The ColdFusion Podcast Roundup: Wednesday, April 12, 2006

 
Apr 24, 2006

by Charlie Griefer, Fusion Authority Media Reviewer

ColdFusion Weekly (http://www.coldfusionweekly.com)
Version 1.3 Beta: Open Source Mania! (1:00)
Matt Woodward and Peter Farrell

Helms and Peters Out Loud (http://www.helmsandpeters.com)
Episode 20: Taking the Leap (35:50)
Hal Helms and Jeff Peters

ColdFusion Weekly Version 1.3 Beta

Wouldn't you know I missed it? Last week Matt and Peter revealed the logic behind the version numbering... the biggest news story in the history of this particular podcast for that given week, and I missed it. But it does make sense. Version 1.n will be all versions that encompass the first year of their podcast broadcasts. Not unlike magazine volume numbers. Fair enough (although it does seem that the first version should have been 1.1 instead of 1.0, what with ColdFusion starting to count from 1 and all...)

Before any review that's specific to Version 1.3, I'd like to offer up a general observation. For the 4th time in as many weeks, this version is longer than the previous version. Version 1.3 clocks in at just under one hour and 20 minutes. Here's why I think this might be a problem:

There's a demographic to podcast listeners. But it's not an age/gender/income level type of demographic. It's a "when do they listen?" demographic. Most people who listen to podcasts regularly do so during a commute...maybe another large majority listen at the gym or during a workout. Podcasts fill the time and make it a bit more enjoyable (if not actually a little bit productive). But listening to a podcast is not like listening to music. You need to pay attention while you listen. My concern is that if you start requiring more time than Joe Q. Public (John C. Fusion?) can give, the public starts going away.

I don't know that most people have an hour (and then some) to dedicate to listening to a podcast. Yes, people can break it up and listen to 20 minutes a day; that fills up the week nicely. But I think the message should be delivered in a single package (more specifically, a single sitting). The message might not be as effective if broken up over a number of days.

Of course, this is all just my take on it. But the fact that Peter and Matt indicate that there were no responses to the CF_Quiz or the CFQuery may be indicative of a podcast that requires more resources than the average user has to give.

On to the content...

Most of Version 1.3 dealt with Open Source software, which is not, by any means, a small topic. Whether you're writing or using open source, there is a lot to understand.

There is a very fundamental misunderstanding that "open source" means that we as developers can see/modify/use the code as we see fit. The fact that an application (or a line of code) is Open Source means very little insofar as to how the code can be used. In the Open Source software model, use is determined by the various license models, which are commonly misunderstood. Pete Freitag recently posted a matrix of Open Source licenses at http://www.petefreitag.com/item/533.cfm. Anybody working with open source software should definitely check it out.

Brian Rinaldi of http://www.remotesynthesis.com took the CF_Hotseat this week and continued the discussion of Open Source as it applied more specifically towards ColdFusion. Brian got tired of continually hearing how the ColdFusion community doesn't have any open source endeavors. In response, he currently maintains a list (just under 100 projects) that can be found at http://www.remotesynthesis.com/cfopensourcelist/.

Version 1.2's CF_Quiz was extended for an additional week, but the winner has not yet been revealed.

Not much to say in summary that wasn't addressed above. I do enjoy the ColdFusion Weekly and hope to see it not only continue but truly succeed.

Version 1.3 Beta: Open Source Mania! (1:00)

Helms and Peters Out Loud Episode 20: "Taking the Leap"

Another non-technical, but highly relevant, episode of Out Loud, Episode 20 deals with taking that leap and working for the hardest boss you?ll ever have: Yourself.

While this episode dealt with the issue of choosing to work for yourself, every point that was made was still applicable to a developer simply choosing to take on a side job. Even if you never intend to strike out on your own, but you do moonlight from time to time, the information in Episode 20 is vitally important to your success.

I don?t want to give away too many "bullet point" do's and don'ts as outlined by Hal and Jeff. The last thing that I hope to do (with this or any other review) is give enough of a "recap" that the review replaces the reader's need to listen to the podcast. That would be such a disservice to everyone involved. Hal and Jeff speak from experience. They explain the things that you should do, and some that you should not. Some seem intuitive, while others are the exact opposite of what you might think. Hal and Jeff explain each of their suggestions in enough detail so that you understand why the suggestion is being made, whether or not you agree.

As someone who had once before "taken the leap" (I worked for myself from 1999-2000), I have no reservations about stating that this should be required listening for any developer who plans to do so much as work on a side job. If I had heard this podcast back then, maybe I'd still be working for myself today.

Congratulations and best of luck to Hal on his new endeavor (his reverse leap).

Episode 20: Taking the Leap
Charlie Griefer is a Software Engineer at Vurv Technology (formerly Recruitmax) in Jacksonville, FL, where he spends his days (and on occasion, evenings and nights) developing world-class workforce management, staffing and recruiting software solutions.

In his spare time, he enjoys being a father of two and a husband of one.
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