CodeChat (MP4) - Channel 9

When Matt Podwysocki (@MattPodwysocki) added a todo item on one Android device and we watched the data synchronize and then quickly update on another, I have to say I wasn't so impressed. But when he told me than neither device had an internet connection, my interest was piqued. Thali (thaliproject.org) is an experimental framework that allows mobile devices to discover and connect directly to one another. It's based on direct wifi, which has been around for a long time, but utilizing it inevitably involves a lot of ceremony. Thali does away with the ceremony. Matt explains it all very well in this episode of CodeChat. Enjoy. As always, leave a comment below with your ideas or feedback. You can always find me online at codefoster.com or on Twitter @codefoster.

Reactive Extensions (a.k.a. Rx) is one of those technologies that really lights me up. I sought out Matthew Podwysocki (@mattpodwysocki) - the principle contributor to Rx.js so I could give you an introduction to this technology and ask him some questions about the project and where it's headed. You'll be able to use Rx in pretty much whatever language you use: JS, Swift, Scala, Java, Netty, Python, Ruby, .NET, Clojure, Go, and more. Come on... Netty?! I haven't even heard of Netty! Get more information about Rx at reactivex.io and get involved in the code by visiting the repository at github.com/reactivex. But for now, watch this episode and let Matthew tell you what it's all about. As always, chime in below using the comments.

Daniel Egan (@DanielEgan) has been a .NET guy for a long time, but he's taking himself through a migration - a migration to the open source MEAN stack. Just like when you learn a new spoken language, learning a new programming language or framework doesn't mean you need to let go of the stuff you already know. You get to keep the accumulation of what you learn, so it makes sense to learn some new stuff. Daniel doesn't just want to go through this on his own though. He wants to take you with him. He's going to be documenting the entire learning process in a new, free, online video series called MEAN on Azure... http://sogeek.us/meanonazure In this episode of CodeChat, hear Daniel and I muse about the difficult yet valuable process of learning new paradigms, coding in community, visual interfaces versus command line interfaces, and more. I hope you enjoy the episode. Please do take a chance to drop a comment down below. Let Daniel and I know what you think, ask the guests a question, or recommend something for a future show. As always, you can find me online at codefoster.com or on Twitter @codefoster.

Join me this week for CodeChat as Sara Itani and I don't even try to hold back our Node.js enthusiasm. You'll hear about all of the ways Microsoft participates in the powerful node ecosystem and rich node community, and you'll hear about the tools we offer to make a day in the life of a node developer a better and more productive day. Sara also introduces a new repo created by Microsoft that offers a ton of guidelines, best practices, patterns, tips, tricks, and more. You can find that at microsoft/nodejs-guidelines. Thanks for tuning in to CodeChat. I hope you enjoy the content. Feel free to ask questions in the comments below.

*** SORRY ABOUT THE POOR AUDIO! *** RethinkDB (rethinkdb.com) is a modern database that enables real-time scenarios right out of the box. In this CodeChat, Slava (@spakhm) - one of the co-founders of the company - tells us all about the software's strengths and why you might consider using it in your next project. It's often times just one of a few components to an overall data solution, but for its part, RethinkDB means there will be no more busy work getting data refreshed on each client. I apologize up front for the echo in the audio. My on-the-road recording equipment is a bit sub-par, but I've got some updated hardware in an upcoming episode, so watch out for that. I hope you enjoyed this episode of CodeChat. As always, please chime in using the comment thread below. You can always find me online at codefoster.com or on Twitter @codefoster.

Vorlon.js is a debugging tool for webpages. It's sort of like the F12 tools built into your favorite browser, but it has one big advantage - it works remotely. With Vorlon.js, you put a single script reference on your web page and then install the vorlon npm package on your local machine (or in the cloud) and you're ready to go. If you're curious now, just watch Etienne - one of Vorlon's authors - explain it in this episode of CodeChat. Please feel free to ask questions in the comment thread below.

At Microsoft, MVP stands for Most Valuable Professional. The MVP program is our attempt to recognize the incredible efforts of so many developers that use Microsoft tools and platforms and communicate well with others on why and how to do the same. Those of us in developer evangelism could not be more thankful for our MVPs. They are tireless advocates and excellent teammates. In this episode of CodeChat, I'm joined once again by MVP and RD Mark Michaelis (@markmichaelis) to share a bit about the MVP program with the rest of the world. So tune in and perhaps check out more information about the MVP program yourself at mvp.microsoft.com.

This week on CodeChat I'm talking with Microsoft MVP and Regional Director Mark Michaelis about a phenomenon that we both observe in the software development world. I'm talking about how, over the years, our capabilities, opportunities, and options for software development have expanded, but it hasn't necessarily resulted in software development becoming any easier for students and beginners. Now we have a myriad of platforms, languages, runtimes, and starting points that all claim to be the easiest and best way to go. Who is a newcomer supposed to believe and where are they supposed to start. On the contrary, the array of options often overwhelm and bewilder the beginner and may intimidate them from even getting started at all. Join us for this conversation and please chime in using the comment thread below. As always, you can find me online at codefoster.com or on Twitter @codefoster.

Jeff works at npm. You know npm... that's the package repository for Node.js. npm is a critical part of the Node.js ecosystem. In fact, I think it's the whole reason why node is so loveable - because of the huge community of people writing modules and the ease of npm in publishing them. Join me this episode for a chat with Jeff Lembeck about all things npm. Jeff is a front end engineer there and brings some interesting insight into the mindset of the teams that work on this mission critical platform. I hope you enjoy the episode. Please do take a chance to drop a comment down below. Let us know what you think, ask the guests a question, or recommend something for a future show. As always, you can find me online at codefoster.com or on Twitter @codefoster.

Jacob Whitish (@whitishj) is a business development manager at Antsquare (antsquare.com) and joined me this week on CodeChat to talk about their startup, what it's like as a bizdev type to work with us dev types, and more. Antsquare is a great startup that is billing themselves as a community marketplace. They essentially become a digital means by which local buyers and sellers can discover each other and conduct marketplace transactions quickly and safely. It's pretty exciting. Do you think developers tend to overestimate or underestimate the timeline of a story? What can a developer do to work and communicate effectively with other groups such as business development, marketing, and sales. Jacob weighs in on these questions and more. I hope you enjoy the episode. Especially the part where we accidentally show bare buns on screen! Please do take a chance to drop a comment down below. Let us know what you think, ask the guests a question, or recommend something for a future show. As always, you can find me online at codefoster.com or on Twitter @codefoster.