So, this is my first successfully completed online course. The last one I took on Coursera was Astronomy from Duke University; flunked that one. I had better luck this time.
So here is what the past 12 weeks have taught me:
1. I got to know the latest technology stack for building a web application:-
- Node.js is the new "in thing" and Javascript as such, is getting into everything. JS is now running on the server side of web applications, Android may integrate with ChromeOS and so the system calls that are now in Java may be replaced by JS. JS is even getting into the database.
- Linux is the one unchanging thing, when everything else is so meteoric. The preferred option for development of applications and deployment of live web servers is still Linux. So, it is a good place to dig deep and be strong at the fundamental level.
- Git and GitHub are now the #1 option for version control. GitHub isn't just a platform for hosting source code, it has become a community by itself. A prospective employer may want to look at your public GitHub repository; here's mine https://github.com/gany-c
2. The course has been a primer into enterprise cloud services like Amazon's Web Services and Heroku. Now, I know what they offer and to a certain extent, how to use them.
3. If you are going to commit to spending several years of your life on a PhD or a Startup, you might want to pick the project with the largest market potential. This lecture gives a good introduction to analyzing market potential - https://d396qusza40orc.cloudfront.net/startup/lecture_slides%2Flecture5-market-wireframing-design.pdf. Some of the freely available tools include Google's Keyword Planner and Facebook's advertiser tools.
3. If you are going to commit to spending several years of your life on a PhD or a Startup, you might want to pick the project with the largest market potential. This lecture gives a good introduction to analyzing market potential - https://d396qusza40orc.cloudfront.net/startup/lecture_slides%2Flecture5-market-wireframing-design.pdf. Some of the freely available tools include Google's Keyword Planner and Facebook's advertiser tools.
4. Bitcoin - I didn't know that money could work this way.. everyone just knows how much everyone else has.. interesting stuff.. guess if we can do that for everything, then we wouldn't need Governments anymore.
5. Regulations - Founding a startup doesn't necessarily mean you solve technical challenges all the time. You may well end up spending your time fighting harassment from competitors and government agencies.
All in all, I'm really impressed that we live in a time and age where such an incredible piece of education from a University like Stanford is available for free and from the comfort of our homes. I'm glad that I made use of it and completed the course successfully. I plan to take the machine learning course taught by Andrew Ng of Stanford, in the coming months.
So, who wants to cofound a company with me? I do have a few ideas ;)
