New stuff! (Headquarters!)

So, I’ve recently joined Select Start Studios as a full-time co-founder and we’ve already done some really exciting stuff.

Check out: http://headquartersapp.com/, our new Basecamp application that features everything you need to “get things done”. I personally believe it since we designed it for personal use; not as a mass market appeal product and not surprisingly… it fits the description of both. We find ourselves using Basecamp in ways we didn’t even think of before, which is surprising as we thought we were fairly proficient Basecamp users.

Headquarters makes it surprisingly easy to add Todo Items, Todo Lists, Milestones, Messages but makes it even easier to sort, triage and assign each of the items. Everything feels like its in the right place; it’s an app I’m truly proud of.

We have a trial version coming out soon for people to try… it’s a great companion to the free Basecamp account that you can sign up for. It limits you to one project, one account (just like the Basecamp account) so you can pretty much do everything.

I won’t post many screenshots here, the website and the iTunes link speak for themselves.

Also, as with almost every other post… here’s an acoustic cover:

i can ride my bike with no handlebars, no more course notes

Today’s musical inspiration comes from the fact that I basically finished my Computer Science degree at Carleton University yesterday. It was my last Comp Sci class; basically launching me into the world of high-tech, hookers and booze. Perhaps not as many hookers as one would imagine, but at least tech and booze. Regardless, things have really become exciting as of lately; in fact I’m starting full time in just a few weeks on a product I can really get behind (I really like the idea and I find it very useful).

Here’s the song (embedding is apparently disabled, click on it twice):

Here’s an acoustic version of it by someone who’s drunk or high, or something. High. Nevermind, I’m sure…

As for what I’m doing with Objective-C, I finally managed to get my MacBook prepared to ship. Since I wanted to leverage the discounts, I became a MAC Student Developer… obviously this meant that I had to prove that I was a student and then convince the hardware people that I was indeed a Mac Student Developer. Essentially, after phoning Austin, being transfered to Ireland and then back to Austin only to be reforwarded to Ireland and then back to Austin once more, I am finally getting a MacBook (13.3, 2.0ghz, 4GB ram). In addition, I’m finally getting a handle on that Irish accent. That being said, I can actually play around with iPhone development and make Objective-C actually useful.

On the topic of Objective-C and iPhones, I’m fairly sure that some people will be interested in the following link: http://itunes.stanford.edu/. Basically, Stanford has been releasing classes online… including one focusing iPhone development and Objective-C. It’s pretty hot, and allows you to appreciate music. Also,

the calm before the storm (and other cheesy sayings)

Team Selection for Dummies...

Well it’s roughly one week before classes start up again.  This means I’m back to the life of assignments, tests and exams.  This is all in addition to working on my honours project (which is well underway) and 20 hours of work at IBM per week.  Basically, it’s going to be a busy year…

So I received a (verbal) job offer from IBM for May 2009 that is very appealing today.  Although it is appealing (money can be very appealing?) I really want to explore my different options.  IBM has been great to me so far, despite seeing some really ugly things happen…  Regardless, it was probably the best co-op experience I’ve had.  A lot of responsibility, a ton of innovation and empowerment.  Through cross-pollination and synergizing, I was able to think outside of the box and super-overachieve.  One thing that sort of surprised me is that I can only receive one offer from IBM at a time.  Considering that I’ve been sort of “shopping” for a team within IBM, I can’t really keep it up.  On the bright side, I don’t think I can do much better with the offer I received.  Also, luckily for me that there are books on these things.

Once I figure out what I’m doing, I’ll be set for when I graduate!  Woo.  Afterwards, I only have to focus on not dying throughout the year (which may or may not prove to be a significant challenge)…  and if I survive, I’ll be able to order the restaurant’s finest food stuffed with the second finest food.  “Lobster stuffed with tacos… excellent choice.”

So all of this has really taught me a valuable lesson.  Knowing people in Ottawa is key.  Regardless of how good you are or how smart you can be, you can be stuck in a rut unless you know the right people and they’re willing to lend you an ear.  When you’re told that networking is the most important thing you will gain from your co-op positions, they’re not lying; they’re only using lame buzzwords.

the job search

This is how I do things...

Well, my last undergraduate summer is coming to a close and thus begins the fabled job hunt.  My goal is to find a job before the end of the year, and things already look good.  It’s actually really stressful but hey, if I can guarantee a fat wallet in less than a year then I’m all for it.

If you randomly have a job available where you work, feel free to pass my resume along or something.

The honours project is on hold until I finish my co-op work term report however it’s coming along pretty nicely.  I almost have a complete AST (Abstract Syntax Tree) for Prolog which is a big chunk of the underlying Prolog engine for Eclipse.  Once that’s done, then I have to sort out a few features and start producing a UI for the project.

Also, I’ve developed a pretty healthy hatred for these work term reports.  I’m not 100% sure that they actually teach students to write quality reports.  I’ve seen some really horrible ones get by…  In any case, whatever.