YULES.CO is up - Check it out!

Got a new self promotion website.
Currently quite generic, but much more coming soon:
A more visual timeline of my career, and blog might also move there (though I really like the advantages of the Blogger platform).

Come visit me at www.yules.co. More to come soon!

The new Macbook Air 11 - From a personal point of view

After spending two years with the Macbook Air 13 (2011 i5 edition), it was time to say goodbye, and get a new laptop.
Decision was made very easy with the 2013 Macbook Air Haswell upgrades - The only thing left to decide was whether to get the 11" or the 13", since in terms of performance they are completely identical.
I went with the 11", only because I wanted to experience something new - The difference in weight and form factor wasn't that big, and screen resolution is quite similar.

My usage is quite plain - Running an IDE (XCode, Eclipse or PHPStorm), a stack (Usually AMP or Node.js), and a browser or emulator, and sometimes Office.

My impressions so far - Wow.

Though performance doesn't feel much faster than the 2011 model (Which was plenty fast for my usage), the Air runs much cooler, and lasts between 7 to 10 (!) hours, depending on how wifi heavy I am.
For a machine that weighs almost like an iPad, this is quite amazing.

And when people ask me "Why don't you just get an iPad", I simply say - An iPad with 128GB SSD costs 800$. Add a 100$ keyboard to that, but you still can't run a stack.

Sorry, for me, this is the best laptop in the world.

At least until the next generation comes out ;-)

My new friend, working on InsideMy.co's stack

Momentum

A programmer's job is creating code.
This means that if you're a coder, you need to sit down and write code. Sometimes, a lot of code - But that's ok - Best coding sessions I've had were not only hard work, but a flow of creativity that you don't want to interrupt. (By the way - The same rules may apply for preparing a long document or a presentation)

When writing a new module (Or even server), the hardest thing, after the whole tedious buildup (Ideation and design processes, which could take months, especially if you've got other code to maintain), would be actually sitting down and writing the code!

I find that the tallest barrier is usually getting yourself to the position where you've got 'something to see'.

This means that setting up the environment, deployment, build and server settings should be taken care of, so you can finally sit down and get into the groove - Do it as fast as you can.

Once in there, I find the skeleton coding approach the most effective to get the momentum I need, especially since it's the fastest way I can see the program come to live. In general, once you've got one flow nailed down, the others follow quite easily.

So get your headphones on, turn your phone off, and get coding!

New beginnings!

I am recently making slight changes in my professional direction.
As more and more freelance consulting opportunities rose, I've decided to make the move, and become a consultant, as well as work on my new pet project.

Along with a friend, we're creating a website focusing on bringing great stories from the startup nation. After a month of test run, more than 50 startups joined our community, ranging from Eyecam, servicing growing video devices (Like Google Glass), via BestMatch (Online shopping) to DaPulse and even Kaltura.

If you're interested in getting the latest news from the startup nation, visit us, or join us in Facebook!

Have a great weekend.