Jean-Paul's +1 List

My +1 list is like my online list of awesome. Feel free to see what's here, and let me know what you think! I'd like to hear your opinion, unless it contradicts my own.

Cory Doctorow - The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (GBBT)

Submitted by Jean-Paul on

It's not very often that I read something that I think ought to be shared with the world. Even if "sharing" only means spreading to the <100 people per day that come here. This book...or perhaps "novella", is one of the few.

The author is Cory Doctorow, known to most nerds as one of the few authors who releases texts under a liberal license, and makes payment optional. 

(aside...a spider just rapelled down from the ceiling and is hanging about 4" in front of my monitor...awesome...)

I Want a Das Keyboard!!

Submitted by Jean-Paul on

With the amount of typing I do, it would be nice to have a mechanical keyboard. If you haven't heard that term before, a mechanical keyboard is one that has individual switches for each key. Most keyboards that either come with a desktop machine, or are for sale at your local big-box retailer, are not individual mechanical switches, but instead have a rubbery dome under each letter that comes in to contact with a circuit when you push the key. The tactile differences are easily noticeable when you compare the two side-by-side.

Whitespace

Submitted by Jean-Paul on

What is Whitespace?
Most modern programming languages do not consider white space characters (spaces, tabs and newlines) syntax, ignoring them, as if they weren't there. We consider this to be a gross injustice to these perfectly friendly members of the character set. Should they be ignored, just because they are invisible? Whitespace is a language that seeks to redress the balance. Any non whitespace characters are ignored; only spaces, tabs and newlines are considered syntax.

Bruce Eckel's MindView, Inc: Thinking in C++ 2nd Edition by Bruce Eckel

Submitted by Jean-Paul on

Thinking in C++ is a free online book from Bruce Eckel. There are a lot of books available on this topic at your local bookstore, including this one, but if you don't have enough money to purchase one yet, or you just want to see if it is worth the investment, I suggest checking out this resource first. There is also a link for an online seminar entitled "Thinking in C" for those of you who don't have any experience in programming. It will help you get up to speed on basic C syntax.