I love technology; I find it very exciting and dynamic. It amazes me how quickly it has evolved and the things I dreamt as a kid now is a reality for my kids. For example I remembered playing my favourite car race game Grand Prix in my 286 PC with CGA monitor wishing I had a VGA with multi-player option so I can show how a good driver I was. We used to take turns and record our times in pieces of paper or in our floppy disk. Now I can use this with my smart phone and compete globally. I also remember I chatted with someone across the continent through e-mail in an IBM Lab in Peru. It was unreal to think I was communicating with someone instantly. I used to pen pal with friends around the world and it took weeks sometimes months to hear from them, so being able to talk to people like that was just amazing. And I asked myself when was the last time I wrote a letter?
As technology was booming in front of my eyes, I remember passionate discussions about which technology is better and clear different camps that will argue passionately for their sides. My first programming language was Basic which I enjoyed a lot but it was difficult to make it work for different configurations and it was definitely not an easy task to run executable programs in Apple and PCs. Linux, Sun was for some rebels and of course not in my camp at the time.
So I grew up loving and hating some aspects of programming. I consider programming a form of expressing creativity through an electronic medium. But perhaps the biggest frustration I had when programming is trying to make it work in different platforms or devices. For example I recently tried to use Wii-mote with Scratch. It's not that difficult for Windows but to do it with Raspberry Pi required me to remind myself that is only a $35 computer I got it to work but not the simple solution I was trying to find.
The thought of wishing universal compatibility crossed my mind but I reconsidered as that will limit the creative process. It's kind like asking artist to stick to brushes only. So rather than getting frustrated about it, it's important embrace this aspect of technology. There is very positive steps towards standardization and moving to a more universal language which helps with portability of code in different platforms and devices.
Our children expect plug and play behaviour, and even though this is a beautiful concept, when things don't work frustration doesn't let them see the light at the end of the tunnel. Making it work in different platforms is what makes programming so interested and fun. In the journey you will pick up more skills and learn about the intricacies of what you are dealing with. You will also develop preferences and decide whether to pursue a niche or look where information is widely available and perhaps one day they will venture to contribute with Open Source.
Open Source code is more than free code is a believe that human learning should not be monetized and everyone has the opportunity to contribute. It's a beautiful concept that unfortunately is now being questioned due to cyber attacks from malicious people. Open Source is not the solution for everything, private entities contribute to society as well and competition is good to keep the creative fuel going. It's always a balance but free platforms allow people all over the world to create and that benefits all of us.
In conclusion, don't hate lack of compatibility, learn to embrace it instead, contribute to universal standardization through open source code and focus on what makes you happy as a programmer. Personally I prefer to work on programming languages where there is plenty of information available and focus on the creative process and the functionality of the program. And if you know an easy way to use Wii-mote with Scratch for Rpi I'd love to hear from you as well.
Cheers,
Omar
As technology was booming in front of my eyes, I remember passionate discussions about which technology is better and clear different camps that will argue passionately for their sides. My first programming language was Basic which I enjoyed a lot but it was difficult to make it work for different configurations and it was definitely not an easy task to run executable programs in Apple and PCs. Linux, Sun was for some rebels and of course not in my camp at the time.
So I grew up loving and hating some aspects of programming. I consider programming a form of expressing creativity through an electronic medium. But perhaps the biggest frustration I had when programming is trying to make it work in different platforms or devices. For example I recently tried to use Wii-mote with Scratch. It's not that difficult for Windows but to do it with Raspberry Pi required me to remind myself that is only a $35 computer I got it to work but not the simple solution I was trying to find.
The thought of wishing universal compatibility crossed my mind but I reconsidered as that will limit the creative process. It's kind like asking artist to stick to brushes only. So rather than getting frustrated about it, it's important embrace this aspect of technology. There is very positive steps towards standardization and moving to a more universal language which helps with portability of code in different platforms and devices.
Our children expect plug and play behaviour, and even though this is a beautiful concept, when things don't work frustration doesn't let them see the light at the end of the tunnel. Making it work in different platforms is what makes programming so interested and fun. In the journey you will pick up more skills and learn about the intricacies of what you are dealing with. You will also develop preferences and decide whether to pursue a niche or look where information is widely available and perhaps one day they will venture to contribute with Open Source.
Open Source code is more than free code is a believe that human learning should not be monetized and everyone has the opportunity to contribute. It's a beautiful concept that unfortunately is now being questioned due to cyber attacks from malicious people. Open Source is not the solution for everything, private entities contribute to society as well and competition is good to keep the creative fuel going. It's always a balance but free platforms allow people all over the world to create and that benefits all of us.
In conclusion, don't hate lack of compatibility, learn to embrace it instead, contribute to universal standardization through open source code and focus on what makes you happy as a programmer. Personally I prefer to work on programming languages where there is plenty of information available and focus on the creative process and the functionality of the program. And if you know an easy way to use Wii-mote with Scratch for Rpi I'd love to hear from you as well.
Cheers,
Omar