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programming is definitely a skill which doesn't require a lot of resources, with a pc and decent internet connection, one can become very powerful.


"with a pc and decent internet connection"

Unfortunately, for many people in the world this, and as mentioned in the posting a reliable supply of electricity, is something that not everyone can afford or easily acquire.

There are many hundreds of bright young people (and older too) that I've met on my travels through small towns and villages in Asia and Africa. I far too often have thought that I wish I could give them a computer, internet, electricity, something to help them break out of their lives of unemployment, underemployment & poverty and engage in the wider world to make money to support themselves and their family. Even the seemingly basic solutions have far too many hurdles and levels of corruption to avoid.


might I ask how you ended up on those travels? job related or free-time? In either case: I'd be grateful for some details!


Some are job related where I've visited remote locations to check on resource sites or in conflict zones. Otherwise, I often go off the beaten track to find out what its like in remote areas. Originally for the landscapes, flora & fauna, now also to meet the people who live locally and to see how they live. Though I try very much not to be intrusive, exploited or voyeuristic about it, as I feel many westerners do that, still very much in the 19th Century tradition.

Its usually best to go on personal travel, though obviously more expensive and usually without a support network & connections that work often provides. For work or relief organizations it can be better, but you also may not have the easy option of leaving when it gets a bit dangerous, as can happen in some regions on very short notice.


thank you very much -- I'm still dreaming of somehow combining work and travel


great article.somebody once said "programming is filled with plagiarism" and i think that is absolutely true,noobs especially like to do it this way.


#2 in addition to seeing their portfolio they should also give you a code review and explain what the code does.This avoids code plagiarism.


cool tips, but i'm worried about writing a script which isn't portable because of dependencies to some tools.


Great aggregator, we should have the same for ruby,c, c++ and all the major languages.


True, there's a few vaguely similar things, like planet.haskell.org, the subreddits, ruby.alltop.com.

You used to be able to pull off delicious tagged URLs for e.g. ruby, that had only a few people tag those and assume they were new/obscure, but you can't do that since they revamped format late last year. Can't do with pinboard either


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