurs have to become entreprenerds if they want to be able to compete in the market. The first step is to become code and Web aware, business owners who have a basic understand on how code works, will have a significant competitive advantage over tech savvyless players.
Stefan
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November 13, 2017
There are lots of advantages to starting your own home business; you can be your own boss, you can set your own hours and you can decide on the direction of the company.
These benefits are part of the reason why so many people are leaving their full time jobs to become self-employed; every year over half a million Canadians become self-employed, with many of them choosing to run websites and home businesses. But how do you actually build a successful home business? From buying a domain name and setting up a website to learning marketing skills, there are a few essential things that you should do if you want to start a home business that will succeed.
Use surveys to learn more about your business
If you want to start a home business it is likely that you already have an idea; maybe you’ve already built a website for potential customers to check out – but either way it can be useful to use online paid surveys to find out more about what your target audience think about your services or website. This is because it will give you an insight into the mind of your customers, making it easier for you to alter and improve your website so that clients find them more appealing.
It is worth noting that there are a few illegitimate survey websites online, so you should make sure to use an online paid survey comparison site for reliable results.
Set up a quality website
One of the main reasons small businesses fail is due to poor marketing – and it is very difficult to have an effective marketing campaign if you don’t have a website. Millions of people use the internet as their main tool to find businesses and companies, so if you don’t have a website you could be missing out on thousands of customers.
However, a standard website probably won’t be enough; there are over 1 billion websites online, so you will need a high quality website if you want yours to stand out among the others.
How to make your website stand out
If you want to make sure that your website stands out it needs to be easy for users to use. This means it should be optimized for all devices, including mobile, and it should have clear and simple navigation links, as well as quick loading times. Today, most websites are ultra fast and slick, so a slow, clunky website will be very off-putting to users. It is also important to have a solid web design that is visually appealing and uncluttered.
Set up social media pages and a social media strategy
Social media is another vital marketing tool for businesses, and it can be a great way to build up extra revenue, so if you haven’t already you should set up business pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. After all, checking social media is in the top three online activities for Canadians!
However, that isn’t all; you also need a strong social media strategy to help you reach new audiences and engage with customers. Try to aim to post on each website at least a few times a week, and it can be useful to vary your content if you have different target audiences using different platforms. Anyone can build a home business if they put the time and effort in. It is also important to embrace the internet as a marketing tool, as this is the one of the best ways for you to reach new customers without spending too much money.
By: Lucy Wyndham
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November 13, 2017
I got this question recently:
Love the YouTube channel, I just wondered what your thoughts on Webflow are? Will it spell the end of web development as we know it (coding) or will developers have to adopt a more visual approach to building a website with such as platforms like Webflow? I realise that the system is built for designers, however without the need for a developer on a platform such as this, the code is seminally marked up, they keep increasing the features capability and complexity, I ask the question where do we fit in if platforms like this become very popular?
My answer:
I don’t see it as a threat – it is a tool.
A big part of modern web design and development goes WAY beyond code:
- Site aesthetic design – pre code design if you will
- UX – making the site EASY to use
- Information design / architecture, if you will. WHAT to place on the site
- Setting up the domain, hosting … the basic mechanics of it
- Tweaking – I’ve always found that no matter how good the tool, you will need to know code to tweak it
- Then there is consulting on social media strategy, content marketing strategy
- Finally, the websites function: do they need an e-commerce setup, wordpress, etc …
So Webflow, if it works as perfectly, can help automate the process and perhaps shift your time allocation (meaning you’ll write less code,) but you will still have plenty of work to do as a web designer/developer.
This is nothing new. In the early 2000’s, we did lots of stuff as web designer / developers that we no longer have to do because of better tools … and it’s a good thing!
Regardless of the tools that come out, it’s still good to know the code behind the pages and to learn how to put things together, because it will make you life easier as a web professional and even as a small business owner.
Stef
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September 28, 2017
Python is one of the most popular programming languages used today because of its’ simple syntax, and because it is a general purpose programming language. You see Python used in many areas:
- Web app development
- Ai and ML (machine learning)
- Server operations
- Data sciences
- Robotics
New programmers have many choices in terms of Python programming careers. But Python alone is not enough for most of these career options, they all require supporting skills. For example, if you wanted to get into web development with Python, besides having to learn a Python web framework like Django or Flask, you will need to learn HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
… The good thing is that learning the web languages (HTML, CSS, JavaScript,) will be pretty easy for properly trained Python programmers.
Each of the above mentioned Python specializations (Ai, web development, data sciences etc …) all require different skills, and so each has their own career path to follow.
I cover these career paths and provide a step-by-step guide in my Python course that takes total beginners, and makes them into Python programmers. My students love the course.
Thanks!
Stefan Mischook
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September 27, 2017
PHP is probably the best web app development language out there today for a bunch of reason technical, and market oriented. But it’s not the only language out there and it doesn’t have a monopoly of good programming.
Comparing Programming Languages
An important lessons that my 20+ years of programming experience has taught me, is that one of the best ways to learn one programming language, is to learn another! By learning different programming languages, you will start to gain deeper insights about your first programming language.
You can read the rest on killerphp.
Stef
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September 25, 2017
Hi!
I produce videos almost daily for my vlog, and for my education videos. To spice things up, I would run around my city to try and take interesting video to splice in. I can get good video footage, but the time it takes is not worth it given how affordable Videoblocks.com is: only $149 for the entire year!
… And let’s face it, there are only so many interesting places close by to take video. Videoblocks has a huge selection for a simple (no hassles) yearly fee, and no worries about copyrights! Some the highlights:
- Get studio-quality stock for a fraction of the cost with VideoBlocks.
- Download all the stock video your heart desires from their Member Library, including HD footage, After Effects templates, motion backgrounds, and more.
- Plus, get exclusive discounts on millions of additional Marketplace clips, where you save 40% and the original artists take home 100% of the sale price.
- All content is royalty-free so you can use it for commercial and personal projects.
- New clips are added regularly so there’s always something fresh to download.
- We’re giving away 7 days of free VideoBlocks so you can try it out and get access to these huge discounts on their massive video library
Try a 7 day free trial at videoblocks.com/killersites (and if you like, sub up at 84% off!) … start downloading and get started today!
Check out my review video:
In interest of full transparency, this is a sponsored ad. But, I would not promote it if I didn’t think it was really good!
Stef
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September 5, 2017
This is a typical email we get from teachers:
“Hi, I have to teach a web design class but I don’t know much about code. Can you help?”
We sure can! Many teachers have come to us not knowing much about code, and so StudioWeb has been developed over the last 7 years, to be easy to use … even for teachers who don’t know code.
The most popular of our courses are the foundations languages used to build all websites and web apps:
Between the hundreds of video lessons, 1000 quiz questions (+ code challenges), and the 57 projects … you will have more than enough material to keep your students busy and engaged.
“… Students really enjoy the courses in part, because they quickly see that they are writing real code. The fact that the lessons are funny, helps a lot too!”
Phone and email support are free, and you get to speak to the course creator directly!! Feel free to contact us, and we will help you get your web design class up and running quickly.
Stefan
StudioWeb
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