Why finding a good software engineer has become a nightmare in the last five years

Ahh, blogging! I've been on and off this blog for as far as I can remember, but I have to admit I've been so busy lately that it's been years since I took the laptop on my knee to write a solid article.

Anyway, what prompted me to do this now was the seemingly impossible task of finding good IT people to hire. I've been a software engineer for longer than I'd like to admit and I always had a role or another in the hiring process - either interviewing people or designing interviews for various positions. In the last few years it's become a struggle to get people to come to be interviewed. It's another mountain to climb to actually find good people that come in and good luck if one of those actually accepts the offer being made. I've heard the same complaint coming directly from IT companies and from specialised recruiters.

Good people are hard to find - isn't that true for any industry?

True - but in IT there are a few factors that make things worse:

• software engineers are spoiled. I can say it, I'm one of you! We get all the perks - nice offices, high salaries, flexible hours, all sorts of benefits. In the end we are lazy - why move somewhere else if you like where you work. Most IT people like their jobs, their colleagues and have no incentive to move
• IT salaries are on the rise. You usually don't think about moving if your salary increases anyway where you work
• GOOD software engineers are rare. By GOOD I mean those that can work in various projects, can adapt to multiple clients, can focus on a job today and on another tomorrow just to balance clients. Most IT people get comfortable doing a particular job and are afraid to move on when new opportunities arise because they are afraid of change (most people are!)
• for a software engineer, there is no pressure to find another job now. There are always so many offers that there is hardly any incentive to get up and start searching.

So what's to be done?

First, I think traditional software companies need a complete rethink - gone are the days when an eight hour work schedule used to do the trick. Today's developers find plenty of working opportunities from home or part home/part company headquarters. Good developers also have families and naturally prefer those positions that allow more family time, even during work hours.

Then, the entire payment scheme would need an overhaul - rather than paying people by the hour, alternative schemes such as project pay might be more beneficial both for hard working employees and for companies.

There are already companies that have a business model entirely adapted to these realities - one that I recently found is TopTal. This is an innovative company that filters only good developers (only the top 3% get selected) and then puts them in contact with clients. In essence it becomes a virtual company which has only fantastic software developers which can be organised in teams based on the projects they are needed to work on. I liked the idea so much I even applied to become one of their Toptal Web Freelancers Network freelancers- fingers crossed!

Are touch screen tablets the computers of the future?

The excitement surrounding Apples recent ipad release is generating rumors that touch screen controlled tablets may be the new direction for computer technology to go; in a few years we might be seeing people giving up their laptops for powerful wafer thin tablets that do just about everything a laptop and mobile phone can do. We live in animation hungry world where people spend a large part of their day online reading, watching, typing and playing games; the internet and computers have gradually seeped into every aspect of our lives, both work and play.

Many large computer hardware and software companies have predicted a shift towards a public wide use of all in one portable touch screen devices and have developed their own range of products to satisfy consumer’s needs. It started with mobile phone units like the iphone and now the obvious popularity of Apples new ipad has confirmed this new open market; in response Google is focusing on developing its Android mobile operating system to be more tablet friendly. Large companies like Microsoft Windows have also come out with their own Windows 7 based mobile operating system that has been adopted by HP’s new computer tablet called the ‘HP Slate’ (recently cancelled). Besides the big wigs, there appears to be many smaller names who have decided to ride the wave of possibility and release their own innovative tablet versions. The German telecommunications company Neofonie recently introduced its new mobile tablet called the ‘Wepad’, which has already gained a huge amount of publicity and preorders even before its product has been mass manufactured.

One company that is known for its super small net books and low cost laptop alternatives is Asus, they recently put their new prototype touch screen tablet on display at the CES trade show this year and it appears to have many features that are not included in Apples ipad. With an estimated retail cost of $49, the Asus tablet has adopted the standard sleek look of most other tablets with a large touch pad screen covering the front, this one is a large 9” (1024 x 786) for clear viewing, there are also 5 extra buttons down the right hand side for navigational use. This tablet runs on Googles Android operating system, which has been fully customized, it supports flash player and has a powerful Nivida Tegra graphics display that allows users to watch HD movies and animations in crystal clear quality. For connectivity the Asus tablet has WIFI and integrated 3G technologies, plus an additional GPS unit that can turn the tablet into a navigator. It has two features that ipad does not; a built in 0.3 megapixel webcam and 2 USB ports, so you can hook the tablet up to external devices such as a mouse and keyboard.

Another tablet device that is getting a lot of media attention lately comes from a small start up company from India called ‘Notion Ink’. They have developed the ‘Adam’ a touch screen tablet design that has an impressive eco friendly power saving technology that not only reduces your overall energy usage, but lengthens the battery time by up to 16 hours. The Adam tablet is rather large and comes with a 10” LCD screen, which can be set to low power mode to substantially reduce your electricity consumption. The device is run on a customized version of Google’s Android, a platform that most brands have decided to use in their tablet designs. It has a relatively fast 1GHz dual core processor, Flash player support, an SD card slot, WIFI, optional 3G and Bluetooth connectivity; besides this it has a Nivida Tegra 2 graphics support making it very HD film friendly. The creators have also added a 3.0 megapixel webcam and 3 USB ports for connection to external devices. The final price hasn’t been finalized yet, but in a recent interview with Notion Ink’s CEO, they have give a price range of between $327 - $800 with a possibility of different versions of the tablet.

Courier, Slate cancelled! Not so many tablets after all...

Microsoft confirmed today the rumoured Courier project which promised a mouth watering multi-touch screen tablet has been cancelled. The project was never confirmed until this January and was only rumoured around the web by an article on Gizmodo several months ago. Microsoft's announcement both confirmed the project existed and oh... that it was cancelled.

In a weird twist, at the same time it appears Helwett-Packard is rumoured to have scrapped their Windows 7 based tablet project code-named Slate. It is also rumoured the reason behind the decision is the poor performance of the Windows 7 OS as a tablet operating system. Apparently HP is looking at alternative operating systems and the main candidates are Google's Android and Palm webOS. However, Palm's system still needs many adjustments to fit a tablet's environment so it won't be huge surprise if we see an HP tablet with Android on it sometime soon!

Google's Android - how come it's being adopted so easily?

The popularity of smart phones like the iPhone and blackberries has also given rise to a number of different mobile operating systems that allow various applications to work perfectly in a portable environment. There are several popular platforms currently being used, Symbian, Windows system, Android and iPhone, each comes with its own special features that make it suitable for running applications on mobile devices. These systems were first designed specifically to cater for the fast developing mobile phone technologies, but with the latest release of Apple’s iPad and the public interest surrounding portable tablets, software developers will probably start to focus in this new direction.

It is obvious that mobile technology is going to be the next big thing to hit the stores this year and Google being as forward thinking as ever have been preparing themselves by gradually developing their own mobile operating system. Instead of building state of the art communication devices like Apple did with the iPhone or their latest - iPad, Google has stuck to what they know best and stayed on the software side of things, developing their own mobile specific Google Android operating system. Some believe that Google’s Android platform is closing in fast on Apple’s iPhone OS, in terms of popularity it offers simple and fast usability and given some time it should have a good group of software developers churning out top shelf applications for all types of mobile products.

The main advantage that the Android OS has over Apple’s version is its open source nature; Google has allowed its own team to invite developers from around the world to participate in the creation of new software. This freedom has allowed the development of a range of innovative applications that may not have been thought up if it was left to a single team of Google’s staff sitting in a back room. One example of a joint effort software that also demonstrates some of the Android platforms qualities is ‘Cab4me’, an application that takes a GPS reading of your current location then searches through a database of taxi companies in your area giving you a list of possibilities.

Some believe that the Google Android OS will prove to be Apple’s main competition for popularity and users, though it still has a long way to go if it wants to match the iPhone’s smooth usability. Several big name electronics brands are set to release their own versions of the iPad and most have chosen to do so with the Android OS at the heart of their devices. So what features does the latest Android system have and why is it causing such a stir? They're certainly not new, but they are exceptionally usable, they look nice and they compliment very well the hardware side of things.

Accounts and Contacts – The android OS has been optimized for better storage and access to contact and account information; you can add more than one email account on any mobile device and synchronize the account information. There is improved account access capability, simply tap an icon and you’ll be taken straight to the relevant email account. All of the above can be done from a single page.  

Messaging – Optimized SMS and MMS search functions allow users to find old messages; there is also the ability to selectively delete SMS entries once a set limit has been reached to save overall memory space.

Virtual Keyboard – A new layout for ease of use and faster typing speeds, there is multi touch support that ensures the key you want to press is registered. Built in dictionary learns new words and helps with an automatic spell check.

Internet Browser – Supports HTML , has a double tap zoom function for getting close ups of difficult to see text and images, also book marks with thumb nailed images.  

Gizmodo's battle over the lost phone

As we've already written here, there is an opinion that Apple's struggle with the lost and found phone has the potential of being just a very new way of advertising the new 4G phone. However, over the last few days, the plot thickened for Gizmodo's editor, Jason Chen. Apple filed a complaint with the local California police and because of this his home has been searched and equipment has been seized by the police in the attempt to find out whether he committed a crime because he purchased the phone for $5000 as Gizmodo admitted they did upfront.

While there is a whole discussion about journalistic ethic, of whether it was nice or not that money was payed for the phone, the question of criminal allegations seems ridiculous at least as seen from Europe. In the end if you look at the issue, all the guy did was find some material to write about. Was it OK to spend $5000 for it? Why not? It was a hot product and he needed it! He didn't buy THE STORY, he acquired the material on which the story is based, so I don't even see an ethical problem here.

I think it is obvious for everybody that Chen won't be prosecuted and this is just a little harassment tactic, but I can't help notice that this story keeps generating headlines which are indeed very good if Apple is preparing a iPhone 2 or iPhone 4G launch. Apple has every interest to make this story bigger so I think they will go as far as they can with the legal fiasco. Of course, Chen could be in on the plot, in which case ethics would be a big issue, but personally I think he's just being used. Time will tell.

Not enough IPads available? Apple's got help! :)

Well, it seems that since the demand of IPad tablets exceeded Apple's expectations and they are rushing to fill in the gap, there is some unwanted help on the way! The Chinese, as always quick to help the world, have already produced and are selling bootleg IPads. The fake IPads have apparently a pirated Windows copy powering them (go figures!) and are only an approximate shape of the original.
However, the sellers of these weird Apple/MS contraptions are sure they would improve on the hastily assembled device and will copy it better in the coming weeks. For the moment sales seem to be going very well, especially since it seems this device has three USB ports and is cheaper than the original! At least for a very small window of opportunity (until Apple manages to catch up and supply the demand worldwide) a prospective buyer of Apple's IPad should take care of any bargains being offered :)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/26/AR2010042602980.html

How oversharing things can ruin your life

Or maybe it's not a best idea to tell the world everything you do every minute!

Let's face it if you spend your day twitting and facebooking and have hundreds of followers and friends (wow - you're popular) chances are some of those might not be so well intentioned. I know of a recent case in which a someone posted on facebook a message venting about a fight they had with their boss. While this might seem a legitimate way of venting, perhaps it would be wise do it the old fashioned way - in front of a mug of beer and some live friends. I don't have to add the obvious: the boss saw the post (it was public!) and the situation was at least embarrasing. It could've been worse.

Recently I saw a piece of news about a new startup service called blippy. The idea behind it is that you register your credit cards with it and every time you make a payment they share it with your friends. While technically sound, I don't know for the life of me why on earth you would use such a service. Of course, some retailers decided to include credit-card numbers in their statements and voila - these got leaked into the internet via Google's cache (read the article above to know more on how this happened). Ok - it might have been an accident, but the question remains - why would you want to share so much?

Is it absolutely necessary to tell everyone that is out there that you are going to the bathroom? Is it absolutely required that someone named terribleivan82777 knows you just purchased a new phone? (and find out your credit card details in the process?). Do you have to tweet EVERYTHING?

Hubble Telescope at 20: NASA Astronomers' Top Photos

Since today is 20 years since Hubble telescope went up, here's a link to some amazing photos everyone should look at while taking time off from their gadgets. Or you can check them out on your gadget!

Hubble Telescope at 20: NASA Astronomers' Top Photos

Apple's lost phone

Presumably some two weeks ago a careless Apple engineer went to a bar wearing a top-secret Apple gadget (the next generation iPhone). He got drunk (or just dizzy) and left the bar without the aforementioned gadget. Some other patron found it and handed it back to the wrong person. Then someone in the crowd realized there was something amiss with this phone.
Long story short, the phone made its way to the Gizmodo headquarters (in exchange for 5000$ as they claim) where it was properly disected and inverstigated (here). Apple's official response was to write an official letter to Gizmodo asking for the phone back.

This episode has been widely related and most commentators are just astonished at this terrible Apple mistake. However, one (or at least I) cannot but think wether the whole thing wasn't just Steve Job's latest marketing stunt. Ever since he showed off the first iPod some years ago, the man demonstrated a keen sense of showmanship. But iPhone is a product that has been around for some time and generating the hype for a second version is not as easy as the first time around. Nothing better that a stunt like this to get the buzz going, isn't it? And the luck to find someone to spot a different iPhone which looks almost identical to the old one is at least suspicious! Not to mention it getting to Gizmodo and the apparent convenient imposibility for Apple to track it down before it being disected by the guys there (for those who don't know iPhone has an application capable of traking phones and even shutting them down remotely).

While obviously nobody can argue to be sure this was a well thought out publicity campaign, I for one suspect it was. If the secret was so great I just don't understand why would Apple allow its employees (I assume it wasn't just one lonlely forgetful sap) to walk outside the company with prototype phones?

Adobe and Apple in fight over flash

That the giant Apple's newest gadget - the IPAD - has a few notable high profile missing things we've talked about before. However, it transpires that at least one of these features - that is Flash integration is missing intentionally. Allegedly, Adobe demonstrated that it is possible to run Flash on an IPAD, but this functionality has been disabled "by design".

Recently Adobe announced publicly it abandoned the plans to make Flash work on the Apple IPAD. Mike Chambers, wrote that because of the obvious attempt made by Apple to ban the use of Flash on their device, the Flash team will concentrate on making Flash available to all Apple's competitors, citing the Android operating system.
Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/194764/why_adobe_abandoned_iphone_flash_app_plans.html

My oppinion is that Apple is making a huge mistake here. It is allowing it's competitors an advantage in the long run, because let's face it: Flash is present to some degree on around 50% of important websites. If Apple thinks these websites will change their look for IPAD's sake it's probably a bad case of too much self-confidence! Two options here. Either Apple will reconsider in a future software update or will lose market share to less polished but more permissive competitors.