Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with developers

How do I create a RSS feed for my Amazon Web Store?

Aegean — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:44:56 -0800

I'm trying to figure out how to create a XML / RSS feed of my Amazon web store products so I can update to Google Merchant. There doesn't seem to be many functions / plug-ins offered by AWS and their help isn't very helpful. I've done a fair amount of searching and have come up empty handed. Would anyone have an idea how I might go about creating this feed?

Question to software developers and IT workers on their online habits.

willy_dilly — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 23:19:14 -0800

Question to software developers and IT workers on their online habits. Question for software developers.

I'll be going into an interview next week for a digital marketing position at an ad agency. The client is a software company giant and this is for the consumer branch of the company and not the commercial branch. So target customer will be businesses and developers as opposed to regular users.

The position will have focus on social networks and new media, but I'm not a software developer myself and am not familiar with the online habits of developers. Therefore I'm hoping that those who are developers here can provide me with insight. I really want to go into this interview ready so I'm trying to do as much homework as possible.

Here are a few specific questions:

1) Is it common for software developers and IT individuals to discuss, educate, and learn online with other fellow developers?

2) If so, what are some popular hang out spots for developers?

3) What do software developers and IT workers think of social networks such as Twitter and Facebook? Are there values in these tools in your line of work?

4) How are you using your mobile phone to make both your work life and personal life easier?

Those are just some questions off the top off my head. It will be a huge step in my career if I land this position so I deeply appreciate any insights provided.

HUGE thanks.

A peek into your binary world

hayvac — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:01:33 -0800

Developers / coders / programmers: What do you wish your non-technical clients, bosses, and co-workers knew about the work you do? I'm a non-technical guy trying to bootstrap a software-as-a-service product to market. (I'm not just the idea/vision guy; the product requires my expertise on the content end.) I've mainly been dealing with contractors so far -- although my eyes are always open for a technical co-founder -- and I've predictably come up against differences in our expectations and assumptions.

Here are some lessons I think I've learned so far (feel free to correct me if any sound wrong):

-The feature I want most is always the hardest one to implement. (This actually makes sense, because if I wanted it and it was easy to implement, it would already be for sale.)

-Coders greatly appreciate instructions to code to standards.

-Specs should include a detailed explanation of how I want the end-user experience to go, not a description of how I think it should be done on the back-end (because I have no idea).

-It's valuable to learn enough about the technology to have an intelligent discussion with the contractor. It is not valuable to use that tiny bit of information to ask dumb questions.

-I should expect to be billed for time spent answering dumb questions.

I don't like being the clueless client. So I'd like to know, with no punches pulled: What do you wish your clients, bosses, and co-workers knew?

What happens to nerds that strike it big early in their careers?

vizsla — Wed, 14 May 2008 19:53:15 -0800

What happens to rank-and-file tech guys after they strike it rich in a tech boom? Do they keep working? How do they spend their money? Do they waste their lives away? Im not talking about the big shot entrepreneurs. I am talking about the typical developer who gets rich from options or from his share in the company. Anyone have any anecdotes, first hand experience or biographies? I've always wondered what happens to people after they don't have to work anymore.

Interested in developing software for the green energy sector.

Sloop John B — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 10:53:07 -0800

I'm a senior software developer, and I'd like to start working in the green energy sector. What are the opportunities in this area? Also, if there is a market for developers in this sector, what can I do to make myself more marketable?

1. Great Idea 4. Profit! Help with 2 and 3, please.

muckster — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 08:37:11 -0800

I've been playing with a promising idea for a website for a while, and I feel I'm ready to get things moving. I've got a fairly clear idea of what I want, who would use it, and why it would take off. Income would be ad-generated, in an area where I believe prospects are good. The problem is, there's no out-of-the-box software that does what I need it to do, and programming the site is beyond my capabilities. Now, I realize that none of my precious ideas are worth anything until I've got at least a prototype up, and I'm not sure how to get there from here. From what I read, I could either try and find a partner with tech skills who is equally psyched about the idea, or I could find angel investors to fund development of a prototype for hire. But I'm not even sure where I would find a programmer -- or how much I could safely tell them in order to price the job. (I know there are places where freelancers bid on projects, but do I really want to post details there?) How difficult will it be to add features later if I hire a programmer for the prototype? If I work with a partner, does that mean I'll have to get lawyers involved?

I'd like to grow this slowly -- an invite-only beta, limited initial investment, and so forth. But I think there's a lot of potential, and I'd like to do things right from the start. In short: what's the smart way to proceed? Thank you.

Where can I hire lower cost software developers in the US?

postergeist — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:26:39 -0800

What small cities are there in the U.S. where I can recruit software developers at lower costs? I am trying to convince my boss to let me hire some developers here is the U.S. as an alternative to adding resources to my team in India. For once in my 4 years managing dev teams in India I finally have a group of guys who are really good, but no matter how good, with India I cannot be agile enough to accomplish what I need to do in the amount of time I have. Managing India is a very time consuming process for me, days are lost on small issues due to the time differences and communication will never be as fluid and clear as it would be with people here in my own time zone. Things take forever. In short, what I gain in cost savings I lose in productivity, project management and speed.

I want to recruit entry level developers to work from home in their own cities. I have heard that Portland, Oregon is one such place where there is a resource pool of talented people where cost of living and expectations are such that you could hire people for much less than if you were to hire them in New York City for example.

I would prefer to find a place on the east coast, does anyone know of any examples of places that fit my criteria? I was wondering if Burlington, VT would be one such comparable place but thats just a guess. Perhaps small cities in the midwest or south? Not sure.

(Sales guys: Please don't pitch me your body shop consulting company promising india prices and US project managers. )

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Help me hire a full-time programmer.

bigbigdog — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 09:17:25 -0800

Help me hire a full-time programmer. Right now I'm the sole developer in what should be a two-person team. It's been a few years since I was involved in the hiring process, and some of the people I hired were great but others just didn't work out. This time I want to get it right.

This is a small company, so we don't have an official HR or recruiting process, and I'm the only one who knows anything about software development. I'm going to be the senior developer responsible for training and guiding whoever we hire.

I'm not looking for advice on how to find candidates, as I'm sure we'll get more than I could interview. I'm looking for tips on how to judge programmers' skill and experience based on resumes and interviews, especially the interviews. Are puzzle-type questions useful? How about whiteboard programming questions? Is there a better way to find out whether someone will be a good match for the company?

getting back at the mayor

Anonymous — Sun, 22 Jan 2006 22:55:32 -0800

RevengeFilter: Help me get back at my town's corrupt mayor. A few months back a relative of mine, who is a city employee, told me that he had gone to his supervisor to ask for a promotion and had been told, upfront that a promotion would cost him a $5,000.00 donation to the mayor's re-election campaign. I was disgusted but not surprised, as the mayor has been in trouble for influence peddling before. As my relative was not interested in getting involved in any investigation, I've kept the information to myself (ordinarily I'm an unstoppable blabbermouth, but I love my relative and don't want to bring him any grief).
Recently however, to please land developers who are major contributors to the mayor's electioneering campaigns, the mayor has made a decision that will impact the value of my parent's home and possibly have a negative impact on a nearby bird sanctuary.
Here's what I need: how do I drop the dime on the mayor without impacting my relative? Both of the local daily newspapers are in the mayor's pocket, and while the weekly alternative does some good reporting it rarely has much impact. This is, by the way, in the US.

Lux et Veritas : Can my apartment windows be blocked over?

Skygazer — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 11:34:05 -0800

Looks like the one story warehouse next door has been put up FOR SALE. Problem is that if a building goes up in its stead, two of my windows will be covered over. Do I have any rights or say in the matter? I rent an apartment on the top story of a three story tenement in East Williamsburg Brooklyn. The property line is flush with the warehouse. I do have other windows other then the two in question. The NYC Dept. Of Buildings website has nothing about what a friend has termed "air rights" or "sightline" issues. Am I screwed? After 10 years making this neighborhood a real home have the wolves of the rapacious and brutish Real Estate industry arrived at my doorstep to entomb me w/o proper natural light? Any advice would helpful. Thank you.

Apple Dev Intel specs

djacobs — Tue, 07 Jun 2005 12:15:19 -0800

I am trying to hunt down some detailed technical specifications for the ApTel "developer's" box. I can't find this on any of the rumor sites or the official apple site.

Urban Planning Issues

craniac — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 09:41:28 -0800

I live in a small town of 8,000. It is really a development plopped in the middle of some fields. Like many developments it was sold as a planned community. Currently, however, the city government is selling the town to the highest-bidding developer, rewriting the city code to encourage stupid levels of density, cramming the city center with unvariated low-income housing, and in general being the toady boy of developers. Oh, and the mayor is a "consultant" to developers. Makes $8k a year. Is building a big mansion on the golf course. The city just removed the $500 cap on campaign donations, and the last election was purchased by a single developer. Other than shrugging my shoulders and saying, "It's Chinatown" (reference to movie, not ethnicity) or uprooting my family, how can I best fight this pestilent, corrupt fascism and still have time for my hobbies? (mostly reading Metafilter). Oh, the town is Eagle Mountain Utah.

What's the going hourly rate for building complex web apps?

Triplanetary — Tue, 08 Feb 2005 11:46:28 -0800

What's the going hourly rate for building complex web apps these days? An acquaintance asked me if I could help them add functionality to their existing web app suite. (More details inside) They want me to crank out a new app, but also use this as a proof-of-concept for how to improve their existing technical architecture. One of the reasons they want me is that I know the subject matter well, or at least better than any random freelancer they can pick up elsewhere.

I have a hard time finding rates on the web, and I haven't consulted for several years, so I don't know what the market is like these days. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

AI programming terminology

grumblebee — Thu, 18 Nov 2004 21:20:51 -0800

I'm trying to read O'reilly's "AI for Game Developers," and it's a bit over my head. On page 17, there's an algorithm that moves a preditor towards a pray. There's a constant (or variable?) in the code called _TOL which isn't explained anywhere in the text. What is _TOL? Also, there's a variable (called v) that's defined buy never used. What gives? Here's the code:

void DoLineOfSightChase (void)
{
Vector u, v;
bool left = false;
bool right = false;

u = VRotate(-Preditor.fOrientation, Prey.vPosition - Preditor.vPosition));

u.Normalize();

if (u.x < _tol) left=true;
else if (u.x > _TOL) right = true;

Preditor.setThruster(left,right);
}