Welcome to the Simple Programmer Resources page.
On this page you'll find resources for:
- Career Tools
- Blogging and Hosting
- Books
- Programmer Gifts
- Programmer Blogs and Podcasts
- Screencasting and Recording Video
- VPN Service
- My Recommendations
Career Tools
Thinkful
Thinkful is by far the best Coding Bootcamp I've seen to date. They have 1-on-1 learning to accelerate your way to a new high-growth tech career.
2000 Books – 2X Your Productivity
Video Summaries of the 50 Greatest books on Time Management, Productivity, Goal Setting, Systems, Execution, Strategy & Leverage
Pluralsight
I recommend a Pluralsight subscription to every developer. They have over 6000 courses and counting. It's hard to beat that value for only $29/mo or $299/annually.
Keep up-to-date with emerging technologies or sharpen your skills on existing ones. You can binge-watch without limits.
Interview Cake
We've all struggled with interviews at one point or another. And why shouldn't we? Software Developer interviews are notoriously difficult, especially when the interviewer asks you to solve difficult technical questions on the spot.
Well, I've got exciting news for you: The programming interview is a winnable game. Learn the tricks to quickly solve problems you've never seen before.
Blogging and Hosting
Bluehost
One of the best blog hosting sites to get started with. Get a blog up and created in about 5 minutes (check out my video on exactly how to do it.) They have really good support, the price is extremely cheap
and it's super easy to get started blogging with Bluehost.
Blog Hosting the Ultimate Guide
Free, 3-week email course I created to show you exactly how to get started blogging.
Thrive Themes
Super fast themes that are highly configurable and look good. I've purchased several different themes for Simple Programmer over the years and finally settled on this one. It does everything I want and looks good.
Drip
What I use for managing my email list. Highly configurable. Works great. I highly recommend it.
Pretty Links
I consider this a must have for every website. Allows you to create our own links with your domain name which go to wherever you want and to track them.
Books
The Complete Software Developer's Career Guide
My best selling book of all time, #1 best-seller in enter Amazon store for computer and technology books. About 800 pages of the best career advice I have ever given out.
Soft Skills: The Software Developer's Life Manual
This is my best-selling book. I've even recorded an audio version with some bonus content.
Also see: All the links from Soft Skills
Cracking the Coding Interview
I am not a recruiter. I am a software engineer. And as such, I know what it's like to be asked to whip up brilliant algorithms on the spot and then write flawless code on a whiteboard. I've been through this as a candidate and as an interviewer.
Cracking the Coding Interview, 6th Edition is here to help you through this process, teaching you what you need to know and enabling you to perform at your very best. I've coached and interviewed hundreds of software engineers. The result is this book.
Clean Code
Noted software expert Robert C. Martin presents a revolutionary paradigm with Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship . Martin has teamed up with his colleagues from Object Mentor to distill their best agile practice of cleaning
code “on the fly” into a book that will instill within you the values of a software craftsman and make you a better programmer—but only if you work at it.
Code Complete
Widely considered one of the best practical guides to programming, Steve McConnell’s original CODE COMPLETE has been helping developers write better software for more than a decade.
Programmer Gifts
Programmer Blogs and Podcasts
The Ultimate List of Developer Podcasts
I keep this list up to date as much as possible. I think this is the best list around.
Screencasting and Recording Video
Camtasia
My number one choice for doing screencasting. Works on Mac and PC. I did all my Pluralsight courses using this software. I even use the editor to edit regular video, because it's so simple to use. You can learn it and get up and running in a day.
Canon EOS Rebel T5
I've been able to shoot some amazingly high quality video with this camera and the previous models. I can't believe how well these cameras shoot video. A bit of an investment, but well worth it if you are shooting your own video.
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens
I don't know a whole bunch about photography or videography, but this lens let me look like a professional, by enabling my to have a nice background blur in my videos. I couldn't figure out how to get that effect
until I found people recommending this lens.
VPN Service
NordVPN
Great VPN service for securing your privacy, especially when connecting to public Wifi. Very affordable price as well. If you aren't using a VPN, you really should be.
My Recommendations
Raspberry Pi 3 Complete Starter Kit
The Raspberry Pi is perfect if your programmer is an electronics hobbyist. How do you know your programmer is an electronics hobbyist? They're easy to spot in their natural habitat. Look for these 4 signs:
- Lying around the work station is a collection of tiny wires and electronics that look like computer parts.
- Likely has a saudering gun.
- Likes to try and control things (lights, robots, other computers) using devices they've built. Often failing and damaging house-hold electronics.
- Asks for help connecting tiny little wires because their fingers are too large. This probably isn't a problem if the programmer is a female.
The Raspberry Pi is an amazing low-cost micro-computer. It's basically a full-blown computer but it's the size of credit card.
It can run various flavors of Linux/Unix, act as a Media Center, and even moonlight as a Microcontroller, which is great for developers who are looking to learn how to hack.
Some other things you might want to buy along-side this product are:
The Complete Rasberry Pi Start-Kit
It comes with:
- A 3.5 inch LCD touch screen
- Extra Wiring
- Preloaded System (2016-04-06-raspbian-jessie)
- Cooling Fan (NOTE: if you want the Fan and Screen to work at the same time, please purchase Kuman K70 40pin Male to Female Ribbon GPIO Cable ASIN:B01L6THEE8 )
ARDUINO Starter Kit
What the heck is an Arduino and why would my Programmer want one?
Good question, let me explain why your programmer (even if they aren't an electronics hobbyist) would want an Arduino.
Arduino's are microcontrollers that can run a single program at a time. You can program them to control other electronics (hence the name “micro-controller”.) They're commonly used to control hobbyist robots and house-hold electronics.
This Exclusive Arduino Deluxe Bundle includes everything you need to get started with Arduino – including the only Official Starter Kit.
They're very commonly used in University student projects.
Computer Glasses
These Computer Glasses were designed for those who stay in front of a monitor for a long time.
- Prevents your eyes from dryness.
- It's cool to be nerdy in 2017. These glasses turn you into a nerdy-chic-magnet. Wait, that's not politically correct. Correction: They turn you into a nerdy human magnet?
Logitech Bluetooth Keyboard
If you're looking for a quiet keyboard, this is just about as quiet as they get. The “feel” of it is similar to an Apple keyboar.
The major features include:
- Bluetooth Connectivity
- Multi-Device Connectivity. Connect to:
-
- Computers
- Apple iPads
- Android Tablets
20,000mAh Portable Charger
This portable charger has a 20,000mAh capactity, which is a considerable amount. To give you some perspective, a 2017 Macbook Pro holds a 4,883mAh charge. So it could charge your laptop 4 times before it dies.
An iPhone 7 rougly holds a 2,000mAh charge. So you could charge it fully 8 – 10 times before the charger dies. This is a great choice for those who aren't able to frequently charge their phone or forget to.
Dell Ultrawide Montior (U3415W)
I own this Dell Ultra Wide Monitor and it's incredible. It's one of the first versions so it's priced more reasonably than other Ultra Wide Monitors.
If you're looking for a ultra-wide monitor and you want something that's still going to perform, this should definitely go on your list.
Microsoft Surface II
This is a high-end laptop that's great for gaming. I have the first version of this laptop and it's definitely something I'd recommend.
This second installment and it advertises a huge improvement with the high-performance graphics card. As I stated before, this laptop is ideal for running games (I know there's are A LOT of game developers here).
MacBook Pro 2017
If you're a “Mac Lover” and you have a few (ok, a lot of) dollars to spend, you can buy the latest version of the MacBook Pro, one of the most sought-after notebooks by developers who are not very fond of Microsoft.
This laptop has similar characteristics to the Surface II in that it's a very high-end product. Mac Products are notoriously expensive but one reason is because they're so reliable. A friend of mine still has his Macbook
from 2009 and it works the same as the day he bought it. If you purchase the Apple-care warranty for around $250, you basically get a “no questions asked” repair policy.
