Facebook was originally intended as a way for people to stay in touch with friends and family members by sharing pictures and status updates on their timeline. As the website's popularity has grown, so has criticism that it is becoming one giant, online high school.

Online Bullying

There has been a dramatic increase in recent years in the number of online bullying cases due to the introduction of social media. Bullying isn't just limited to younger Facebook users, either. Many adult users have also resorted to bashing others online through nasty status updates and cruel comments.

Prior to social media, bullying in high school involved "kick me" signs and toilet swirling. Facebook and other social media outlets have allowed users to take bullying to a whole other level. Victims can no longer escape bullying by leaving school or work. The torture continues online, at anytime and anyplace.

Status "Likes"

In high school, everyone wants to be part of the popular crowd; people who are outgoing, beautiful, and seem like they have everything. Posting a status update is similar to wanting to be popular. Once an update is posted, many users wait with bated breath to see how many friends will "like" their status. They believe that the more "likes" they receive, the more popular they are.

If that isn’t enough, there are many Facebook games that involve "liking" someone's status. Games like "Truth Is", where someone likes a status update and in return the poster writes how they really feel about the friend on their Facebook wall. This can get touchy, especially if the two people aren't friends outside of Facebook. It's similar to high school where someone desperately wants another person to like them, but when they find out how that person really feels they are crushed.

Relationships Are Difficult to Keep Private

When someone signs up for Facebook they’re asked to complete their profile, which includes a relationship section. Users can select from different options including "single", "married", "widowed", and "divorced". Whenever someone changes their relationship status, the update shows up on each of their friend's news feeds.

It's easy to see how this feature correlates with high school where everyone talks about who is dating who or which couple broke up. It used to be that after graduation, people were able to keep their relationships more to themselves. Not so anymore in the age of social media. Now everyone has the ability to state their opinion on a friend's relationship status, either by "liking" their status change or by commenting on it.

Facebook has presented many benefits to its users, including the ability to rekindle old high school friendships. What one must understand when they sign up for the service is that they are opening themselves up to the same criticism and drama that takes place in a high school setting.

Proceed with caution!

Working With Loops In Python

[Oct, 30, 2012] |
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Sometimes we have to repeat ourselves before we are heard. Then again there are times where we have to perform a certain action the same way several times before we can carry on with what we want to do.

Repetition is the keyword here and for humans that is something we generally try to avoid. Yet our digital friends love repetition. They never get tired and they never get bored of doing the same thing over and over again countless times.

So it’s little wonder then that all modern programming languages give us various ways in which we can perform a certain action as many times as we need.

In python we have the for statement which gives us the power to loop over large collections of data very quickly and efficiently.

3 Most Important Things Non-Programmers Should Know About Programming?

[May, 11, 2018] |
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What are the three most important things non-programmers should know about programming?

Written by Brian Knapp, credit and reprint CodeCareerGenius

Since you asked for the three most important things that non-programmers should know about, and I’ve spent most of my career working with more non-programmers than programmers, I have a few interesting things that would help.

Number One - It Is Impossible To Accurately Estimate Software Projects

No matter what is tried. No matter what tool, agile approach, or magic fairy dust people try to apply to creating software… accurately predicting software project timelines is basically impossible.

There are many good reasons for this. Usually, requirements and feature ideas change on a daily/weekly basis. Often it is impossible to know what needs to be done without actually digging into the code itself. Debugging and QA can take an extraordinary amount of time.

And worst of all…

Project Managers are always pushing for shorter timelines. They largely have no respect for reality. So, at some point they are given estimates just to make them feel better about planning.

No matter how much planning and estimation you do, it will be wrong. At best it will be directionally correct +/- 300% of what you estimated. So, a one year project could actually take anywhere between 0 and 5 years, maybe even 10 years.

If you think I’m joking, look at how many major ERP projects that go over time and over budget by many years and many hundreds of millions of dollars. Look at the F-35 fighter jet software issues.

Or in the small, you can find many cases where a “simple bug fix” can take days when you thought it was hours.

All estimates are lies made up to make everyone feel better. I’ve never met a developer or manager who could accurately estimate software projects even as well as the local weatherman(or woman) predicts the weather.

Number Two - Productivity Is Unevenly Distributed

What if I told you that in the average eight hour work day the majority of the work will get done in a 30 minute timeframe? Sound crazy?

Well, for most programmers there is a 30–90 minute window where you are extraordinarily productive. We call this the flow state.

Being in the flow state is wonderful and amazing. It often is where the “magic” of building software happens.

Getting into flow can be difficult. It’s akin to meditation in that you have to have a period of uninterrupted focus of say 30 minutes to “get in” the flow, but a tiny interruption can pull you right out.

Now consider the modern workplace environment. Programmers work in open office environments where they are invited to distract each other constantly.

Most people need a 1–2 hour uninterrupted block to get 30–90 minutes of flow.

Take the 8 hour day and break it in half with a lunch break, and then pile in a few meetings and all of a sudden you are lucky to get one decent flow state session in place.

That is why I say that most of the work that gets done happens in a 30 minute timeframe. The other 7–8 hours are spent being distracted, answering email, going to meetings, hanging around the water cooler, going to the bathroom, and trying to remember what you were working on before all these distractions.

Ironically, writers, musicians, and other creative professionals have their own version of this problem and largely work alone and away from other people when they are creating new things.

Someday the programming world might catch on, but I doubt it.

Even if this became obvious, it doesn’t sit well with most companies to think that programmers would be paid for an 8 hour day and only be cranking out code for a few hours on a good day. Some corporate middle manager would probably get the bright idea to have mandatory flow state training where a guru came in and then there would be a corporate policy from a pointy haired boss mandating that programmers are now required to spend 8 hours a day in flow state and they must fill out forms to track their time and notify their superiors of their flow state activities, otherwise there would be more meetings about the current flow state reports not being filed correctly and that programmers were spending too much time “zoning out” instead of being in flow.

Thus, programmers would spent 7–8 hours a day pretending to be in flow state, reporting on their progress, and getting all their work done in 30 minutes of accidental flow state somewhere in the middle of all that flow state reporting.

If you think I’m joking about this, I’m not. I promise you this is what would happen to any company of more than 2 employees. (Even the ones run by programmers.)

Number Three - It Will Cost 10x What You Think

Being a programmer, I get a lot of non-programmers telling me about their brilliant app ideas. Usually they want me to build something for free and are so generous as to pay me up to 5% of the profits for doing 100% of the work.

Their ideas are just that good.

Now, I gently tell them that I’m not interested in building anything for free.

At that point they get angry, but a few ask how much it will cost. I give them a reasonable (and very incorrect) estimate of what it would cost to create the incredibly simple version of their app idea.

Let’s say it’s some number like $25,000.

They look at me like I’m a lunatic, and so I explain how much it costs to hire a contract programmer and how long it will actually take. For example’s sake let’s say it is $100/hr for 250 hours.

To be clear, these are made up numbers and bad estimates (See Number One for details…)

In actuality, to build the actual thing they want might cost $250,000, or even $2,500,000 when it’s all said and done.

Building software can be incredibly complex and expensive. What most people can’t wrap their head around is the fact that a company like Google, Apple, or Microsoft has spent BILLIONS of dollars to create something that looks so simple to the end user.

Somehow, the assumption is that something that looks simple is cheap and fast to build.

Building something simple and easy for the end user is time consuming and expensive. Most people just can’t do it.

So, the average person with a brilliant app idea thinks it will cost a few hundred or maybe a few thousand dollars to make and it will be done in a weekend is so off the mark it’s not worth considering their ideas.

And programmers are too eager to play along with these bad ideas (by making bad estimates and under charging for their time) that this notion is perpetuated to the average non-programmer.

So, a good rule of thumb is that software will cost 10 times as much as you think and take 10 times as long to finish.

And that leads to a bonus point…

BONUS - Software Is Never Done

Programmers never complete a software project, they only stop working on it. Software is never done.

I’ve worked at many software companies and I’ve never seen a software project “completed”.

Sure, software gets released and used. But, it is always changing, being updated, bugs get fixed, and there are always new customer requests for features.

Look at your favorite software and you’ll quickly realize how true this is. Facebook, Instagram, Google Search, Google Maps, GMail, iOS, Android, Windows, and now even most video games are never done.

There are small armies of developers just trying to keep all the software you use every day stable and bug free. Add on the fact that there are always feature requests, small changes, and new platforms to deal with, it’s a treadmill.

So, the only way out of the game is to stop working on software. At that point, the software begins to decay until it is no longer secure or supported.

Think about old Windows 3.1 software or maybe old Nintendo Cartridge video games. The current computers and video game consoles don’t even attempt to run that software anymore.

You can’t put an old video game in your new Nintendo Switch and have it “just work”. That is what happens when you think software is done.

When programmers stop working on software the software starts to die. The code itself is probably fine, but all the other software keeps moving forward until your software is no longer compatible with the current technology.

So, those are the four most important things that non-programmers should know about programming. I know you asked for only three, so I hope the bonus was valuable to you as well.

iPhone-Siri

[Oct, 27, 2012] |
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One of the most anticipated features that came on the iPhone 4S was a new thing called: Siri. Zooming out before concentrating on Siri, mobile assistants were the new rage. Beforehand, people were fascinated by the cloud, and how you could store your files in the Internet and retrieve it from anywhere. You could store your file at home, and get it at your workplace to make a presentation. However, next came virtual assistants. When you’re in the car, it’s hard to send text messages. It’s hard to call people. It’s hard to set reminders that just popped into your head onto your phone. Thus, came the virtual assistant: a new way to be able to talk to your phone to be able to do what you want it to do, and in this case, text message, or call people, and many other features. Apple jumped onto the bandwagon with the iPhone 4S and came out with the new feature: Siri, a virtual assistant that is tailored to assist you in your endeavours by your diction.

Getting started with Siri

To get Siri in the first place, you need an iPhone 4S; although you may have the latest updates on your iPhone 4 or earlier, having an iPhone 4S means you have the hardware that is required to run Siri on your phone. Therefore, if you are interested in using Siri, check into getting an iPhone 4S, as they are getting cheaper every single day.

Tech Life in Texas

Austin may be considered the live music capital of the world but the field of technology is becoming the new norm in the The Lone Star State. Home to Dell and Compaq computers, there is a reason why central Texas is often referred to as the Silicon Valley of the south. It?s rated third on the charts of the top computer places in the United States with a social learning and training IT atmosphere. Adding the fact that Austin offers fairly inexpensive living costs for students, software developers may take note as they look to relocate.

The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do what they want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people learn things they didn't think they could learn before, and so in a sense it is all about potential. Steve Ballmer, (CEO) of Microsoft Corporation

other Learning Options

Software developers near Missouri City have ample opportunities to meet like minded techie individuals, collaborate and expend their career choices by participating in Meet-Up Groups. The following is a list of Technology Groups in the area.

The Austin Linux Meetup Group · Austin Redis Meetup · Austin CSS for Beginners & Advanced ·

Fortune 500 and 1000 companies in Texas that offer opportunities for Cisco developers

Company Name	City	Industry	Secondary Industry
Dr Pepper Snapple Group	Plano	Manufacturing	Nonalcoholic Beverages
Western Refining, Inc.	El Paso	Energy and Utilities	Gasoline and Oil Refineries
Frontier Oil Corporation	Dallas	Manufacturing	Chemicals and Petrochemicals
ConocoPhillips	Houston	Energy and Utilities	Gasoline and Oil Refineries
Dell Inc	Round Rock	Computers and Electronics	Computers, Parts and Repair
Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P.	Houston	Transportation and Storage	Transportation & Storage Other
GameStop Corp.	Grapevine	Retail	Retail Other
Fluor Corporation	Irving	Business Services	Management Consulting
Kimberly-Clark Corporation	Irving	Manufacturing	Paper and Paper Products
Exxon Mobil Corporation	Irving	Energy and Utilities	Gasoline and Oil Refineries
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P.	Houston	Energy and Utilities	Gasoline and Oil Refineries
Cameron International Corporation	Houston	Energy and Utilities	Energy and Utilities Other
Celanese Corporation	Irving	Manufacturing	Chemicals and Petrochemicals
HollyFrontier Corporation	Dallas	Energy and Utilities	Gasoline and Oil Refineries
Kinder Morgan, Inc.	Houston	Energy and Utilities	Gas and Electric Utilities
Marathon Oil Corporation	Houston	Energy and Utilities	Gasoline and Oil Refineries
United Services Automobile Association	San Antonio	Financial Services	Personal Financial Planning and Private Banking
J. C. Penney Company, Inc.	Plano	Retail	Department Stores
Energy Transfer Partners, L.P.	Dallas	Energy and Utilities	Energy and Utilities Other
Atmos Energy Corporation	Dallas	Energy and Utilities	Alternative Energy Sources
National Oilwell Varco Inc.	Houston	Manufacturing	Manufacturing Other
Tesoro Corporation	San Antonio	Manufacturing	Chemicals and Petrochemicals
Halliburton Company	Houston	Energy and Utilities	Energy and Utilities Other
Flowserve Corporation	Irving	Manufacturing	Tools, Hardware and Light Machinery
Commercial Metals Company	Irving	Manufacturing	Metals Manufacturing
EOG Resources, Inc.	Houston	Energy and Utilities	Gasoline and Oil Refineries
Whole Foods Market, Inc.	Austin	Retail	Grocery and Specialty Food Stores
Waste Management, Inc.	Houston	Energy and Utilities	Waste Management and Recycling
CenterPoint Energy, Inc.	Houston	Energy and Utilities	Gas and Electric Utilities
Valero Energy Corporation	San Antonio	Manufacturing	Chemicals and Petrochemicals
FMC Technologies, Inc.	Houston	Energy and Utilities	Alternative Energy Sources
Calpine Corporation	Houston	Energy and Utilities	Gas and Electric Utilities
Texas Instruments Incorporated	Dallas	Computers and Electronics	Semiconductor and Microchip Manufacturing
SYSCO Corporation	Houston	Wholesale and Distribution	Grocery and Food Wholesalers
BNSF Railway Company	Fort Worth	Transportation and Storage	Freight Hauling (Rail and Truck)
Affiliated Computer Services, Incorporated (ACS), a Xerox Company	Dallas	Software and Internet	E-commerce and Internet Businesses
Tenet Healthcare Corporation	Dallas	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech	Hospitals
XTO Energy Inc.	Fort Worth	Energy and Utilities	Gasoline and Oil Refineries
Group 1 Automotive	Houston	Retail	Automobile Dealers
ATandT	Dallas	Telecommunications	Telephone Service Providers and Carriers
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation	Spring	Energy and Utilities	Gasoline and Oil Refineries
Apache Corporation	Houston	Energy and Utilities	Gasoline and Oil Refineries
Dean Foods Company	Dallas	Manufacturing	Food and Dairy Product Manufacturing and Packaging
American Airlines	Fort Worth	Travel, Recreation and Leisure	Passenger Airlines
Baker Hughes Incorporated	Houston	Energy and Utilities	Gasoline and Oil Refineries
Continental Airlines, Inc.	Houston	Travel, Recreation and Leisure	Passenger Airlines
RadioShack Corporation	Fort Worth	Computers and Electronics	Consumer Electronics, Parts and Repair
KBR, Inc.	Houston	Government	International Bodies and Organizations
Spectra Energy Partners, L.P.	Houston	Energy and Utilities	Gas and Electric Utilities
Energy Future Holdings	Dallas	Energy and Utilities	Energy and Utilities Other
Southwest Airlines Corporation	Dallas	Transportation and Storage	Air Couriers and Cargo Services

training details locations, tags and why hsg

the hartmann software group advantage

why take Cisco Training with the hartmann software group?

A successful career as a software developer or other IT professional requires a solid understanding of software development processes, design patterns, enterprise application architectures, web services, security, networking and much more. The progression from novice to expert can be a daunting endeavor; this is especially true when traversing the learning curve without expert guidance. A common experience is that too much time and money is wasted on a career plan or application due to misinformation.

The Hartmann Software Group understands these issues and addresses them and others during any training engagement. Although no IT educational institution can guarantee career or application development success, HSG can get you closer to your goals at a far faster rate than self paced learning and, arguably, than the competition. Here are the reasons why we are so successful at teaching:

Learn from the experts.
1. We have provided software development and other IT related training to many major corporations in Texas since 2002.
2. Our educators have years of consulting and training experience; moreover, we require each trainer to have cross-discipline expertise i.e. be Java and .NET experts so that you get a broad understanding of how industry wide experts work and think.
Discover tips and tricks about Cisco programming
Get your questions answered by easy to follow, organized Cisco experts
Get up to speed with vital Cisco programming tools
Save on travel expenses by learning right from your desk or home office. Enroll in an online instructor led class. Nearly all of our classes are offered in this way.
Prepare to hit the ground running for a new job or a new position
See the big picture and have the instructor fill in the gaps
We teach with sophisticated learning tools and provide excellent supporting course material
Books and course material are provided in advance
Get a book of your choice from the HSG Store as a gift from us when you register for a class
Gain a lot of practical skills in a short amount of time
We teach what we know…software
We care…

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Cisco Training Classes in Missouri City, Texas

Learn Cisco in Missouri City, Texas and surrounding areas via our hands-on, expert led courses. All of our classes either are offered on an onsite, online or public instructor led basis. Here is a list of our current Cisco related training offerings in Missouri City, Texas: Cisco Training

Cisco Training Catalog

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Getting started with Siri

Tech Life in Texas

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