Learning the basics of any (within reason...brainfk,etc not included) is within easy reach of a beginner. The difficulty with languages and C++ is the more complicated features like templates and such.
Every minute you spend researching and trying to decide which language to use is time wasted. You shouldn't be learning languages at all, you should be learning concepts. Figure out concepts like what linked lists are, recursion, inheritance, etc.
Then learn the details of some language, then go back to the fundamentals and realize how little you knew before. Rinse, repeat.
This advice is for someone interested in CS as opposed to just programming. Yes, there is a huge difference.
I like the idea, not so sure about the business viability on an individual household basis.
Even though urban areas are dense, your customer base can still be very spread out over many different buildings or neighborhoods. I think your best bet would be to try and market the idea toward landlords and building owners/managers. That's your issue in your home now I believe, if your building had big recycling bins in the trash room you could use it would be easy to recycle.
Right now it looks like your option is to stockpile your recyclables and make trips to your closest recycling center which is inconvenient.
That being said, I've lived in a small apartment before and it was fairly easy to recycle with 3 guys generating trash, even though the recycling "dumpster" was a long hike away. Break down the cardboard (cereal boxes!) and slide it between your fridge and the wall or stack it in an unflattened box,this saves an amazing amount of room in the bags, we went down to 1 bag a week or less for 3 people after doing this. hang some double-layered plastic shopping bags on your cabinet handles or something. We took the bottles and stuff out every week or two, rinse containers with water that will smell. (Soup cans, etc)
Arch's Pacman system is a beautiful thing if you haven't yet had the pleasure. And if it's not in the official repo or is outdated, the AUR probably has it.
No feature is perfect. This still protects against data theft or prying eyes if you lose your phone, my primary concern.
Those finger-swipe locks that people seem to be so fond of on my University campus are less secure than decent facial recognition software IMO. Hypothetically I could find a phone left behind in the library and see their passcode pretty clearly in their finger smudges on the screen. Do you remember to wipe your screen clean every time?
Facial recognition will not deter someone who is deliberately targeting you, no. Maybe some combination of facial recognition AND numeric-passcode would be more suitable.
There are plenty of qualified people here looking for work, whether it be temporary or long-term. I myself am looking for work for instance.
Before looking into paid job boards, post in the "Who's Hiring" threads that go up each month or contact posters in the "Looking for Work" threads.
How many people are you looking to hire at once, just one or an entire team?
I also agree with phyllotaxis, you need to decide and advertise what type of developers you're looking for. Do you want a co-founder to take over the technical side for you, or do you just want code monkeys that can fix bugs, or somewhere in between?
I was thinking about finding out more details about the project initially since I have a ton of free time, but that "any changes that we felt were needed" clause sounds fishy.
They seem to want someone to build the prototype, then re-build it. Why don't they just design it right in the first place?
And paying only $500, and keeping all the rights and IP to boot? Nah, I need cash but not that bad.
Learn about Design Patterns, they will force you to really use Java's features such as Interfaces and Abstract Classes, accessibility modifiers (public, private, protected) and others. That is the method I use when tutoring individuals in similar situations as yours that want to get back into Java specifically.
I recommend the Head First Design Patterns book if you're not turned off by the less-than serious nature of it. I really did not like the book at first glance, but after actually working through some of it as instructed I enjoyed it and really developed a solid understanding. Simple examples like Vending Machines and Washers really helped me, I still use them in my head when thinking about problems.
Design Patterns are not always the best solution and forcing them on problems can make things worse, but as far as teaching Java I really recommend it.
http://www.amazon.com/First-Design-Patterns-Elisabeth-Freema...
I also recommend learning about Test Driven Development as previously suggested, we use JUnit4 to teach our undergrads at my university. There are also other methods of testing besides TDD, but I feel it was the easiest to help students.
I'm in your target market, and I honestly couldn't figure out the site at first glance.
Eventually I found the search section, but nothing I typed was even initialized in the db. I'm talking simple part names like caliper and clutch.
I've always found that Craigslist and regular forums were the best way to go besides U-Pull-It yards, though if I were buying parts for a wide variety of brands of cars it might be more useful so I didn't have to register on a bunch of different boards. You haven't convinced me that your approach is any better, in fact it seems like more work because I have to fill in your db what a clutch is!
I like that it's driven by students. And for those complaining about context, if you read the title and didn't immediately get it you're probably not in their target demographic anyway.
It is horrendous, but schools force it upon you. Thankfully at my university we recently switched to Desire2Learn (D2L), which is much better but still not great. I can not for the life of me print PDFs reliably from the Content sections.
If you guys are ever hiring, let me know. I'm also a central PA student, though not at state.